Land Use in Life-Cycle Assessment. Valuation of impacts on the Biological Diversity caused by Forestry and Agriculture

• Research unit: COST
• Project number: C99.0041

Key words (English)

Life-Cycle Assessment; product; land use; biodiversity; ecosystem quality; valuation

Research programs (English)

COST-Action E9 - Life-cycle assessment of forestry and forest products

Short description (English)

See abstract

Further information (English)

Full name of research-institution/enterprise: ETH Zürich Departement Umweltnaturwissenschaften Umweltnatur- und Umweltsozialwissenschaften

Partners and International Organizations (English)

A, B, DK, FIN; F, D, GR, H, IRL, I, NL, N, P, RO, SI, E, S, CH, GB

Abstract (English)

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool addressing environmental problems. It is particularly used for environmental planning and decision-making with respect to the whole life cycle of a product. However, land use and its consequences for ecosystem quality still aren't adequately taken into account in LCA. The objectives of this research project were (i) to develop a method of assessing land use impacts on biodiversity which is suitable for LCA, (ii) to make the general method operable using empirical information on species diversity, and (iii) to apply calculated characterisation factors in a simple case study. In Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA), characterisation factors are used to weight an environmental intervention with respect to its potential for damaging a defined safeguard subject. For the impact category land use the environmental intervention is to use a specific type of land for a period of time. To develop characterisation factors for weighting such land use, a modelling approach was applied. The modelling can be split up into different stages. First, a qualitative model was developed, linking land use activities and impacts on ecological quality. The rather general safeguard subject ecosystem quality was split up into more specific attributes (biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and ecological resources). Biodiversity was chosen for developing an operable method. Next, land use impacts on local and regional species diversity were quantified. Effect-damage curves allowed observed effects on species diversity to be transformed into potential damage/benefits. The characterisation factor ecosystem damage potential (EDPsp-div) refer to that damage/benefits caused by specific land use activities. Finally local and regional damage potentials were condensed into a single factor.A set of characterisation factors EDPsp-div was developed, which may account for both different background situations on the regional scale and the difference in damage sensitivity between either all species or threatened species only. The characterisation factors were calculated according to a linear as well as a nonlinear model. Data uncertainties were assessed with a Monte Carlo simulation.

References in databases (English)

Swiss Database: COST-DB of the State Secretariat for Education and Research Hallwylstrasse 4 CH-3003 Berne, Switzerland Tel. [phone] Swiss Project-Number: C99.0041