Open AccessJournal Article
Implementing Groundwater Extraction in Life Cycle Impact Assessment: Characterization Factors Based on Plant Species Richness for the Netherlands : supporting information
TLDR
In this article, a method to calculate characterization factors that address the effects of groundwater extraction on the species richness of terrestrial vegetation is presented. But the authors do not consider the impact of groundwater depletion on terrestrial ecosystems.Abstract:
An operational method to evaluate the environmental impacts associated with groundwater use is currently lacking in life cycle assessment (LCA). This paper outlines a method to calculate characterization factors that address the effects of groundwater extraction on the species richness of terrestrial vegetation. Characterization factors (CF) were derived for The Netherlands and consist of a fate and an effect part. The fate factor equals the change in drawdown due to a change in groundwater extraction and expresses the amount of time required for groundwater replenishment. It was obtained with a grid-specific steady-state groundwater flow model. Effect factors were obtained from groundwater level response curves of potential plant species richness, which was constructed based on the soil moisture requirements of 625 plant species. Depending on the initial groundwater level, effect factors range up to 9.2% loss of species per 10 cm of groundwater level decrease. The total Dutch CF for groundwater extraction depended on the value choices taken and ranged from 0.09 to 0.61 m(2)·yr/m(3). For tap water production, we showed that groundwater extraction can be responsible for up to 32% of the total terrestrial ecosystem damage. With the proposed approach, effects of groundwater extraction on terrestrial ecosystems can be systematically included in LCA.read more
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Dissertation
Assessing the environmental impacts of a complex urban water system based on the life cycle assessment framework : development of a versatile model and advanced water deprivation indicators
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose a systeme d'eau urbain (WaLA) model for evaluating the impacts of the use of l'eaux on the environment and the services of usagers.
Dissertation
Optimization of Feedstock Blends to Improve Biodiesel Cost Effectiveness and Manage Environmental Impacts
TL;DR: Tese de doutoramento em Sistemas Sustentaveis de Energia, apresentada ao Departamento de Engenharia Mecânica da Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra, was presented.
Journal Article
Towards including desiccation in LCA
LIFE CYCLE IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF WATER USE : Reviewing methods and their implications in biorefinery system
TL;DR: In this article, the impacts assessment of water resource management scholars and the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) researchers have brought the impacts analysis of water resources to a new level of importance.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
A review of methods for the assessment of prediction errors in conservation presence/absence models
Alan H. Fielding,John Bell +1 more
TL;DR: Thirteen recommendations are made to enable the objective selection of an error assessment technique for ecological presence/absence models and a new approach to estimating prediction error, which is based on the spatial characteristics of the errors, is proposed.
Journal ArticleDOI
Assessing the environmental impacts of freshwater consumption in LCA
TL;DR: The presented method is useful for environmental decision-support in the production of water-intensive products as well as for environmentally responsible value-chain management.
Journal ArticleDOI
Identifying best existing practice for characterization modeling in life cycle impact assessment
Michael Zwicky Hauschild,Mark Goedkoop,Jeroen B. Guinée,Reinout Heijungs,Mark A. J. Huijbregts,Olivier Jolliet,Olivier Jolliet,Manuele Margni,Manuele Margni,An M. De Schryver,Sebastien Humbert,Alexis Laurent,Serenella Sala,Rana Pant +13 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors performed a study for the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC) to identify the best among existing characterization models and provide recommendations to the LCA practitioner.
Journal ArticleDOI
Reliability of Ellenberg indicator values for moisture, nitrogen and soil reaction: a comparison with field measurements
TL;DR: The Ellenberg indicator system provides a very valuable tool for habitat calibration, provided the appropriate parameters are considered, and is endorsed by Hill & Carey's (1997) suggestion that the term N-values be replaced by ‘productivity values'.
Journal ArticleDOI
The WULCA consensus characterization model for water scarcity footprints: assessing impacts of water consumption based on available water remaining (AWARE)
Anne-Marie Boulay,Anne-Marie Boulay,Jane C. Bare,Lorenzo Benini,Markus Berger,Michael J. Lathuillière,Alessandro Manzardo,Manuele Margni,Masaharu Motoshita,Montserrat Núñez,Amandine Pastor,Amandine Pastor,Bradley G. Ridoutt,Bradley G. Ridoutt,Taikan Oki,Sebastien Worbe,Stephan Pfister +16 more
TL;DR: This method represents the state of the art of the current knowledge on how to assess potential impacts from water use in LCA, assessing both human and ecosystem users’ potential deprivation, at the midpoint level, and provides a consensus-based methodology for the calculation of a water scarcity footprint as per ISO 14046.