Battery-powered electric cars (BEVs) play a key role in future mobility scenarios. However, little is known about the environmental impacts of the production, use and disposal of the lithium ion (Li-ion) battery. This makes it difficult to compare the environmental impacts of BEVs with those of internal combustion engine cars (ICEVs). Consequently, a detailed lifecycle inventory of a Li-ion battery and a rough LCA of BEV based mobility were compiled. The study shows that the environmental burdens of mobility are dominated by the operation phase regardless of whether a gasoline-fueled ICEV or a European electricity fueled BEV is used. The share of the total environmental impact of E-mobility caused by the battery (measured in Ecoindicator 99 points) is 15%. The impact caused by the extraction of lithium for the components of the Li-ion battery is less than 2.3% (Ecoindicator 99 points). The major contributor to the environmental burden caused by the battery is the supply of copper and aluminum for the production of the anode and the cathode, plus the required cables or the battery management system. This study provides a sound basis for more detailed environmental assessments of battery based E-mobility.

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Electric vehicle production and disposalA typical middle-class passenger car from ecoinvent v2.0, represented by a Golf A4 (petrol, 55kW) is used as a base for the LCI [1]. This dataset originates on data from "Life Cycle Inventory for the Golf A4", a "Volkswagen" report from the year 2000 [2]. All sub-components constituting the ICE drive train were subtracted from the ecoinvent dataset, leaving the LCI of a motor less vehicle glider. Thus, two new LCI datasets for a Glider and an ICE drive train were generated which combined match the Golf A4 (Table S1 to S3). A new LCI dataset for an electric drive train was generated using data from. The components to build an LCI for an electric drive train are selected in such a way, that the same maximal permanent power of 55 kW followed from the ICE drive train. The LCI for the entire BEV finally consists of the LCI of the glider, the electric drive train and the Li-ion battery.Scheme S1. The model of an internal combustion vehicle (ICE Vehicle) and a battery vehicle.

The increasing demand for biomass for the production of bioenergy is generating land-use conflicts. These conflicts might be solved through spatial segregation of food/feed and energy producing areas by continuing producing food on established and productive agricultural land while growing dedicated energy crops on so called "surplus" land. Ambiguity in the definition and characterization of surplus land as well as uncertainty in assessments of land availability and of future bioenergy potentials is causing confusion about the prospects and the environmental and socio-economic implications of bioenergy development in those areas. The high level of uncertainty is due to environmental, economic and social constraints not yet taken into account and to the potentials offered by those novel crops and their production methods not being fully exploited. This paper provides a scientific background in support of a reassessment of land available for bioenergy production by clarifying the terminology, identifying constraints and options for ReseARCh ARtiCle BioRisk A peer-reviewed open-access journalJens Dauber et al. / BioRisk 7: 5-50 (2012) 6 an efficient bioenergy-use of surplus land and providing policy recommendations for resolving conflicting land-use demands. A serious approach to factoring in the constraints, combined with creativity in utilizing the options provided, in our opinion, would lead to a more sustainable and efficient development of the bioenergy sector. Unless the sustainability challenge is mastered, the interdependent policy objectives of mitigating climate change, obtaining independence from fossil fuels, feeding and fuelling a growing human world population and maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services will not be met. Despite the advanced developments of bioenergy, we still see regional solutions for designing and establishing sustainable bioenergy production systems with optimized production resulting in social, economic and ecological benefits. Where bioenergy production has been identified as the most suitable option to overcome the given problems of energy security and climate change mitigation, we need to determine which bioenergy cultivation systems are most suitable for the respective types of surplus land, by taking into account issues such as yields, inputs and costs, as well as potential environmental and socio-economic impacts.

With 10 figures and 5 tables in the text Abstract: Val Roseg in the Swiss Alps is a complex alluvial valley formed in glacial outwash. The braided flood plain, 2.6 km long and 130-510 m wide, begins 1.2 km downstream of the glacier terminus and extends to a "knickpoint" at 1990 m a.s.!. where water upwells before entering a constrained reach. A long-term study has been initiated to investigate habitat heterogeneity and how such heterogeneity (I) contribu tes to the biodiversity of benthos, groundwater fauna, and periphyton in a harsh envi ronment and (2) influences ecosystem processes such as productivity and decomposi tion dynamics. As a first step we have distinguished different channel types based on the correspondence between hydrological connectivity and physico-chemical attrib utes. This functional characterization will serve as a habitat template to structure future ecological research in the Val Roseg flood plain. Six distinct channel types have been identified within the fl oodplain ecosystem: (i) Main channel. (ii) Side channels, (iii) Intermittently-connected channels. (iv) Mixed channels, (v) Ground water channels, and (vi) Tributaries. Distinct seasonal and daily runoff patterns, caused by ice melt, change the hydrological connectivity between individual channel types. Results clearly demonstrate that the whole flood plain shifts from dominance by surface water at high summer discharge to a groundwater-controlled system in winter. Temporal variability, rather than the means of environmental values, has been used to differentiate between individual floodplain channel types. Groundwater chan nels exhibit the highest spatial but the lowest temporal variability. In contrast, inter mittently-connected channels are characterized by a low spatial but an extraordinary temporal variability. High spatio-temporal heterogeneity resulting from a diversity of channel types is believed to play a major role in maintaining what appears to be re markably high biodiversity in this glacial flood plain.

River ecosystems are increasingly viewed as dynamic riverscapes; their extent, composition, and configuration vary in response to the pulsing of discharge. Although compositional and configurational shifts in riverscapes are thought to control ecosystem processes and biodiversity, attempts to quantify riverscape dynamics of braided rivers are scarce. We measured monthly changes in the length, spatial arrangement, and age distribution of clear (groundwater-fed) and turbid-water (glacial-fed) channels during two annual cycles in a braided glacial river. Biological data from concurrent studies were used to assess the effects of seasonal changes in the size and pattern of the riverscape on local zoobenthic density, standing crop of epilithic algae, and spatiotemporal distribution of the hyporheos. The hydrological processes involved in the expansion-contraction cycle of the riverscape resulted in a complex, albeit predictable, pattern of change in the proportion and spatial arrangement of clear and turbid channels. On average, 30% of the riverscape was renewed at monthly intervals. Surface hydrological connectivity and the length of turbid channels increased logarithmically with increasing discharge. The length of clear channels increased up to a threshold discharge of 1.5 m3/s, above which surface flooding resulted in the contraction and fragmentation of clear water bodies. Turbid channels exhibited a unimodal age distribution, whereas clear channels had two cohorts that appeared during the expansion and contraction phases. The renewal pattern and configuration of the riverscape changed little between years despite differences in discharge and the occurrence of several rainfall-induced spates. The density of benthic invertebrate communities in the main channel decreased with increasing size of aquatic habitats indicating that local zoobenthic density was affected by dilution-concentration effects. The disproportionate increase in the proportion of glacial-fed habitats during summer high flows limited the standing crop of epilithic algae in this braided river. The spatial arrangement of inhospitable glacial-fed habitats probably impeded the colonization of newly created suitable habitats by invertebrates with poor dispersal capacities. Quantification of riverscape dynamics is critical to understanding how changes in size, composition, and configuration of braided rivers affect biodiversity, bioproduction, and ecosystem processes.

1. Food sources and trophic structure of the macroinvertebrate community along a longitudinal gradient were examined in a glacier stream of the Swiss Alps (Val Roseg). Analysis of multiple stable isotopes (δ13C and δ15N) and measurement of C : N ratios were used to differentiate between allochthonous and autochthonous organic matter. 2. Although isotopic signatures of algae varied widely among sites and dates, it was possible to discriminate between allochthonous and autochthonous food sources using a site‐specific approach. 3. Dominant food sources of herbivorous invertebrates in all main channel sites were epilithic diatoms and the filamentous gold alga Hydrurus foetidus. Allochthonous organic matter was of some importance only in a groundwater‐fed stream close to the floodplain margin. 4. Seasonal changes in the δ13C signature of the macroinvertebrates corresponded with seasonal changes in δ13C of the gold alga H. foetidus. This indicated that the energy base remains autochthonous throughout the year. 5. Because of limited food sources, feeding plasticity of the invertebrate community was high. Both grazers and shredders fed predominantly on algae, whereas gatherer‐collectors seemed to be omnivorous. 6. The overall enrichment of δ15N was 2.25‰ (r2=0.99) per trophic level. On a gradient from the glacier site to a downstream forested site trophic enrichment was constant but variation in δ15N within trophic levels decreased.

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