Integration of life cycle assessment and regional emission information in agricultural systems

Kim, Junbeum; Yalaltdinova, Albina; Sirina, Natalia; Baranovskaya, N. V.

doi:10.1002/jsfa.7149

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…For example, spatially explicit simulation models for agricultural nitrogen emissions are available at different complexity, e.g., the complex TNT2 model (Beaujouan et al 2002) or simpler models (EMEP/EEA 2013). Various solutions have been proposed, with some constructed as GIS-based inventory and emission models (Geyer et al 2010, Kim et al 2015. Mutel et al (2012) matched inventory with SCFs by calculating spatial autocorrelation to choose the most appropriate spatial scale of impact assessment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating life cycle assessment into landscape studies: a postcard from Hulunbuir

Liu

Wang

et al. 2022

Landsc Ecol

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ContextConventional life cycle assessment (LCA) has been increasingly criticized for lacking spatial information, especially for agricultural systems where high spatial sensitivity is present. ObjectivesThe objective of this research is twofold: rst, to assess the potential environmental impacts and the production e ciency of pastoralism farming, and, second, to identify the in uence of the spatial distribution of farms on the environmental impacts, if any. MethodsA cradle-to-gate spatialized agricultural LCA was conducted for 45 farms surveyed from the Hulunbuir Grassland by splitting direct onsite processes from upstream processes, adopting the spatialized characterization factors (SCFs) of IMPACT World+. ResultsContrasting results were observed for different impact categories regarding whether upstream or onsite processes served as the environmental hotspot. While direct onsite animal emissions did not show spatial dependence at the inventory stage, its resulting impact scores demonstrated the most contrasting spatial patterns among various impact categories, depending on whether and how spatial resolution and location were introduced during the LCIA stage. ConclusionsA cradle-to-gate spatialized agricultural LCA was proposed and applied to assess the environmental impacts of pastoralism farming in Hulunbuir Grassland. The overall spatial dependence of the LCA results was weak, if present, it depended on the interactions between spatial variation within the life cycle inventory and the spatial resolution and location of the SCFs. Environmental burden shifting occurred between different impact categories, and it remains a policy challenge as how to increase the production e ciency in the pastoralism system.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating life cycle assessment into landscape studies: a postcard from Hulunbuir

Liu

Wang

et al. 2022

Landsc Ecol

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“…Few of the biofuel LCA studies report on regional impacts (i.e., acidification, eutrophication, smog, water use, etc.) [1,2,8,9], and fewer still take into account the spatial variability of these impacts [8,10]. Regional impacts from biofuel feedstock production could prove to be a substantial issue.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Regional impacts from biofuel feedstock production could prove to be a substantial issue. An LCA study evaluating regional emissions from agricultural systems found that by not including regional emission information, life cycle environmental impacts are likely underestimated [9]. Another study coupling GIS and LCA found variability in changes to regional biodiversity resulting from the production of ethanol from corn and sugar beets, demonstrating the use and importance of spatially located inventory data in LCAs [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Spatially explicit LCAs that are specific to the system and locations that they evaluate have shown that when site-specific factors are considered, there can be substantial variability in LCA results [10,[12][13][14]. Agricultural practices are not static and vary from one region to the next [8,9,14]. For biofuel systems that use (a) feedstock(s) with (a) lower carbon footprint(s), the effect of agricultural variability on total greenhouse gas emissions may be small, but for biofuels based on feedstocks with larger carbon footprints, the overall variability could have a more pronounced effect.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hydrocarbon Bio-Jet Fuel from Bioconversion of Poplar Biomass: Life Cycle Assessment of Site-Specific Impacts

Gustafson¹

2022

Forests

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Hydrocarbon drop-in bio-jet fuels could help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within the aviation sector. Large tracts of land will be required to grow biomass feedstock for this biofuel, and changes to the management of these lands could have substantial environmental impacts. This research uses spatial analysis and life cycle assessment methodologies to investigate potential environmental impacts associated with converting land to grow poplar trees for conversion to bio-jet fuel from different regions within the western United States. Results vary by region and are dependent on land availability, type of land converted, prior land management practices, and poplar growth yields. The conversion of intensively managed cropland to poplar production results in a decrease in fertilizer and a lower annual global warming potential (GWP) (Clarksburg CA region). Bringing unmanaged rangeland into production results in increases in fertilizers, chemical inputs, fuel use, and GWP (Jefferson OR region). Where poplar yields are predicted to be lower, more land is converted to growing poplar to meet feedstock demands (Hayden ID). An increased use of land leads to greater fuel use and GWP. Changes to land use and management practices will drive changes at the local level that need to be understood before developing a drop-in biofuels industry.

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Introducing Spatial Variability to the Impact Significance Assessment

Šileryté

Gil

Wandl

et al. 2018

Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography

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The concept of Circular Economy has gained momentum during the last decade. Yet unsustainable circular systems can also create unintended social, economic and environmental damage. Sustainability is highly dependent on a system's geographical context, such as location of resources, cultural acceptance, economic, environmental and transport geography. While in some cases an impact of the proposed change may be considered equally significant under all circumstances (e.g. increase of carbon emissions as a main contributor to the global climate change), many impacts may change both their direction and the extent of significance dependent on their context (e.g. land consumption may be positively evaluated if applied to abandoned territories or negatively if a forest needs to be sacrificed). The geographical context, (i.e. its sensitivity, vulnerability or potential) is commonly assessed by Spatial Decision Support Systems. However, currently those systems typically do not perform an actual impact assessment as impact characteristics stay constant regardless of location. Likewise, relevant Impact Assessment methods, although gradually becoming more spatial, assume their context as invariable. As a consequence, impact significance so far is also a spatially unvarying concept. However, current technological developments allow to rapidly record, analyse and visualise spatial data. This article introduces the concept of spatially varying impact significance assessment, by reviewing its current definitions in literature, and analysing to what extent the concept is applied in existing assessment methods. It concludes with a formulation of spatially varying impact significance assessment for innovation in the field of impact assessment.

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Integration of life cycle assessment and regional emission information in agricultural systems

Cited by 10 publications

References 62 publications

Integrating life cycle assessment into landscape studies: a postcard from Hulunbuir

Integrating life cycle assessment into landscape studies: a postcard from Hulunbuir

Hydrocarbon Bio-Jet Fuel from Bioconversion of Poplar Biomass: Life Cycle Assessment of Site-Specific Impacts

Introducing Spatial Variability to the Impact Significance Assessment

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