The Land Use Ecological Impact Assessment In Lca Method

Ecological effects of land use are a major concern in life cycle assessment (LCA). There is still a considerable lack of assessing methods of the ecological effects (EEs) resulted from the land use in LCA. Until now there are still no scientific and authoritative methods and related parameters that can be used by LCA practitioner in China. Therefore, the paper presents the related indicators, characterization factors and corresponding equivalent factors for EEs assessment of land use in LCA. The calculation formula and case for the comprehensive EEs assessment are also provided in the paper.Firstly, based on the main ecological functions of land, an indicator dataset for land use impact assessment in LCA is proposed according to their correlation, stability, availabilities and so on. The indicator dataset is consist of five indicators, namely land use area, duration, terrain, net primary production (NPP) and soil organic matter (SOM). These indicators are chosen as a basis for the calculation of characterization factors and the establishment of the evaluation model.Secondly, the NPP values in different land use types and their spatial distributions in China are studied through statistical analysis of vegetation NPP data (model simulation estimates as well as actual measures) collected from the research papers published between1993and2011. The results show that the average simulated NPP can be used to estimate the NPP in different land use types in China, which provides strong supports for determining the characterization factors and corresponding equivalent factors.Thirdly, the changes of the SOM content during and after the periods of the second national soil survey are carried out through the data collected from the research papers published before2011. For determining the characterization factors and corresponding equivalent factors based on the SOM content, the paper also analyzes the features of SOM content of different soil types and its spatial distributions in China.Finally, the characterization factors and corresponding equivalent factors are calculated according to the three indicators (NPP, SOM and terrain slope).The evaluation method and relevant parameters constructed in this paper have filled an important gap in life cycle impact assessment of land use, which contributes a lot to the development and improvement of LCA methods in China.