Moving beyond land use intensity types: assessing biodiversity impacts using fuzzy thinking
Abstract Purpose The impact of land use on biodiversity is a topic that has received considerable attention in life cycle assessment (LCA). The methodology to assess biodiversity in LCA has been improved in the past decades. This paper contributes to this progress by building on the concept of condi...
Published in: | The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , |
Other Authors: | , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
2021
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11367-021-01899-w https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11367-021-01899-w.pdf https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11367-021-01899-w/fulltext.html |
id |
crspringernat:10.1007/s11367-021-01899-w |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crspringernat:10.1007/s11367-021-01899-w 2023-05-15T18:31:08+02:00 Moving beyond land use intensity types: assessing biodiversity impacts using fuzzy thinking Lindner, Jan Paul Eberle, Ulrike Knuepffer, Eva Coelho, Carla R. V. Bundesamt für Naturschutz Dr. Erich Ritter-Stiftung Hochschule Bochum 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11367-021-01899-w https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11367-021-01899-w.pdf https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11367-021-01899-w/fulltext.html en eng Springer Science and Business Media LLC https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 CC-BY The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment volume 26, issue 7, page 1338-1356 ISSN 0948-3349 1614-7502 General Environmental Science journal-article 2021 crspringernat https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-021-01899-w 2022-01-04T13:35:06Z Abstract Purpose The impact of land use on biodiversity is a topic that has received considerable attention in life cycle assessment (LCA). The methodology to assess biodiversity in LCA has been improved in the past decades. This paper contributes to this progress by building on the concept of conditions for maintained biodiversity. It describes the theory for the development of mathematical functions representing the impact of land uses and management practices on biodiversity. Methods The method proposed here describes the impact of land use on biodiversity as a decrease in biodiversity potential , capturing the impact of management practices. The method can be applied with weighting between regions, such as ecoregions. The biodiversity potential is calculated through functions that describe not only parameters which are relevant to biodiversity, for example, deadwood in a forest, but also the relationships between those parameters. For example, maximum biodiversity would hypothetically occur when the nutrient balance is ideal and no pesticide is applied. As these relationships may not be readily quantified, we propose the use of fuzzy thinking for biodiversity assessment, using AND/OR operators. The method allows the inclusion of context parameters that represent neither the management nor the land use practice being investigated, but are nevertheless relevant to biodiversity. The parameters and relationships can be defined by either literature or expert interviews. We give recommendations on how to create the biodiversity potential functions by providing the reader with a set of questions that can help build the functions and find the relationship between parameters. Results and discussion We present a simplified case study of paper production in the Scandinavian and Russian Taiga to demonstrate the applicability of the method. We apply the method to two scenarios, one representing an intensive forestry practice, and another representing lower intensity forestry management. The results communicate the differences between the two scenarios quantitatively, but more importantly, are able to provide guidance on improved management. We discuss the advantages of this condition-based approach compared to pre-defined intensity classes. The potential drawbacks of defining potential functions from industry-derived studies are pointed out. This method also provides a less strict approach to a reference situation, consequently allowing the adequate assessment of cases in which the most beneficial biodiversity state is achieved through management practices. Conclusions The originality of using fuzzy thinking is that it enables land use management practices to be accounted for in LCA without requiring sub-categories for different intensities to be explicitly established, thus moving beyond the classification of land use practices. The proposed method is another LCIA step toward closing the gap between land use management practices and biodiversity conservation goals. Article in Journal/Newspaper taiga Springer Nature (via Crossref) Deadwood ENVELOPE(-117.453,-117.453,56.733,56.733) The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 26 7 1338 1356 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Springer Nature (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crspringernat |
language |
English |
topic |
General Environmental Science |
spellingShingle |
General Environmental Science Lindner, Jan Paul Eberle, Ulrike Knuepffer, Eva Coelho, Carla R. V. Moving beyond land use intensity types: assessing biodiversity impacts using fuzzy thinking |
topic_facet |
General Environmental Science |
description |
Abstract Purpose The impact of land use on biodiversity is a topic that has received considerable attention in life cycle assessment (LCA). The methodology to assess biodiversity in LCA has been improved in the past decades. This paper contributes to this progress by building on the concept of conditions for maintained biodiversity. It describes the theory for the development of mathematical functions representing the impact of land uses and management practices on biodiversity. Methods The method proposed here describes the impact of land use on biodiversity as a decrease in biodiversity potential , capturing the impact of management practices. The method can be applied with weighting between regions, such as ecoregions. The biodiversity potential is calculated through functions that describe not only parameters which are relevant to biodiversity, for example, deadwood in a forest, but also the relationships between those parameters. For example, maximum biodiversity would hypothetically occur when the nutrient balance is ideal and no pesticide is applied. As these relationships may not be readily quantified, we propose the use of fuzzy thinking for biodiversity assessment, using AND/OR operators. The method allows the inclusion of context parameters that represent neither the management nor the land use practice being investigated, but are nevertheless relevant to biodiversity. The parameters and relationships can be defined by either literature or expert interviews. We give recommendations on how to create the biodiversity potential functions by providing the reader with a set of questions that can help build the functions and find the relationship between parameters. Results and discussion We present a simplified case study of paper production in the Scandinavian and Russian Taiga to demonstrate the applicability of the method. We apply the method to two scenarios, one representing an intensive forestry practice, and another representing lower intensity forestry management. The results communicate the differences between the two scenarios quantitatively, but more importantly, are able to provide guidance on improved management. We discuss the advantages of this condition-based approach compared to pre-defined intensity classes. The potential drawbacks of defining potential functions from industry-derived studies are pointed out. This method also provides a less strict approach to a reference situation, consequently allowing the adequate assessment of cases in which the most beneficial biodiversity state is achieved through management practices. Conclusions The originality of using fuzzy thinking is that it enables land use management practices to be accounted for in LCA without requiring sub-categories for different intensities to be explicitly established, thus moving beyond the classification of land use practices. The proposed method is another LCIA step toward closing the gap between land use management practices and biodiversity conservation goals. |
author2 |
Bundesamt für Naturschutz Dr. Erich Ritter-Stiftung Hochschule Bochum |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lindner, Jan Paul Eberle, Ulrike Knuepffer, Eva Coelho, Carla R. V. |
author_facet |
Lindner, Jan Paul Eberle, Ulrike Knuepffer, Eva Coelho, Carla R. V. |
author_sort |
Lindner, Jan Paul |
title |
Moving beyond land use intensity types: assessing biodiversity impacts using fuzzy thinking |
title_short |
Moving beyond land use intensity types: assessing biodiversity impacts using fuzzy thinking |
title_full |
Moving beyond land use intensity types: assessing biodiversity impacts using fuzzy thinking |
title_fullStr |
Moving beyond land use intensity types: assessing biodiversity impacts using fuzzy thinking |
title_full_unstemmed |
Moving beyond land use intensity types: assessing biodiversity impacts using fuzzy thinking |
title_sort |
moving beyond land use intensity types: assessing biodiversity impacts using fuzzy thinking |
publisher |
Springer Science and Business Media LLC |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11367-021-01899-w https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11367-021-01899-w.pdf https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11367-021-01899-w/fulltext.html |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-117.453,-117.453,56.733,56.733) |
geographic |
Deadwood |
geographic_facet |
Deadwood |
genre |
taiga |
genre_facet |
taiga |
op_source |
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment volume 26, issue 7, page 1338-1356 ISSN 0948-3349 1614-7502 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-021-01899-w |
container_title |
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment |
container_volume |
26 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
1338 |
op_container_end_page |
1356 |
_version_ |
1766214810124419072 |