Assessing Impacts on the Natural Resource Soil in Life Cycle Assessment: Methods for Compaction and Water Erosion
Soil systems are important environmental assets as they are the basis for food production and of great importance for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. A recent paper by Thomas Sonderegger, in collaboration with ISTP Researchers Stephan Pfister and Prof. Stefanie Hellweg, deals with the limited available life cycle impact assessment methods for the natural resource soil. Their results indicate that a scenario without any conservation measures leads to substantial productivity losses.
Abstract
There are currently limited life cycle impact assessment methods existing for assessing impacts on the natural resource soil. In this paper, we develop methods for the assessment of compaction and water erosion impacts within one framework, which can be expanded with additional degradation processes in the future. Our methods assess potential long-term impacts from agricultural activities on the production capacity of soils and are able to distinguish between different management choices such as machinery selection and tillage practices. Characterization factors are provided as global raster data sets at high spatial resolution (∼1 km) and for larger geographic units including uncertainties of spatial aggregation. Uncertainties due to variability of climate and weather are provided where possible.
The application of the methods is demonstrated and discussed in a simplified case study. Results show that in a highly mechanized scenario of global agriculture without any conservation measures, long-term yearly soil productivity losses due to compaction and water erosion can amount to up to double-digit percentages for major crops. This confirms the relevance of compaction and water erosion impacts for agricultural LCAs.
- Article: "Assessing Impacts on the Natural Resource Soil in Life Cycle Assessment: Methods for Compaction and Water Erosion"
- Journal: Environmental Science & Technology (2020)
- Author(s): Thomas Sonderegger, Stephan Pfister & Stefanie Hellweg
- For the full article, please visit the external pageEnvironmental Science & Technology homepage.