Operational Characterization Factors for Land use Impacts on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

1. Project title: Operational Characterization Factors for Land use Impacts on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

2. Type of project: Group Project

3. Number of participants: 11 coming from 3 continents

4. Scope of the project: Global

5. Period: Ongoing from May 2008 - May 2011

6. Specific Goals

  • Define global land use classification and bio-geographical regions
  • Set of characterization factors for land use impacts on biodiversity
  • Set of Characterization factors for land use impacts on ecosystem services 
  • Apply characterization factors in case studies

7. Outputs until now:
  • Draft chapter of the Handbook on LCIA of Global Land Use within the framework of the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative
  • Chapter 2. Principles for Life Cycle Inventories of land use on a global scale by Thomas Koellner, Bastian Wittstock et al.
  • Chapter 3. Principles for the Impact Assessment of land use on a global scale by Ruedi Müller-Wenk et al.
  • Chapter 6. Biotic Production Potential (BPP) by Miguel Brandao Paper 5
  • Chapter 7. Carbon Sequestration Potential (CSP) by Ruedi Müller-Wenk et al. Paper 6
  • Website work area set up
  • Chapter 8. Fresh Water Regulation Potential (FWRP), Erosion Regulation Potential (ERP) and Water Purification Potential (WPP) by Rosie Saad, Manuele Margni et al.
  • Characterization factors for CSP published in Müller-Wenk R, and Brandao M. (2010): Climatic impact of land use in LCA - Carbon transfers between vegetation/soil and air. Int. J. Life Cycle Assessment 15, 172-182
  • Characterization factors for BPP published in Brandao M, Mila I Canals L, and Clift R. (forthcoming): Modelling characterization factors for ecosystem services: Biotic Production Potential. Int. J. LCA
8. Progress done so far: 60%

9. Next meetings: In Seville on 26th May 2010  in conjunction with the SETAC 2010 conference

10. Project Leader: 

Prof. Dr. Thomas Koellner
University of Bayreuth
Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Geosciences
Bayreuth, Germany

How can interested persons get involved in this project?
Please Contact: thomas.koellner@uni-bayreuth.de

From May 2010 onwards we would like to invite experts from specific regions worldwide to contribute to the project. The goal is to find relevant empirical information, which allow to model regional impacts of land use on species diversity and ecosystem services in the framework of LCA. This information will be integrated into the global spatial information system storing regionalized characterization factors.

Publicly available documents