Characterization of nitrogen emissions for freshwater eutrophication modelling in life cycle impact assessment at the damage level and urban scale

Autor: Yue Dong, Xiang Cheng, Changlin Li, Linyu Xu, Wei Lin
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Ecological Indicators, Vol 154, Iss , Pp 110598- (2023)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1470-160X
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.110598
Popis: Human interventions mobilize massive nitrogen (N) emissions to freshwater and result in serious eutrophication impacts. Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) provides a reliable quantitative tool to address the challenges of potential ecological impact induced by increasing nutrient inputs. However, characterization procedures that relate N emissions to ecological damage in freshwater ecosystems in LCIA methodology are still lacking. This study aims to propose a spatially explicit characterization model (1 km × 1 km) for N-induced freshwater eutrophication. A complete cause-effect chains linking the N emission with species loss endpoint impact was constructed, in which the site-specific fate factor modelling contained transfer and removal processes in terrestrial and freshwater compartments, and the mechanistic modelling of ecosystem exposure and damage effect were quantified with species loss. The eutrophication characterization was conducted with a case study in Guangzhou, China, and 1 km × 1 km spatial differentiation of eutrophication susceptibility was intuitively demonstrated, with higher values in the Pearl River Estuary area. Method comparisons and further improvements were discussed in support of model generalization and further application.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals