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Assessing the Importance of Spatial Variability versus Model Choices in Life Cycle Impact Assessment: The Case of Freshwater Eutrophication in Europe
journal contribution
posted on 2013-12-03, 00:00 authored by Ligia B. Azevedo, Andrew D. Henderson, Rosalie van Zelm, Olivier Jolliet, Mark A.
J. HuijbregtsIn
Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) both spatial variability
and model choices may be influential. In the case of the effect model,
the effect factors differ with respect to their assumption of linear/nonlinear
responses to increases in environmental stressor levels, and whether
or not they account for the current stressor levels in the environment.
Here, we derived spatially explicit characterization factors of phosphorus
emissions causing eutrophication based on three different effect models
(depicted by marginal, linear, and average effect factors) and two
freshwater types (lakes and streams) and we performed an analysis
of variance (ANOVA) to investigate how the selection of the effect
models and the freshwater types influence the impacts of phosphorus
emissions to freshwater on heterotrophic species. We found that 56%
of the variability of ecological impacts per unit of phosphorus emission
was explained, primarily, by the difference between freshwater types
and, to a lesser extent, by the difference between effect models.
The remaining variability was attributed to the spatial variation
between river basins, mainly due to the variability in fate factors.
Our study demonstrates the particular importance of accounting for
spatial variability and model choices in LCIA.