Consolidating Regionalized Global Characterization Factors for Soil Organic Carbon Depletion Due to Land Occupation and Transformation

• Published in: Environmental science & technology Vol. 52; no. 21; pp. 12436 - 12444
• Main Authors: Teixeira, Ricardo F. M, Morais, Tiago G, Domingos, Tiago
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 06.11.2018
• Subjects: Carbon; Consolidation; Depletion; Fertilizers; Land use; Life cycle assessment; Life cycle engineering; Life cycles; Mathematical models; Occupations; Organic carbon; Organic matter; Organic soils; Regeneration; Soils
• ISSN: 0013-936X; 1520-5851
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.8b00721

Land occupation and transformation change soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks, which are a priority indicator for biotic production potential (BPP) in life cycle impact assessment (LCIA). SOC is a potential umbrella indicator for land use-related impacts, but global LCIA characterization models have never been sufficiently regionalized. Regeneration times required for the calculation of transformation impacts are unknown and can only be estimated through expert judgment or using additional assumptions. In this paper, we calculate global midpoint characterization factors (CF) for SOC depletion following land use and land use change using data from the European Soil Data Center with a resolution of 30 arc second. We used three possible calculation procedures to determine regeneration times: (1) estimations based on literature; (2) equal regeneration duration for all land uses; (3) equal regeneration rates for all land uses. We then propose an innovative approach for LCIA that combines all CFs in this paper as well as prior models using a spatial consolidation approach to arrive at a single set of CFs. We show that this procedure combines the strengths of each individual model and dilutes their shortcomings, and recommend the use of these consolidated CFs rather than individual sets of factors. For endpoints, we applied a nutrient replacement method using fertilizer input to compensate for organic matter depletion and obtained monetary CFs for SOC-related damages caused by land use on BPP.