What Is the Impact of Accidentally Transporting Terrestrial Alien Species? A New Life Cycle Impact Assessment Model

• Published in: Environmental science & technology Vol. 58; no. 7; pp. 3423 - 3436
• Main Authors: Borgelt, Jan, Dorber, Martin, Géron, Charly, Kuipers, Koen J. J., Huijbregts, Mark A. J., Verones, Francesca
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 08.02.2024; ACS Publications
• Series: Environmental Science and Technology
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Biodiversity and Ecology; Climate change; Environmental assessment; Environmental impact; Environmental Sciences; Impact damage; Indigenous species; Introduced species; Life cycle analysis; Life cycle assessment; Life cycles; New records; Occurrence, Fate, and Transport of Aquatic and Terrestrial Contaminants; Value engineering; characterization factors; transport; supply chains; invasive species; ecosystem quality; Life Cycle Impact Assessment
• ISSN: 0013-936X; 1520-5851; 1520-5851
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c08500

Alien species form one of the main threats to global biodiversity. Although Life Cycle Assessment attempts to holistically assess environmental impacts of products and services across value chains, ecological impacts of the introduction of alien species are so far not assessed in Life Cycle Impact Assessment. Here, we developed country-to-country-specific characterization factors, expressed as the time-integrated potentially disappeared fraction (PDF; regional and global) of native terrestrial species due to alien species introductions per unit of goods transported [kg] between two countries. The characterization factors were generated by analyzing global data on first records of alien species, native species distributions, and their threat status, as well as bilateral trade partnerships from 1870–2019. The resulting characterization factors vary over several orders of magnitude, indicating that impact greatly varies per transportation route and trading partner. We showcase the applicability and relevance of the characterization factors for transporting 1 metric ton of freight to France from China, South Africa, and Madagascar. The results suggest that the introduction of alien species can be more damaging for terrestrial biodiversity as climate change impacts during the international transport of commodities.