Towards a comprehensive sustainability methodology to assess anthropogenic impacts on ecosystems: Review of the integration of Life Cycle Assessment, Environmental Risk Assessment and Ecosystem Services Assessment

Peña, Laura Vittoria De Luca; Taelman, Sue Ellen; Préat, Nils; Boone, Lieselot; Biest, K. Van der; Custódio, Marco; Lucas, Simon Hernandez; Everaert, Gert; Dewulf, Jo

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152125

Cited by 54 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 151 publications

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“…This falls outside of the scope of this study. Integration of ESA with other disciplines, such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and other impact assessment methodologies, is beneficial to assess the full cause-effect chain because ESA is an ecosystem-based approach that cannot quantify the impacts of human activities at different scales [ 11 ]. Currently the most used approach for integrating impact assessments with an ES approach in the marine environment is to map human activities, map habitat distribution, score how human activities impact habitats and score how habitats supply ES (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Compared to the widely used DPSIR framework, the approach proposed in this work puts more emphasis on the socio-economic outcomes in terms of ES, in line with the newer DAPSI(W)R(M) framework [ 3 ]. Altogether, there is a large knowledge gap in quantifying the linkage between environmental impact assessment and ES assessment [ 11 ], and the current work proposes a method to identify which parts of the biophysical structures and processes need to be considered to assess ES quantitatively. Given that the mapping of ES is mandatory for EU member states, enhancing our ability to perform precise and accurate ES assessments is vital [ 76 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the marine environment, Ecosystem Services Assessments (ESA) have not been as advanced and detailed as in the terrestrial environment [ [7] , [8] , [9] , [10] , [11] ] and assessment methods are less widely available [ 5 , 8 , 12 ]. This is because there is often a lack of data [ 13 ] and impacts of human activities at sea are not as visible as those on land [ 10 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Impacts of human activities on the supply of marine ecosystem services: A conceptual model for offshore wind farms to aid quantitative assessments

Pol

Biest

Taelman

et al. 2023

Heliyon

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impacts of human activities on the supply of marine ecosystem services: A conceptual model for offshore wind farms to aid quantitative assessments

Pol

Biest

Taelman

et al. 2023

Heliyon

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“…64 The complexity of possible chemical interactions with biotic and abiotic ecosystem components necessitates the integration of screening tools developed for individual chemicals with lifecycle assessment (LCA) tools in predicting fate and effects in the environment. 65 The high number of scenarios and the variety of data sets needed for such integration have created an opportunity for the roles of machine learning and artificial intelligence. 66 The considerable progress in data collection and integration remains hampered by the difficult process of including human variability in terms of physiological and genetic systems and social behavior into widely used chemical screening tools such as GreenScreen, USEtox, and LCA software such as SimaPro.…”

Section: Screening Tools For Chemicals Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemicals management approach to sustainable development of materials

Ogunseitan

2023

MRS Bulletin

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Throughout human history, the capacity to invent, manufacture, and use chemicals and materials has transformed concepts of development with path-dependent solutions to problems encountered in various industrial and societal sectors, including energy, transportation, food production, textiles, and personal care. It is increasingly clear that the trajectory of development initiated by some path-breaking materials is not sustainable. Recent developments in the concept of planetary boundaries have explored some reasons for unsustainability and ineffectiveness of current chemicals management practices. The reasons are almost always due to previously unknown chemical characteristics such as toxicity, reactivity, environmental recalcitrance, or increasing scarcity. In some cases, the suspected but ignored potential hazard of chemicals manifests slowly or becomes uncontrollable due to accumulation and biochemical or physical transformation in the environment. Consequently, environmental pollution by such chemicals is associated with alarmingly high levels of human mortality and disease burden worldwide. Recent examples include halogenated chemicals used as flame retardants and the thinning of the stratospheric ozone layer; bisphenol A used in plastics and microplastics widespread in biotic and abiotic ecosystem components, including the ocean; hormone mimicking chemicals such as phthalates in human tissues; neurotoxicity of lead used in solder materials, paints, and water distribution pipes; neurodevelopmental diseases associated with mercury used in ore beneficiation, in dental amalgams and lighting systems; and asbestos fibers used in ceiling tiles, roofs, and automobile brakes. These notorious examples have forced the introduction of retroactive policies to restrict the use of certain chemicals in materials development, and a few proactive policies designed to prevent the initial use of certain chemicals known or suspected to be hazardous. Improvements in the scientific knowledge and development of tools to screen for chemicals of concern have also led to the development of forecasting tools for improved management of chemicals. It could be impossible to foresee all potential risks associated with chemicals. Therefore, such management approaches can be most effective in supporting sustainable development of materials when they generate boundaries within which criteria for safety are understood and alternative assessments are continuous. This article situates the power of selected forecasting tools for early warning systems in a planetary boundary framework while highlighting gaps and incongruencies inherent in their use to support proactive and reactive regulatory policies, and for developing performance standards for lowering the chemical footprint of consumer products. Graphical Abstract

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“…The total sum of FAs deposited in the blubber during foraging is important when returning to land; the deposited FAs are used to meet metabolic needs during fasting periods. Furthermore, the FA composition of prey FAs have been shown to vary in response to environmental changes, such as those caused by anthropogenic activities (Noren, 2020;De Luca Peña et al, 2022). Thus, studying blubber FAs can provide important information related to diet changes and serve as an important signal of environmental stressors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age group differences in blubber fatty acid profiles in northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris)

Kirkpatrick

Crocker²,

Kanatous³

et al. 2022

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris), like many marine mammals, rely on internal lipid stores, specifically fatty acids (FAs) stored in the blubber layer, to meet metabolic needs. The energetic demands of northern elephant seals vary with ontogeny, as each life-history stage experiences different metabolic requirements due to development, growth, and breeding. To date, no comprehensive study has reported on changes in blubber FA profiles across northern elephant seal age groups or sex. Therefore, our objective was to determine how blubber FAs differ across ontogeny and sex in northern elephant seals. As a sexually dimorphic mammal, northern elephant seals go through sex-specific ontogenetic changes in morphology and physiology; we hypothesized that these changes would be reflected in their FAs profiles. To determine this, FAs profiles were compared from full blubber cores collected from 79 northern elephant seals across four age groups. We provide the first evidence of blubber fatty acids differing across ontogeny as NES transition from young, developing seals to mature fully developed adults. However, we did not find differences in blubber FAs profiles between the sexes. Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) are found in the highest proportions across all NES age classes and sexes, followed by SFAs and PUFAs; this highlights the important role MUFAs play in maintaining fluidity of the blubber layer and in thermoregulation. The individual FAs with the highest concentrations (C16:1, C18:1n9 and C16:0) in northern elephant seal blubber are similar to those in other marine mammals. Weaned pup FAs profiles were significantly different from all other age classes; adults and juveniles also showed age-specific differences. Specifically, weaned pups had the highest proportions of SFAs and the lowest proportions of PUFA, suggesting use of PUFAs to aid development. Each life history stage of NES is interconnected to previous and future stages, making FA accumulation, mobilization, and storage an important process throughout an individual’s life. Further, any changes to this process can have cascading consequences throughout ontogeny in this species. Future monitoring of the FA composition of blubber across age classes could potentially indicate the costs of different environmental changes on blubber storage in NES.

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Towards a comprehensive sustainability methodology to assess anthropogenic impacts on ecosystems: Review of the integration of Life Cycle Assessment, Environmental Risk Assessment and Ecosystem Services Assessment

Cited by 54 publications

References 151 publications

Impacts of human activities on the supply of marine ecosystem services: A conceptual model for offshore wind farms to aid quantitative assessments

Impacts of human activities on the supply of marine ecosystem services: A conceptual model for offshore wind farms to aid quantitative assessments

Chemicals management approach to sustainable development of materials

Age group differences in blubber fatty acid profiles in northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris)

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