37 research outputs found

    Sapling survival data

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    Survival data collected in the experimental fields of FORBIO (http://www.treedivbelgium.ugent.be/). This includes data at the plot level for the sites Hechtel-Eksel, Zedelgem and Gedinne combined (Sheet: "data plot level") and data at tree level for the sites Hechtel-Eksel, Zedelgem and Gedinne seperately (Sheets: "data tree level Hechtel-Eksel", "data tree level Zedelgem" and "data tree level Gedinne"). Column headers are explained in the sheet "variables explained"

    Quantifying the Environmental Impact of an Integrated Human/Industrial-Natural System Using Life Cycle Assessment; A Case Study on a Forest and Wood Processing Chain

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    Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool to assess the environmental sustainability of a product; it quantifies the environmental impact of a product’s life cycle. In conventional LCAs, the boundaries of a product’s life cycle are limited to the human/industrial system, the technosphere. Ecosystems, which provide resources to and take up emissions from the technosphere, are not included in those boundaries. However, similar to the technosphere, ecosystems also have an impact on their (surrounding) environment through their resource usage (e.g., nutrients) and emissions (e.g., CH<sub>4</sub>). We therefore propose a LCA framework to assess the impact of integrated Techno-Ecological Systems (TES), comprising relevant ecosystems and the technosphere. In our framework, ecosystems are accounted for in the same manner as technosphere compartments. Also, the remediating effect of uptake of pollutants, an ecosystem service, is considered. A case study was performed on a TES of sawn timber production encompassing wood growth in an intensively managed forest ecosystem and further industrial processing. Results show that the managed forest accounted for almost all resource usage and biodiversity loss through land occupation but also for a remediating effect on human health, mostly via capture of airborne fine particles. These findings illustrate the potential relevance of including ecosystems in the product’s life cycle of a LCA, though further research is needed to better quantify the environmental impact of TES
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