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Dr. Benedetto RUGANI
Department of Environmental Research and Innovation (ERIN),Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), L-4422 Belvaux, Luxembourg

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0 Ecosystem Services
0 life cycle assessment (LCA)
0 Emergy
0 carbon footprint
0 Water Footprint

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life cycle assessment (LCA)
Emergy
Ecosystem Services
carbon footprint
ecological footprint
Environmentally-extended input-output (EE-IO) analysis
Water Footprint

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Short Biography

Benedetto Rugani received his MSc on Ecotoxicology and Environmental Chemistry in 2007 and PhD on Environmental Chemistry in 2010, both from the University of Siena (Italy). Since 2010, he has been a researcher in Luxembourg, where he is now a Senior Research & Technology Associate at the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST). During the last 10 years, Dr Rugani has contributed to the improvement and combination of existing methodological approaches and indicators to assess the environmental impact of life cycle activities on the supply of natural resources and ecosystem productivity. His current research and project management activity focuses on developing modelling approaches and decision support tools for assessing ecosystem services, with a focus on urban systems.

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Journal article
Published: 04 July 2021 in Sustainability
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Implementing nature-based solutions (NBSs) in cities, such as urban forests, can have multiple effects on the quality of life of inhabitants, acting on the mitigation of climate change, and in some cases also enhancing citizens’ social life and the transformation of customer patterns in commercial activities. Assessing this latter effect is the aim of this paper. An agent-based model (ABM) was used to assess change in commercial activities by small and midsize companies in retail due to the development of parks. The paper focuses on the potential capacity of NBS green spaces to boost retail companies’ business volumes, thus increasing their revenues, and at the same time create a pleasant feeling of space usability for the population. The type of NBS is not specified but generalized into large green spaces. The simulation contains two types of agents: (1) residents and (2) shop owners. Factors that attract new retail shops to be established in an area are simplified, based on attractor points, which identify areas such as large green spaces within and around which shops can form. The simulations provided insights on the number of retail shops that can be sustained based on the purchasing behavior of citizens that walk in parks. Four European cities were explored: Szeged (Hungary), Alcalá de Henares (Spain), Çankaya Municipality (Turkey) and Milan (Italy). The model allowed analyzing the indirect economic benefit of NBSs (i.e., large green spaces in this case) on a neighborhood’s economic structure. More precisely, the presence of green parks in the model boosted the visits of customers to local small shops located within and around them, such as cafés and kiosks, allowing for the emergence of 5–6 retail shops (on average, for about 800 walking citizens) in the case of Szeged and an average 12–14 retail shops for a simulated population of 2900 persons that walk in parks in the case of Milan. Overall, results from this modeling exercise can be considered representative for large urban green areas usually visited by a substantial number of citizens. However, their pertinence to support for local policies for NBS implementation and other decision-making related activities of socioeconomic nature is hampered by the low representativeness of source data used for the simulations.

ACS Style

Rembrandt Koppelaar; Antonino Marvuglia; Lisanne Havinga; Jelena Brajković; Benedetto Rugani. Is Agent-Based Simulation a Valid Tool for Studying the Impact of Nature-Based Solutions on Local Economy? A Case Study of Four European Cities. Sustainability 2021, 13, 7466 .

AMA Style

Rembrandt Koppelaar, Antonino Marvuglia, Lisanne Havinga, Jelena Brajković, Benedetto Rugani. Is Agent-Based Simulation a Valid Tool for Studying the Impact of Nature-Based Solutions on Local Economy? A Case Study of Four European Cities. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (13):7466.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rembrandt Koppelaar; Antonino Marvuglia; Lisanne Havinga; Jelena Brajković; Benedetto Rugani. 2021. "Is Agent-Based Simulation a Valid Tool for Studying the Impact of Nature-Based Solutions on Local Economy? A Case Study of Four European Cities." Sustainability 13, no. 13: 7466.

Journal article
Published: 02 August 2020 in Journal of Cleaner Production
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Urbanisation and the associated growing climate change burdens pose risks to urban and global climate resilience. Urban greenhouse gas emissions fluctuate over time in response to energy demand, which is influenced by government programmes, economic activity, and demographics. In this research, we investigate the influence of policy on urban energy demand and its consequences on mitigating climate change impacts. Using a case study of Lisbon, Portugal from 2008 to 2016, we illustrate a combined use of an urban energy metabolism assessment coupled with a logarithmic mean Divisia index to isolate the changes in energy-related carbon emissions associated with policy changes. We then link these energy flows to life cycle emissions factors to build a multi-level assessment between local and non-local global warming potential. We find that in 2016 Lisbon’s energy flows generated more than 2 Mt of CO2-equivalent emissions over their life cycles, 48% of which were direct emissions within the city. This corresponds to a decrease of around 37% in greenhouse gas emissions from 2008. Additionally, we estimate the potential of Lisbon’s urban forests to sequester these emissions to understand the potential for climate change mitigation. Results show that Lisbon’s urban forest can meet less than 1% of the emissions throughout the assessment period. We discuss the changes, concluding that urban forests are insufficient in size to meet the sequestration demands of the urban energy metabolism, and therefore the focus must be more attuned to reducing fossil fuel use in the urban trade and transport activities.

ACS Style

Thomas Elliot; Javier Babí Almenar; Benedetto Rugani. Impacts of policy on urban energy metabolism at tackling climate change: The case of Lisbon. Journal of Cleaner Production 2020, 276, 123510 .

AMA Style

Thomas Elliot, Javier Babí Almenar, Benedetto Rugani. Impacts of policy on urban energy metabolism at tackling climate change: The case of Lisbon. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2020; 276 ():123510.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Thomas Elliot; Javier Babí Almenar; Benedetto Rugani. 2020. "Impacts of policy on urban energy metabolism at tackling climate change: The case of Lisbon." Journal of Cleaner Production 276, no. : 123510.

Journal article
Published: 27 July 2020 in Science of The Total Environment
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The integration of ecosystem service (ES) assessment with life cycle assessment (LCA) is important for developing decision support tools for environmental sustainability. A prequel study has proposed a 4-step methodology that integrates the ES cascade framework within the cause-effect chain of life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) to characterize the physical and monetary impacts on ES provisioning due to human interventions. We here follow the suggested steps in the abovementioned study, to demonstrate the first application of the integrated ES-LCIA methodology and the added value for LCA studies, using a case study of rice farming in the United States, China, and India. Four ES are considered, namely carbon sequestration, water provisioning, air quality regulation, and water quality regulation. The analysis found a net negative impact for rice farming systems in all three rice producing countries, meaning the detrimental impacts of rice farming on ES being greater than the induced benefits on ES. Compared to the price of rice sold in the market, the negative impacts represent around 2%, 6%, and 4% of the cost of 1 kg of rice from China, India, and the United States, respectively. From this case study, research gaps were identified in order to develop a fully operationalized ES-LCIA integration. With such a framework and guidance in place, practitioners can more comprehensively assess the impacts of life cycle activities on relevant ES provisioning, in both physical and monetary terms. This may in turn affect stakeholders' availability to receive such benefits from ecosystems in the long run.

ACS Style

Xinyu Liu; Bhavik R. Bakshi; Benedetto Rugani; Danielle Maia de Souza; Jane Bare; John M. Johnston; Alexis Laurent; Francesca Verones. Quantification and valuation of ecosystem services in life cycle assessment: Application of the cascade framework to rice farming systems. Science of The Total Environment 2020, 747, 141278 .

AMA Style

Xinyu Liu, Bhavik R. Bakshi, Benedetto Rugani, Danielle Maia de Souza, Jane Bare, John M. Johnston, Alexis Laurent, Francesca Verones. Quantification and valuation of ecosystem services in life cycle assessment: Application of the cascade framework to rice farming systems. Science of The Total Environment. 2020; 747 ():141278.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Xinyu Liu; Bhavik R. Bakshi; Benedetto Rugani; Danielle Maia de Souza; Jane Bare; John M. Johnston; Alexis Laurent; Francesca Verones. 2020. "Quantification and valuation of ecosystem services in life cycle assessment: Application of the cascade framework to rice farming systems." Science of The Total Environment 747, no. : 141278.

Journal article
Published: 29 May 2020 in Science of The Total Environment
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Stringent lockdown measures implemented in Italy to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 are generating unprecedented economic impacts. However, the environmental consequences associated with the temporary shutdown and recovery of industrial and commercial activities are still not fully understood. Using the well-known carbon footprint (CF) indicator, this paper provides a comprehensive estimation of environmental effects due to the COVID-19 outbreak lockdown measures in Italy. Our aim was to quantify the CF associated with the consumption of energy by any economic activity and region in Italy during the lockdown, and then compare these environmental burdens with the CF calculated for analogous periods from 2015 to 2019 (~March and April). Complementarily, we also conducted a scenario analysis to estimate the post-lockdown CF impact in Italy. A consumption-based approach was applied according to the principles of the established Life Cycle Assessment method. The CF was therefore quantified as a sum of direct and indirect greenhouse gases (GHGs) released from domestically produced and imported energy metabolism flows, excluding the exports. Our findings indicate that the CF in the lockdown period is ~−20% lower than the mean CF calculated for the past. This means avoided GHGs in between ~5.6 and ~10.6 Mt CO2e. Results further suggest that a tendency occurs towards higher impact savings in the Northern regions, on average ~230 kt CO2e of GHGs avoided by province (against ~110–130 kt CO2e in central and Southern provinces). Not surprisingly, these are the utmost industrialized areas of Italy and have been the ones mostly affected by the outbreak. Despite our CF estimates are not free of uncertainties, our research offers quantitative insights to start understanding the magnitude generated by such an exceptional lockdown event in Italy on climate change, and to complement current scientific efforts investigating the relationships between air pollution and the spread of COVID-19.

ACS Style

Benedetto Rugani; Dario Caro. Impact of COVID-19 outbreak measures of lockdown on the Italian Carbon Footprint. Science of The Total Environment 2020, 737, 139806 -139806.

AMA Style

Benedetto Rugani, Dario Caro. Impact of COVID-19 outbreak measures of lockdown on the Italian Carbon Footprint. Science of The Total Environment. 2020; 737 ():139806-139806.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Benedetto Rugani; Dario Caro. 2020. "Impact of COVID-19 outbreak measures of lockdown on the Italian Carbon Footprint." Science of The Total Environment 737, no. : 139806-139806.

Short communication
Published: 12 March 2020 in Urban Forestry & Urban Greening
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Urban land covers affect the thermal characteristics of the city, such as the urban heat island (UHI) effect, potentially increasing energy demand to maintain comfortable indoor and outdoor temperatures. As the land patterns change, the capacity of the landscape to regulate the UHI can change. The aim of this paper is to explore how simulating land cover changes (LCC) may affect UHI using an ecosystem service matrix approach. A LCC model, illustrated in the case study of Lisbon, Portugal, was implemented to estimate the UHI effects over time starting from the modelling of land cover changes associated with the supply of local climate regulation service. Our results show that the capacity of urban landscape to mitigate the UHI effect has decreased since 1990, and will continue to decrease slightly until 2022 although more smoothly than between 1990 and 2000. This is because no substantial land cover changes have occurred after 2000 that required the transition between highest to lowest ecosystem service supplier landscapes. The proposed modelling approach may be refined and used to aiding the decision making process for urban planners in the placement of built structures and green spaces that have the capacity to regulate local climate.

ACS Style

Thomas Elliot; Javier Babí Almenar; Benedetto Rugani. Modelling the relationships between urban land cover change and local climate regulation to estimate urban heat island effect. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 2020, 50, 126650 .

AMA Style

Thomas Elliot, Javier Babí Almenar, Benedetto Rugani. Modelling the relationships between urban land cover change and local climate regulation to estimate urban heat island effect. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening. 2020; 50 ():126650.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Thomas Elliot; Javier Babí Almenar; Benedetto Rugani. 2020. "Modelling the relationships between urban land cover change and local climate regulation to estimate urban heat island effect." Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 50, no. : 126650.

Lcia of impacts on human health and ecosystems
Published: 11 February 2020 in The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment
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Purpose Assessing impacts of abiotic resource use has been a topic of persistent debate among life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) method developers and a source of confusion for life cycle assessment (LCA) practitioners considering the different interpretations of the safeguard subject for mineral resources and the resulting variety of LCIA methods to choose from. Based on the review and assessment of 27 existing LCIA methods, accomplished in the first part of this paper series (Sonderegger et al. 2020), this paper provides recommendations regarding the application-dependent use of existing methods and areas for future method development. Method Within the “global guidance for LCIA indicators and methods” project of the Life Cycle Initiative hosted by UN Environment, 62 members of the “task force mineral resources” representing different stakeholders discussed the strengths and limitations of existing LCIA methods and developed initial conclusions. These were used by a subgroup of eight members at the Pellston Workshop® held in Valencia, Spain, to derive recommendations on the application-dependent use and future development of impact assessment methods. Results and discussion First, the safeguard subject for mineral resources within the area of protection (AoP) natural resources was defined. Subsequently, seven key questions regarding the consequences of mineral resource use were formulated, grouped into “inside-out” related questions (i.e., current resource use leading to changes in opportunities for future users to use resources) and “outside-in” related questions (i.e., potential restrictions of resource availability for current resource users). Existing LCIA methods were assigned to these questions, and seven methods (ADPultimate reserves, SOPURR, LIME2endpoint, CEENE, ADPeconomic reserves, ESSENZ, and GeoPolRisk) are recommended for use in current LCA studies at different levels of recommendation. All 27 identified LCIA methods were tested on an LCA case study of an electric vehicle, and yielded divergent results due to their modeling of impact mechanisms that address different questions related to mineral resource use. Besides method-specific recommendations, we recommend that all methods increase the number of minerals covered, regularly update their characterization factors, and consider the inclusion of secondary resources and anthropogenic stocks. Furthermore, the concept of dissipative resource use should be defined and integrated in future method developments. Conclusion In an international consensus-finding process, the current challenges of assessing impacts of resource use in LCA have been addressed by defining the safeguard subject for mineral resources, formulating key questions related to this safeguard subject, recommending existing LCIA methods in relation to these questions, and highlighting areas for future method development.

ACS Style

Markus Berger; Thomas Sonderegger; Rodrigo Alvarenga; Vanessa Bach; Alexander Cimprich; Jo Dewulf; Rolf Frischknecht; Jeroen Guinée; Christoph Helbig; Tom Huppertz; Olivier Jolliet; Masaharu Motoshita; Stephen Northey; Claudia A. Peña; Benedetto Rugani; Abdelhadi Sahnoune; Dieuwertje Schrijvers; Rita Schulze; Guido Sonnemann; Alicia Valero; Bo P. Weidema; Steven B. Young. Mineral resources in life cycle impact assessment: part II – recommendations on application-dependent use of existing methods and on future method development needs. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 2020, 25, 798 -813.

AMA Style

Markus Berger, Thomas Sonderegger, Rodrigo Alvarenga, Vanessa Bach, Alexander Cimprich, Jo Dewulf, Rolf Frischknecht, Jeroen Guinée, Christoph Helbig, Tom Huppertz, Olivier Jolliet, Masaharu Motoshita, Stephen Northey, Claudia A. Peña, Benedetto Rugani, Abdelhadi Sahnoune, Dieuwertje Schrijvers, Rita Schulze, Guido Sonnemann, Alicia Valero, Bo P. Weidema, Steven B. Young. Mineral resources in life cycle impact assessment: part II – recommendations on application-dependent use of existing methods and on future method development needs. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 2020; 25 (4):798-813.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Markus Berger; Thomas Sonderegger; Rodrigo Alvarenga; Vanessa Bach; Alexander Cimprich; Jo Dewulf; Rolf Frischknecht; Jeroen Guinée; Christoph Helbig; Tom Huppertz; Olivier Jolliet; Masaharu Motoshita; Stephen Northey; Claudia A. Peña; Benedetto Rugani; Abdelhadi Sahnoune; Dieuwertje Schrijvers; Rita Schulze; Guido Sonnemann; Alicia Valero; Bo P. Weidema; Steven B. Young. 2020. "Mineral resources in life cycle impact assessment: part II – recommendations on application-dependent use of existing methods and on future method development needs." The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 25, no. 4: 798-813.

Review
Published: 04 February 2020 in The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment
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ACS Style

Thomas Sonderegger; Markus Berger; Rodrigo Alvarenga; Vanessa Bach; Alexander Cimprich; Jo Dewulf; Rolf Frischknecht; Jeroen Guinée; Christoph Helbig; Tom Huppertz; Olivier Jolliet; Masaharu Motoshita; Stephen Northey; Benedetto Rugani; Dieuwertje Schrijvers; Rita Schulze; Guido Sonnemann; Alicia Valero; Bo P. Weidema; Steven B. Young. Mineral resources in life cycle impact assessment—part I: a critical review of existing methods. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 2020, 25, 784 -797.

AMA Style

Thomas Sonderegger, Markus Berger, Rodrigo Alvarenga, Vanessa Bach, Alexander Cimprich, Jo Dewulf, Rolf Frischknecht, Jeroen Guinée, Christoph Helbig, Tom Huppertz, Olivier Jolliet, Masaharu Motoshita, Stephen Northey, Benedetto Rugani, Dieuwertje Schrijvers, Rita Schulze, Guido Sonnemann, Alicia Valero, Bo P. Weidema, Steven B. Young. Mineral resources in life cycle impact assessment—part I: a critical review of existing methods. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 2020; 25 (4):784-797.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Thomas Sonderegger; Markus Berger; Rodrigo Alvarenga; Vanessa Bach; Alexander Cimprich; Jo Dewulf; Rolf Frischknecht; Jeroen Guinée; Christoph Helbig; Tom Huppertz; Olivier Jolliet; Masaharu Motoshita; Stephen Northey; Benedetto Rugani; Dieuwertje Schrijvers; Rita Schulze; Guido Sonnemann; Alicia Valero; Bo P. Weidema; Steven B. Young. 2020. "Mineral resources in life cycle impact assessment—part I: a critical review of existing methods." The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 25, no. 4: 784-797.

Journal article
Published: 19 December 2019 in Forests
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Nowadays, great emphasis is placed on the relationship between forest and water because forests are considered as substantial sources of many water ecosystem services. The aim of this paper is to analyze the stakeholder opinions towards the relationship between forests and water and the potential development of water-related payments for ecosystem services (PES) schemes. The study is developed in the context of COST Action CA15206–PESFOR-W (Forests for Water) aimed at synthesizing current knowledge about the PES schemes across Europe. The stakeholder opinions were mapped out using a structured questionnaire consisting of 20 questions divided into four thematic sections. The data were collected through an online survey. The results showed opinions of 142 stakeholders from 23 countries, mainly from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean Basin. In order to analyze the collected data, the stakeholders were grouped in buyers, sellers, intermediaries, and knowledge providers. The survey results indicated that the most important category of water ecosystem services according to our sample of stakeholders is regulating services followed by provisioning services. Further findings pointed out the highest importance that shared values and direct changes in land management can have when designing water-related PES schemes. The role of public authorities and collective collaboration of different stakeholders, with emphasis on local and expert knowledge, are also identified as of crucial importance. The results show that stakeholder opinions can serve as a starting point when designing PES schemes.

ACS Style

Klára Báliková; Tereza Červená; Isabella De Meo; Rik De Vreese; Tuğba Deniz; Abdelmohssin El Mokaddem; Bekir Kayacan; Fadila Larabi; Zane Lībiete; Mariyana Lyubenova; Špela Pezdevšek Malovrh; Kristina Potočki; Oksana Pelyukh; Benedetto Rugani; Zuzana Sarvasova; Jaroslav Šálka; Mirjana Stevanov; Srdjan Stojnic; Vilém Jarský; Dijana Vuletić; Lyudmyla Zahvoyska; Alessandro Paletto. How Do Stakeholders Working on the Forest–Water Nexus Perceive Payments for Ecosystem Services? Forests 2019, 11, 12 .

AMA Style

Klára Báliková, Tereza Červená, Isabella De Meo, Rik De Vreese, Tuğba Deniz, Abdelmohssin El Mokaddem, Bekir Kayacan, Fadila Larabi, Zane Lībiete, Mariyana Lyubenova, Špela Pezdevšek Malovrh, Kristina Potočki, Oksana Pelyukh, Benedetto Rugani, Zuzana Sarvasova, Jaroslav Šálka, Mirjana Stevanov, Srdjan Stojnic, Vilém Jarský, Dijana Vuletić, Lyudmyla Zahvoyska, Alessandro Paletto. How Do Stakeholders Working on the Forest–Water Nexus Perceive Payments for Ecosystem Services? Forests. 2019; 11 (1):12.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Klára Báliková; Tereza Červená; Isabella De Meo; Rik De Vreese; Tuğba Deniz; Abdelmohssin El Mokaddem; Bekir Kayacan; Fadila Larabi; Zane Lībiete; Mariyana Lyubenova; Špela Pezdevšek Malovrh; Kristina Potočki; Oksana Pelyukh; Benedetto Rugani; Zuzana Sarvasova; Jaroslav Šálka; Mirjana Stevanov; Srdjan Stojnic; Vilém Jarský; Dijana Vuletić; Lyudmyla Zahvoyska; Alessandro Paletto. 2019. "How Do Stakeholders Working on the Forest–Water Nexus Perceive Payments for Ecosystem Services?" Forests 11, no. 1: 12.

Journal article
Published: 01 November 2019 in Science of The Total Environment
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In order to consider the effects of land use, and the land cover changes it causes, on ecosystem services in life cycle assessment (LCA), a new methodology is proposed and applied to calculate midpoint and endpoint characterization factors. To do this, a cause-effect chain was established in line with conceptual models of ecosystem services to describe the impacts of land use and related land cover changes. A high-resolution, spatially explicit and temporally dynamic modeling framework that integrates land use and ecosystem services models was developed and used as an impact characterization model to simulate that cause-effect chain. Characterization factors (CFs) were calculated and regionalized at the scales of Luxembourg and its municipalities, taken as a case to show the advantages of the modeling approach. More specifically, the calculated CFs enable the impact assessment of six land cover types on six ecosystem functions and two final ecosystem services. A mapping and comparison exercise of these CFs allowed us to identify spatial trade-offs and synergies between ecosystem services due to possible land cover changes. Ultimately, the proposed methodology can offer a solution to overcome a number of methodological limitations that still exist in the characterization of impacts on ecosystem services in LCA, implying a rethinking of the modeling of land use in life cycle inventory.

ACS Style

Benoit Othoniel; Benedetto Rugani; Reinout Heijungs; Marco Beyer; Miriam Machwitz; Pim Post. An improved life cycle impact assessment principle for assessing the impact of land use on ecosystem services. Science of The Total Environment 2019, 693, 133374 .

AMA Style

Benoit Othoniel, Benedetto Rugani, Reinout Heijungs, Marco Beyer, Miriam Machwitz, Pim Post. An improved life cycle impact assessment principle for assessing the impact of land use on ecosystem services. Science of The Total Environment. 2019; 693 ():133374.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Benoit Othoniel; Benedetto Rugani; Reinout Heijungs; Marco Beyer; Miriam Machwitz; Pim Post. 2019. "An improved life cycle impact assessment principle for assessing the impact of land use on ecosystem services." Science of The Total Environment 693, no. : 133374.

Journal article
Published: 05 July 2019 in Science of The Total Environment
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The assessment of ecosystem services (ES) is covered in a fragmented manner by environmental decision support tools that provide information about the potential environmental impacts of supply chains and their products, such as the well-known Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. Within the flagship project of the Life Cycle Initiative (hosted by UN Environment), aiming at global guidance for life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) indicators, a dedicated subtask force was constituted to consolidate the evaluation of ES in LCA. As one of the outcomes of this subtask force, this paper describes the progress towards consensus building in the LCA domain concerning the assessment of anthropogenic impacts on ecosystems and their associated services for human well-being. To this end, the traditional LCIA structure, which represents the cause-effect chain from stressor to impacts and damages, is re-casted and expanded using the lens of the ES ‘cascade model’. This links changes in ecosystem structure and function to changes in human well-being, while LCIA links the effect of changes on ecosystems due to human impacts (e.g. land use change, eutrophication, freshwater depletion) to the increase or decrease in the quality and/or quantity of supplied ES. The proposed cascade modelling framework complements traditional LCIA with information about the externalities associated with the supply and demand of ES, for which the overall cost-benefit result might be either negative (i.e. detrimental impact on the ES provision) or positive (i.e. increase of ES provision). In so doing, the framework introduces into traditional LCIA the notion of “benefit” (in the form of ES supply flows and ecosystems' capacity to generate services) which balances the quantified environmental intervention flows and related impacts (in the form of ES demands) that are typically considered in LCA. Recommendations are eventually provided to further address current gaps in the analysis of ES within the LCA methodology.

ACS Style

Benedetto Rugani; Danielle Maia de Souza; Bo P. Weidema; Jane Bare; Bhavik Bakshi; Blane Grann; John M. Johnston; Ana Laura Raymundo Pavan; Xinyu Liu; Alexis Laurent; Francesca Verones. Towards integrating the ecosystem services cascade framework within the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) cause-effect methodology. Science of The Total Environment 2019, 690, 1284 -1298.

AMA Style

Benedetto Rugani, Danielle Maia de Souza, Bo P. Weidema, Jane Bare, Bhavik Bakshi, Blane Grann, John M. Johnston, Ana Laura Raymundo Pavan, Xinyu Liu, Alexis Laurent, Francesca Verones. Towards integrating the ecosystem services cascade framework within the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) cause-effect methodology. Science of The Total Environment. 2019; 690 ():1284-1298.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Benedetto Rugani; Danielle Maia de Souza; Bo P. Weidema; Jane Bare; Bhavik Bakshi; Blane Grann; John M. Johnston; Ana Laura Raymundo Pavan; Xinyu Liu; Alexis Laurent; Francesca Verones. 2019. "Towards integrating the ecosystem services cascade framework within the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) cause-effect methodology." Science of The Total Environment 690, no. : 1284-1298.

Review
Published: 14 May 2019 in Sustainability
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Urbanisation poses new and complex sustainability challenges. Socio-economic activities drive material and energy flows in cities that influence the health of ecosystems inside and outside the urban system. Recent studies suggest that these flows, under the urban metabolism (UM) metaphor, can be extended to encompass the assessment of urban ecosystem services (UES). Advancing UM approaches to assess UES may be a valuable solution to these arising sustainability challenges, which can support urban planning decisions. This paper critically reviews UM literature related to the UES concept and identifies approaches that may allow or improve the assessment of UES within UM frameworks. We selected from the UM literature 42 studies that encompass UES aspects, and analysed them on the following key investigation themes: temporal information, spatial information, system boundary aspects and cross-scale indicators. The analysis showed that UES are rarely acknowledged in UM literature, and that existing UM approaches have limited capacity to capture the complexity of spatio-temporal and multi-scale information underpinning UES, which has hampered the implementation of operational decision support systems so far. We use these results to identify and illustrate pathways towards a UM-UES modelling approach. Our review suggests that cause–effect dynamics should be integrated with the UM framework, based on spatially-specific social, economic and ecological data. System dynamics can inform on the causal relationships underpinning UES in cities and, therefore, can help moving towards a knowledge base tool to support urban planners in addressing urban challenges.

ACS Style

Thomas Elliot; Javier Babí Almenar; Samuel Niza; Vânia Proença; Benedetto Rugani. Pathways to Modelling Ecosystem Services within an Urban Metabolism Framework. Sustainability 2019, 11, 2766 .

AMA Style

Thomas Elliot, Javier Babí Almenar, Samuel Niza, Vânia Proença, Benedetto Rugani. Pathways to Modelling Ecosystem Services within an Urban Metabolism Framework. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (10):2766.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Thomas Elliot; Javier Babí Almenar; Samuel Niza; Vânia Proença; Benedetto Rugani. 2019. "Pathways to Modelling Ecosystem Services within an Urban Metabolism Framework." Sustainability 11, no. 10: 2766.

Perspective
Published: 28 October 2018 in Landscape Ecology
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The study of ecosystem services has extended its influence into spatial planning and landscape ecology, the integration of which can offer an opportunity to enhance the saliency, credibility, and legitimacy of landscape ecology in spatial planning issues. This paper presents a conceptual framework suitable for spatial planning in human dominated environments supported by landscape ecological thinking. It seeks to facilitate the integration of ecosystem services into current practice, including landscape metrics as suitable indicators. A literature review supported the revision of existing open questions pertaining to ecosystem services as well as their integration into landscape ecology and spatial planning. A posterior reflection of the current state-of-the-art was then used as a basis for developing the spatial planning conceptual framework. The framework is articulated around four phases (characterisation, assessment, design, and monitoring) and three concepts (character, service, and value). It advocates integration of public participation, consideration of “landscape services”, the inclusion of ecosystem disservices, and the use of landscape metrics for qualitative assessment of services. As a result, the framework looks to enhance spatial planning practice by providing: (i) a better consideration of landscape configuration in the supply of services (ii) the integration of anthropogenic services with ecosystem services; (iii) the consideration of costs derived from ecosystems (e.g. disservices); and (iv) an aid to the understanding of ecosystem services terminology for spatial planning professionals and decision makers.

ACS Style

Javier Babí Almenar; Benedetto Rugani; Davide Geneletti; Tim Brewer. Integration of ecosystem services into a conceptual spatial planning framework based on a landscape ecology perspective. Landscape Ecology 2018, 33, 2047 -2059.

AMA Style

Javier Babí Almenar, Benedetto Rugani, Davide Geneletti, Tim Brewer. Integration of ecosystem services into a conceptual spatial planning framework based on a landscape ecology perspective. Landscape Ecology. 2018; 33 (12):2047-2059.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Javier Babí Almenar; Benedetto Rugani; Davide Geneletti; Tim Brewer. 2018. "Integration of ecosystem services into a conceptual spatial planning framework based on a landscape ecology perspective." Landscape Ecology 33, no. 12: 2047-2059.

Review article
Published: 07 September 2018 in Ecosystem Services
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Integrated Environmental Models (IEMs) incorporating ecosystem services (ES) can be useful tools to support the decision-making. However, their successful application strongly depends upon the confidence decision-makers can place in their outputs. Uncertainty analysis (UA), including uncertainty location, identification, characterization, treatment and communication to decision-makers, can increase their confidence in the used model. To support the use of UA in practice we first focus on the purpose, concepts and methods underpinning UA in environmental modelling. As a main contribution, we then review existing UA frameworks and their coverage, before reviewing the current practice of performing UA for a set of 25 IEM tools. Based on our review we derive and discuss four perceived challenges and gaps whose significance may vary in different contexts: (1) the lack of consensus on terminologies for uncertainty locations; (2) characterization of uncertainty locations beyond variables; (3) treatment of heterogeneous uncertainty; and (4) the lack of a practical framework toward uncertainty communication. We suggest some steps forward for each of these challenges aiming at facilitating the application of UA to IEMs.

ACS Style

Paul Baustert; Benoit Othoniel; Benedetto Rugani; Ulrich Leopold. Uncertainty analysis in integrated environmental models for ecosystem service assessments: Frameworks, challenges and gaps. Ecosystem Services 2018, 33, 110 -123.

AMA Style

Paul Baustert, Benoit Othoniel, Benedetto Rugani, Ulrich Leopold. Uncertainty analysis in integrated environmental models for ecosystem service assessments: Frameworks, challenges and gaps. Ecosystem Services. 2018; 33 ():110-123.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Paul Baustert; Benoit Othoniel; Benedetto Rugani; Ulrich Leopold. 2018. "Uncertainty analysis in integrated environmental models for ecosystem service assessments: Frameworks, challenges and gaps." Ecosystem Services 33, no. : 110-123.

Journal article
Published: 14 August 2018 in Technological Forecasting and Social Change
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Ambitious energy policies have been established in Luxembourg, which has one of the highest Gross Domestic Products (GDP) per capita in the world but still much depends on imported fuels and electricity. Born as an alternative to GDP, the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW) is applied in this study as a framework to predict socio-economic and environmental performances of Luxembourg in relation to energy policy scenarios. The ISEW for the 1960–2010 timeframe is firstly calculated and compared with GDP in order to disclose the impact of factors differently considered by the two indices, e.g. consumption trends, equity, air pollution, carbon emissions, consumer durables expenditures, investments, etc. A forecasting model to predict the ISEW trend until 2030 is then proposed to assess the relevance of national energy policies. The analysis of historical time-series shows that the ISEW grows over time at much slower pace than GDP, mostly due to increases in defensive expenditures. This gap may decline in the future by implementing those energy policies, providing a slight but tangible recovery of the economic welfare over the next 10–15 years. Several insights are ultimately given on the benefits and drawbacks of using the ISEW framework to assess long-term sustainability issues.

ACS Style

Benedetto Rugani; Antonino Marvuglia; Federico Maria Pulselli. Predicting Sustainable Economic Welfare – Analysis and perspectives for Luxembourg based on energy policy scenarios. Technological Forecasting and Social Change 2018, 137, 288 -303.

AMA Style

Benedetto Rugani, Antonino Marvuglia, Federico Maria Pulselli. Predicting Sustainable Economic Welfare – Analysis and perspectives for Luxembourg based on energy policy scenarios. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 2018; 137 ():288-303.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Benedetto Rugani; Antonino Marvuglia; Federico Maria Pulselli. 2018. "Predicting Sustainable Economic Welfare – Analysis and perspectives for Luxembourg based on energy policy scenarios." Technological Forecasting and Social Change 137, no. : 288-303.

Chapter
Published: 04 July 2018 in Designing Sustainable Technologies, Products and Policies
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Access to data on built environment databases makes nowadays possible generating models of the urban spaces to facilitate visualization and analysis of information and synthesize it in sustainability indicators to support urban planning decisions. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) can greatly benefit from this wealth of potentially available information. The use of LCA data in models developed in Building Information Modelling (BIM) platforms is likely to facilitate the implementation of quantitative environmental assessment in the construction field and their extension, from the building to the city level. Within sustainable urban planning and management, also Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) play a potentially important role, although benefits, co-benefits and costs associated with NBS projects still remain not sufficiently understood. All those aspects have been discussed via the presentation of case studies, proofs of concept and experts’ visions within this session.

ACS Style

Antonino Marvuglia; Benedetto Rugani; Germain Adell. LCM at the Urban Scale: BIM and Nature Based Solutions. Designing Sustainable Technologies, Products and Policies 2018, 261 -267.

AMA Style

Antonino Marvuglia, Benedetto Rugani, Germain Adell. LCM at the Urban Scale: BIM and Nature Based Solutions. Designing Sustainable Technologies, Products and Policies. 2018; ():261-267.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Antonino Marvuglia; Benedetto Rugani; Germain Adell. 2018. "LCM at the Urban Scale: BIM and Nature Based Solutions." Designing Sustainable Technologies, Products and Policies , no. : 261-267.

Journal article
Published: 01 April 2018 in Ecosystem Services
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ACS Style

Benedetto Rugani; Joachim Maes; Benoit Othoniel; Federico M. Pulselli; Thomas Schaubroeck; Guy Ziv. Human-nature nexuses: Broadening knowledge on integrated biosphere-technosphere modelling to advance the assessment of ecosystem services. Ecosystem Services 2018, 30, 193 -199.

AMA Style

Benedetto Rugani, Joachim Maes, Benoit Othoniel, Federico M. Pulselli, Thomas Schaubroeck, Guy Ziv. Human-nature nexuses: Broadening knowledge on integrated biosphere-technosphere modelling to advance the assessment of ecosystem services. Ecosystem Services. 2018; 30 ():193-199.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Benedetto Rugani; Joachim Maes; Benoit Othoniel; Federico M. Pulselli; Thomas Schaubroeck; Guy Ziv. 2018. "Human-nature nexuses: Broadening knowledge on integrated biosphere-technosphere modelling to advance the assessment of ecosystem services." Ecosystem Services 30, no. : 193-199.

Journal article
Published: 01 February 2018 in Ecological Indicators
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Assessing biodiversity from field-based data is difficult for a number of practical reasons: (i) establishing the total number of sampling units to be investigated and the sampling design (e.g. systematic, random, stratified) can be difficult; (ii) the choice of the sampling design can affect the results; and (iii) defining the focal population of interest can be challenging. Satellite remote sensing is one of the most cost-effective and comprehensive approaches to identify biodiversity hotspots and predict changes in species composition. This is because, in contrast to field-based methods, it allows for complete spatial coverages of the Earth's surface under study over a short period of time. Furthermore, satellite remote sensing provides repeated measures, thus making it possible to study temporal changes in biodiversity. While taxonomic diversity measures have long been established, problems arising from abundance related measures have not been yet disentangled. Moreover, little has been done to account for functional diversity besides taxonomic diversity measures. The aim of this manuscript is to propose robust measures of remotely sensed heterogeneity to perform exploratory analysis for the detection of hotspots of taxonomic and functional diversity of plant species

ACS Style

Duccio Rocchini; Giovanni Bacaro; Gherardo Chirici; Daniele Da Re; Hannes Feilhauer; Giles Foody; Marta Galluzzi; Carol X. Garzon-Lopez; Thomas W. Gillespie; Kate S. He; Jonathan Lenoir; Matteo Marcantonio; Harini Nagendra; Carlo Ricotta; Edvinas Rommel; Sebastian Schmidtlein; Andrew Skidmore; Ruben Van De Kerchove; Martin Wegmann; Benedetto Rugani. Remotely sensed spatial heterogeneity as an exploratory tool for taxonomic and functional diversity study. Ecological Indicators 2018, 85, 983 -990.

AMA Style

Duccio Rocchini, Giovanni Bacaro, Gherardo Chirici, Daniele Da Re, Hannes Feilhauer, Giles Foody, Marta Galluzzi, Carol X. Garzon-Lopez, Thomas W. Gillespie, Kate S. He, Jonathan Lenoir, Matteo Marcantonio, Harini Nagendra, Carlo Ricotta, Edvinas Rommel, Sebastian Schmidtlein, Andrew Skidmore, Ruben Van De Kerchove, Martin Wegmann, Benedetto Rugani. Remotely sensed spatial heterogeneity as an exploratory tool for taxonomic and functional diversity study. Ecological Indicators. 2018; 85 ():983-990.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Duccio Rocchini; Giovanni Bacaro; Gherardo Chirici; Daniele Da Re; Hannes Feilhauer; Giles Foody; Marta Galluzzi; Carol X. Garzon-Lopez; Thomas W. Gillespie; Kate S. He; Jonathan Lenoir; Matteo Marcantonio; Harini Nagendra; Carlo Ricotta; Edvinas Rommel; Sebastian Schmidtlein; Andrew Skidmore; Ruben Van De Kerchove; Martin Wegmann; Benedetto Rugani. 2018. "Remotely sensed spatial heterogeneity as an exploratory tool for taxonomic and functional diversity study." Ecological Indicators 85, no. : 983-990.

Journal article
Published: 01 January 2018 in Procedia CIRP
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Coupling of life-cycle thinking with urban metabolism (UM) has the potential to improve sustainable urban planning. Current urban metabolism models are largely ‘black-box’ methods which do not reveal the non-linearity of feedback loops and complex internal dynamics of urban systems. The integration of system dynamics (SD) with UM based on a life-cycle thinking approach can provide built environment professionals (e.g. town planners, civil engineers, architects) with a ‘transparent-box’ solution for assessing the potential of urban projects, plans, and their implementation. This paper describes the development of a method that integrates input-output (IO) table flows with SD modelling to improve the completeness of UM assessments. This modelling framework can also allow for a ‘nested’ multi-region assessment which takes into account sustainability burdens consequent to urban system changes occurring elsewhere in the national and/or global economy. Pros and cons of this proposal are showcased by the illustration of a model for Lisbon.

ACS Style

Thomas Elliot; Benedetto Rugani; Javier Babí Almenar; Samuel Niza. A Proposal to Integrate System Dynamics and Carbon Metabolism for Urban Planning. Procedia CIRP 2018, 69, 78 -82.

AMA Style

Thomas Elliot, Benedetto Rugani, Javier Babí Almenar, Samuel Niza. A Proposal to Integrate System Dynamics and Carbon Metabolism for Urban Planning. Procedia CIRP. 2018; 69 ():78-82.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Thomas Elliot; Benedetto Rugani; Javier Babí Almenar; Samuel Niza. 2018. "A Proposal to Integrate System Dynamics and Carbon Metabolism for Urban Planning." Procedia CIRP 69, no. : 78-82.

Review
Published: 01 October 2017 in Journal of Cleaner Production
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ACS Style

Didier Beloin-Saint-Pierre; Benedetto Rugani; Sébastien Lasvaux; Adélaïde Mailhac; Emil Popovici; Galdric Sibiude; Enrico Benetto; Nicoleta Schiopu. A review of urban metabolism studies to identify key methodological choices for future harmonization and implementation. Journal of Cleaner Production 2017, 163, S223 -S240.

AMA Style

Didier Beloin-Saint-Pierre, Benedetto Rugani, Sébastien Lasvaux, Adélaïde Mailhac, Emil Popovici, Galdric Sibiude, Enrico Benetto, Nicoleta Schiopu. A review of urban metabolism studies to identify key methodological choices for future harmonization and implementation. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2017; 163 ():S223-S240.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Didier Beloin-Saint-Pierre; Benedetto Rugani; Sébastien Lasvaux; Adélaïde Mailhac; Emil Popovici; Galdric Sibiude; Enrico Benetto; Nicoleta Schiopu. 2017. "A review of urban metabolism studies to identify key methodological choices for future harmonization and implementation." Journal of Cleaner Production 163, no. : S223-S240.

Journal article
Published: 31 August 2017 in Journal of Industrial Ecology
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The main goal of a sustainability assessment is to evaluate the impact of systems (e.g., human or natural ones) on areas sought to be protected and maintained over time (e.g., human well-being, ecosystems, etc.). These are called areas of protection (AoPs). Life cycle sustainability assessment is a type of sustainability assessment that focuses on the impact of industrial production systems on AoPs. To further this field, three conceptual challenges should be tackled: (1) framing which areas should primarily be sustained and hence on which the impact should be assessed, that is, (re)defining of the AoPs; (2) accounting for the interconnectedness among AoPs (e.g., influence of ecosystems on human well-being); and (3) the assessment of both benefit and damage to the AoPs (e.g., benefit of industrial products and damage of their production). The aim of this study is to provide a first roadmap to address these three issues and to suggest potential solutions. Regarding the first issue, our conclusion is that human well-being, encompassing health and happiness, is the primary AoP. This is based on the argument that the sustainability concept is inherently anthropocentric. In this regard, other entities such as ecosystems as a whole are sustained in light of human well-being. The well-being adjusted life years, interpreted as years of perfect well-being, is pinpointed as the most promising holistic indicator. To conduct a respective sustainability assessment that tackles the remaining two issues—integrated system modeling of the earth and its support to well-being—is argued as the most suitable approach.

ACS Style

Thomas Schaubroeck; Benedetto Rugani. A Revision of What Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment Should Entail: Towards Modeling the Net Impact on Human Well-Being. Journal of Industrial Ecology 2017, 21, 1464 -1477.

AMA Style

Thomas Schaubroeck, Benedetto Rugani. A Revision of What Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment Should Entail: Towards Modeling the Net Impact on Human Well-Being. Journal of Industrial Ecology. 2017; 21 (6):1464-1477.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Thomas Schaubroeck; Benedetto Rugani. 2017. "A Revision of What Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment Should Entail: Towards Modeling the Net Impact on Human Well-Being." Journal of Industrial Ecology 21, no. 6: 1464-1477.