Abstract
Recently, applications of soil and water bioengineering constructions using living plants and supplementary materials have become increasingly popular. Besides technical effects, soil and water bioengineering has the advantage of additionally taking into consideration ecological values and the values of landscape aesthetics. When implementing soil and water bioengineering structures, suitable plants must be selected, and the structures must be given a dimension taking into account potential impact loads. A consideration of energy flows and the potential negative impact of construction in terms of energy and greenhouse gas balance has been neglected until now. The current study closes this gap of knowledge by introducing a method for detecting the possible negative effects of installing soil and water bioengineering measures. For this purpose, an environmental life cycle assessment model has been applied. The impact categories global warming potential and cumulative energy demand are used in this paper to describe the type of impacts which a bioengineering construction site causes. Additionally, the water bioengineering measure is contrasted with a conventional civil engineering structure. The results determine that the bioengineering alternative performs slightly better, in terms of energy demand and global warming potential, than the conventional measure. The most relevant factor is shown to be the impact of the running machines at the water bioengineering construction site. Finally, an integral ecological assessment model for applications of soil and water bioengineering structures should point out the potential negative effects caused during installation and, furthermore, integrate the assessment of potential positive effects due to the development of living plants in the use stage of the structures.
Highlights
The relationship between soil/water bioengineering and ecologyThere has recently been a trend towards more sustainable construction techniques
There is a proposal by Giupponi et al for assessing the ecological success of soil and water bioengineering (SWBE) structures, which applies the index of ecological success (IES)
On the landside, some trees had to be cut down, and the river bank had to be adapted to set up the construction site and implement the water bioengineering structures
Summary
The relationship between soil/water bioengineering and ecologyThere has recently been a trend towards more sustainable construction techniques. There is a proposal by Giupponi et al for assessing the ecological success of SWBE structures, which applies the index of ecological success (IES) This index is based on a phytosociological analysis of vegetation [14]. Another approach for a sustainability assessment of eco-engineering measures is presented by Mickovski and Thomson [15]. They establish some key performance indicators reflective of both engineering and sustainability requirements for eco-engineering in the context of stability, active use of vegetation, and long-term sustainability. A method for assessing SWBE structures in terms of their potential environmental impacts (life cycle assessment, LCA), taking into consideration the carbon balance or energy demand, is still not applied by any other authors at present
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