Environmental Trade-offs Research Articles

3D Concrete Printing Sustainability: A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Four Construction Method Scenarios

Three-dimensional concrete printing (3DCP) has become recognized as a possible alternative to conventional concrete construction, mainly due to its potential to increase productivity and reduce the environmental impact of the construction industry. Despite its up-and-coming popularity within the field, limited research has quantitively investigated the environmental benefits that 3DCP brings. This paper investigates the environmental tradeoff of utilizing 3DCP over conventional construction by conducting a detailed cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) study of four case-scenarios (conventional concrete construction, 3DCP with reinforcement elements, 3DCP without any reinforcement, and 3DCP without any reinforcement and utilizing a lightweight printable concrete material.) These case-scenarios were carefully selected to quantify the environmental impact of 3DCP while emphasizing the importance of the material composition. The LCA was conducted for a 1 m2 external load-bearing wall in all four scenarios. The LCA analysis showed that 3DCP significantly reduced environmental effects in terms of global warming potential (GWP), acidification potential (AP), eutrophication potential (EP), smog formation potential (SFP), and fossil fuel depletion (FFD), as compared to conventional construction methods. However, these environmental improvements diminished when 3DCP was coupled with the use of conventional reinforcement elements. Moreover, the use of an alternative concrete mixture in 3DCP showed a further decrease in the GWP, AP, EP, and FFD impact. Ultimately, the findings in this paper support the advantages of 3DCP technology and recommend the investigation of the development of (i) sustainable printable concrete materials and (ii) novel reinforcement techniques that are suitable for 3DCP rather than adopting conventional reinforcement techniques.

Does biochar improve all soil ecosystem services?

AbstractBiochar is considered to sequester C and deliver other soil ecosystem services, but an overview that synthesizes the current knowledge of biochar implications on all essential soil ecosystem services is difficult to find in the ample biochar literature. Most previous research and review articles on this topic focused on a single ecosystem service and did not integrate all essential soil ecosystem services. This overview paper (1) synthesizes the impacts of biochar on water and wind erosion, C sequestration, soil water, nutrient leaching, soil fertility, crop yields, and other soil ecosystem services based on published literature and (2) highlights remaining research areas. Literature indicates that, in addition to sequestering C, biochar can reduce N2O emissions, nitrate leaching, and runoff; increase soil microbial biomass, plant available water, and crop yields (particularly in tropical regions), and CO2 emissions; and have small or no effects on water and wind erosion. Biochar benefits can be in this order: C sequestration > N2O emissions > Nitrate leaching > Available water > Soil biology > Soil fertility > Crop yields > Runoff. However, literature also indicates that biochar does not always improve all ecosystem services. Its benefits depend on biochar feedstock, pyrolysis temperature, application rate, biochar properties, soil properties, climate, and other factors. For example, biochar can enhance crop yields more in degraded and low fertility soils than in highly fertile and fine‐textured soils. Long‐term (>3 years) field‐scale studies under different soil types, management conditions, and climates are needed for a determination of optimum levels of application, comprehensive life‐cycle analysis, and assessment of agronomic and environmental tradeoffs. Overall, biochar can improve most soil ecosystem services, but the extent of such improvement is highly dependent on biochar properties and soil and climatic conditions.

Life cycle assessment: Blazing a trail for bioresources management

Abstract The life cycle assessment (LCA) is a well-established tool that has been used to provide data-driven analysis of environmental performances. LCA offers insights via selecting appropriate feedstocks, suitable technology, energy and environmental trade-off to be considered during the policy designing phase. In the present review, LCA analysis of each biomass based biorefinery and its impact assessment has been elaborated. The LCA literature clearly shows that transportation and manufacturing contribute majorly (up to 92.19%) to energy consumption and also the major global warming potential (GWP) was contributed by the electricity (86%) consumed by the biorefinery industry. Thus, utilizing greener energy sources such as hydroelectricity or bioelectricity for energy and transportation needs can help in minimizing the environmental impacts. Further, development of integrated biorefineries can significantly decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 83% as compared to petroleum fuels and can fulfill the requirements for renewable fuel standards (RFS). The generation of multiple products at a single unit can help in adjusting the potential trade-offs and promoting environmentally beneficial processes during the designing phase for future refinery and energy systems. LCA is also a rational tool towards designing process blueprint for bioresources management through multi-products integrated biorefineries. It can be expanded further to cover the techno-economic, social, and health impacts in addition to environmental impacts (integrated sustainability assessment) for future integrated biorefineries and policy decisions.

Material-versus energy-related impacts: Analysing environmental trade-offs in building retrofit scenarios in the Netherlands

The construction sector is responsible for a substantial share of adverse environmental impacts from materials usage, waste generation, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, the construction sector is a major creator of economic and societal value. Retrofitting existing residential buildings can contribute to the achievement of policy goals in building energy efficiency and reduction of energy use. Effects of retrofit activity pertain to both operational energy impacts and material-based impacts. To select effective retrofit strategies, both types of impact need to be taken into consideration, and trade-off effects examined. This study compares environmental impacts of different retrofit scenarios for three residential building archetypes in the Netherlands. Collectively, these archetypes represent 80% of the current Dutch residential building stock. A total of twenty scenarios are defined and analysed using process-based Life Cycle Assessment. Each scenario represents a unique combination of building archetype, construction period, insulation measures, and installations-based refurbishments. The results of the analysis show that under current Dutch energy mix conditions, energy-related impacts are more significant than material-based impacts. The analysis also shows that retrofit measures targeting replacement of installations must tackle both heating and electricity-generation in order to be effective. Improving insulation contributes to a significant reduction of environmental impacts in all retrofit scenarios, and can be considered a relatively low-cost, “no regret” element of any retrofit strategy. Sensitivity analyses show that the balance between operational energy impacts and materials-related impacts shifts if and when the energy mix transitions to a more sustainable composition. This finding highlights the complex dynamic facing decision-makers, researchers and practitioners: retrofit strategies that appear effective today may become less advantageous as framework conditions shift. Retrofitting leads to shifts in environmental impacts between impact categories. These shifts need to be factored into policy and decision making to avoid the risk of beneficial environmental impacts in terms of residential buildings leading to adverse impacts in other policy domains.

Estimating Changes in Habitat Quality through Land-Use Predictions: Case Study of Roe Deer (Capreolus pygargus tianschanicus) in Jeju Island

This study predicts future land-use changes and the resulting changes in habitat quality, suggesting a method for establishing land-use management to ensure sustainable wildlife habitats. The conservation effects were verified in terms of wild animal habitat quality according to the designation of protected areas. Land-use change until 2050 was predicted using the Dyna-Conversion of Land Use Change and its effects (Dyna-CLUE) model for Jeju Island, Korea, and the change in the quality of roe deer habitats was predicted using the Integrated Valuation and Environmental Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model. Results indicate that, compared to 2030, urbanized area increased by 42.55 km2, farmland decreased by 81.36 km2, and natural area increased by 38.82 km2 by 2050. The average habitat quality on Jeju Island was predicted to decrease from 0.306 in 2030 to 0.303 in 2050. The average habitat quality ranged from 0.477 in 2030 to 0.476 in 2050 in protected areas and 0.281 in 2030 to 0.278 in 2050 outside protected areas. Habitat quality in protected areas was relatively high, and its reduction was limited. Areas with lower habitat quality need approaches such as expanding greenery and improving its quality. By establishing appropriate land-use plans by predicting habitat quality, wildlife habitats can be better maintained and protected, which is a primary goal of green infrastructure.

Does oil palm certification create trade-offs between environment and development in Indonesia?

Environmental and social problems triggered by rapid palm oil expansion in the tropics have spurred the proliferation of sustainability certification systems such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). While the RSPO aims to improve the impact of oil palm production on people and environments, its effect on local development, environmental quality, and, especially, potential trade-offs between these outcomes remain unclear. Here, we evaluate whether RSPO certification of large-scale industrial concessions has promoted village development and supported environmental quality in Indonesia, the top global palm oil producer. Using a panel dataset with observations from 11 000 villages in Kalimantan and Sumatra from 2003 to 2014, we apply rigorous quasi-experimental methods to quantify the RSPO’s impacts on village development and environmental outcomes. In the short-run, RSPO contributed to environmental conservation, but had limited development outcomes. On average, relative to villages with non-certified concessions, RSPO certification reduced deforestation and protected primary forests in Sumatra and lowered the incidence of village-reported land pollution in Kalimantan. RSPO certification also increased the number of private educational facilities in Kalimantan, but had no statistically significant impacts on other development indicators. However, the trade-offs and complementarities between conservation and development vary by slope, a proxy for ecosystem fragility and oil palm profitability. On gentler slopes, we generally find complementarities between conservation and development outcomes. In Kalimantan, certification increased the number of private educational facilities and reduced deforestation and the incidence of land pollution on slopes < 2°. In Sumatra, certification retained more primary forests, decreased deforestation and the incidence of water pollution on slopes < 1°, along with a decrease in population density. Higher slopes in both locations were associated with environment and development trade-offs. We highlight the need to better understand the mechanisms behind the impacts of RSPO and emphasized how the outcomes of certification depend on the communities’ bargaining power and the profitability of the land for oil palm production. Thus, we provide insights into understanding these mechanisms behind the impacts of RSPO, which is a prerequisite for improving the design of certification systems and their impacts on the ground.

Carbon sequestration benefits of the grain for Green Program in the hilly red soil region of southern China

Soil erosion disturbs not only the global carbon cycle, but it is a complex environmental problem. Revegetation could reduce carbon emission by controlling soil erosion and increase carbon sequestration and accumulation by fixing carbon in vegetation and soil. The Grain for Green Program (GFGP) of China is the largest ecological restoration program in the world closely related to land-use/land-cover change (LUCC). Systematically assessing the carbon sequestration benefit of GFGP is crucial for a better understanding of the effects of implementing GFGP and providing reasonable vegetation management. Therefore, we selected the hilly red soil region (HRSR) of southern China as a study area, which is one of the main ecologically vulnerable areas in China. We assessed the carbon sequestration in the GFGP area of the HRSR using the InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs) model based on land-use/land-cover datasets during 2000–2015. Our results show that implementing GFGP is conducive to the enhancement of carbon sequestration services. Total carbon sequestration showed an increasing trend at a rate of 15.43% from 2000 to 2015. The most significant change mainly happened in Hunan Province with the shortest implementation time. The carbon sequestration of each carbon pool (namely aboveground biomass, belowground biomass, soil, and dead organic matter) also increased slightly. Additionally, for carbon sequestration, unused land converted to forest land is the most effective LUCC. This study can provide scientific support for the management and implementation of GFGP in the HRSR of China.

Bridging global socioeconomic scenarios with policy adaptations to examine energy-water tradeoffs

Scenarios are commonly used to evaluate the environmental implications of future alternative energy pathways - they provide a benchmark for policy-makers to evaluate social, economic or environmental tradeoffs of various policies and their benefits to society. However, scenarios may leave policy-makers incognizant of potential technological hurdles, economic costs, or unforeseen environmental consequences of energy pathways, prior to venturing into long-term, binding decisions. Herein, we present a framework to bridge global socioeconomic scenarios with in situ energy policy assumptions to ensure technological alternatives can be evaluated and compared relative to realistic techno-economic constraints, environmental tradeoffs, and potential vulnerabilities arising from climate stress. We integrate downscaled Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) with prospective Life Cycle Assessment as a framework to understand the technical specifications, i.e. raw materials, energy inputs, and environmental impacts, of alternative energy policy assumptions. We apply our integrated framework to understand the technological implications, particularly greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption, of future energy policies surrounding the practice of hydraulic fracturing in Texas, and the implications of potential adaptive responses to climate change. Results indicated that trade-offs between water conservation and greenhouse gas mitigation are inherent to hydraulic fracturing processes, necessitating careful consideration of technology options to balance environmental objectives.

Trade-off analysis of cost and nutrient efficiency of coffee farms in vietnam: A more generalised approach

Literature has documented significant trade-offs between economic and environmental performance in many areas of agricultural production. However, while it has focused on the trade-off for technically efficient farms there are differing types of trade-offs that exist for differing types of farms. The present paper addresses these gaps in the literature by proposing a more generalised approach to analysing cost and environmental trade-offs. There is also a lack of research on the nature of the trade-off in coffee farming. This is especially so in Vietnam where there is both significant overuse of nutrients and increasing autonomous adaption through voluntary participation in sustainability certification schemes. The proposed framework is employed to investigate a data set of 679 Vietnamese coffee farms. This study delivers several important findings. First, the proposed approach indicates four distinct groups of farms facing differing types of trade-offs with some farms not facing any trade-offs. Second, empirical results show that the average levels of technical, cost and environmental efficiency are relatively low. Third, sustainability certified farms are found to perform better than non-certified farms although the differences in performance diminish over time. Overall, the empirical results favour a heterogeneous and more integrated policy approach to improving the technical, cost and environmental efficiency of coffee farmers in Vietnam.

A global analysis of the social and environmental outcomes of community forests

Community forest management (CFM) has been promoted for decades as a way to merge environmental conservation with economic development and natural resource rights agendas. Yet many of these initiatives have also led to substantial socioeconomic and environmental trade-offs. We present a comprehensive global analysis of environmental, income and natural resource rights outcomes of CFM, using data from 643 cases in 51 countries. We find that while the majority of cases reported positive environmental and income-related outcomes, forest access and resource rights were often negatively affected by policies to formalize CFM, countering one of CFM’s principal goals. Positive outcomes across all three dimensions were rare. We show that biophysical conditions, de facto tenure rights, national context, user-group characteristics and intervention types are key predictors of joint positive outcomes. These findings highlight key conducive conditions for CFM interventions, which can inform CFM design to ensure positive outcomes across multiple sustainability dimensions.

Trade and its trade-offs in the food system.

An assessment of the climate vulnerability of the UK’s fruit and vegetable supply is a useful starting point for considering the health, environment, and social trade-offs of international trade in food.

Ecological Scarcity Based Impact Assessment for a Decentralised Renewable Energy System

Increasing the share of renewable energies in electricity and heat generation is the cornerstone of a climate-friendly energy transition. However, as renewable technologies rely on diverse natural resources, the design of decarbonized energy systems inevitably leads to environmental trade-offs. This paper presents the case study of a comprehensive impact assessment for different future development scenarios of a decentralized renewable energy system in Germany. It applies an adapted ecological scarcity method (ESM) that improves decision-support by ranking the investigated scenarios and revealing their main environmental shortcomings: increased mineral resource use and pollutant emissions due to required technical infrastructure and a substantial increase in land use due to biomass combustion. Concerning the case study, the paper suggests extending the set of considered options, e.g., towards including imported wind energy. More generally, the findings underline the need for a comprehensive environmental assessment of renewable energy systems that integrate electricity supply with heating, cooling, and mobility. On a methodical level, the ESM turns out to be a transparent and well adaptable method to analyze environmental trade-offs from renewable energy supply. It currently suffers from missing quantitative targets that are democratically sufficiently legitimized. At the same time, it can provide a sound basis for an informed discussion on such targets.

A qualitative assessment of lithium ion battery recycling processes

With the widespread adoption of e-mobility, there are high numbers of lithium Ion batteries (LIB) entering the waste stream. It is imperative that disposal and recycling strategies are developed and implemented. There is an urgent need for safe, environmentally friendly and economically affordable disposal routes for End of Life (EoL) LIBs. This study has looked at 44 commercial recyclers and assessed their recycling and reclamation processes. A novel qualitative assessment matrix termed “Strategic materials Weighting And Value Evaluation" (SWAVE) is proposed and used to compare the strategic importance and value of various materials in EoL LIBs. The sustainability and quality of recycled material are assessed by comparing the final form or composition after the recycling processes, the industrial processes and the industry type (primary sector, manufacturer or recycler). SWAVE is applied to each company, producing a score out of 20, with a higher number indicating that more materials can be recycled. The separation processes and resources from six of the prominent recycling companies are discussed further. The majority of recyclers use one or more of mechanical treatment, pyrometallurgy, or hydrometallurgy, concentrating upon high value metal extraction rather than closed-loop recycling of the metals or component materials, highlighting an environmental and technological gap. To improve the current circular economy of batteries reuse and repurposing of materials (closed-loop recycling), instead of purely recycling or recovery of metals should be considered for further development. Further studies of environmental trade-offs from recycling or recovering one material in preference to another is required.

Healthy diets can create environmental trade-offs, depending on how diet quality is measured

BackgroundThere is an urgent need to assess the linkages between diet patterns and environmental sustainability in order to meet global targets for reducing premature mortality and improving sustainable management of natural resources. This study fills an important research gap by evaluating the relationship between incremental differences in diet quality and multiple environmental burdens, while also accounting for the separate contributions of retail losses, inedible portions, and consumer waste.MethodsCross sectional, nationally-representative data on food intake in the United States were acquired from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2005–2016), and were linked with nationally-representative data on food loss and waste from published literature. Survey-weighted procedures estimated daily per capita food retail loss, food waste, inedible portions, and consumed food, and were summed to represent Total Food Demand. Diet quality was measured using the Healthy Eating Index-2015 and the Alternative Healthy Eating Index-2010. Data on food intake, loss, and waste were inputted into the US Foodprint Model to estimate the amount of agricultural land, fertilizer nutrients, pesticides, and irrigation water used to produce food.ResultsThis study included dietary data from 50,014 individuals aged ≥2 y. Higher diet quality (HEI-2015 and AHEI-2010) was associated with greater per capita Total Food Demand, as well as greater retail loss, inedible portions, consumer waste, and consumed food (P < 0.001 for all comparisons). Consumed food accounted for 56–74% of agricultural resource use (land, fertilizer nutrients, pesticides, and irrigation water), retail loss accounted for 4–6%, inedible portions accounted for 2–15%, and consumer waste accounted for 20–23%. Higher diet quality was associated with lower use of agricultural land, but the relationship to other agricultural resources was dependent on the tool used to measure diet quality (HEI-2015 vs. AHEI-2010).ConclusionsOver one-quarter of the agricultural inputs used to produce Total Food Demand were attributable to edible food that was not consumed. Importantly, this study also demonstrates that the relationship between diet quality and environmental sustainability depends on how diet quality is measured. These findings have implications for the development of sustainable dietary guidelines, which requires balancing population-level nutritional needs with the environmental impacts of food choices.

Life cycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis of a 40 MW wind farm with consideration of the infrastructure

Wind power is being used on a large scale worldwide. While a few studies have employed the life cycle assessment method to examine the economic and environmental trade-offs of wind power, the impacts of wind farm infrastructure—such as civil and electrical works—have not been thoroughly taken into consideration. Thus, it remains difficult to accurately grasp the entire environmental impacts of wind energy systems. In this study, a newly built onshore 40-megawatt (MW) wind farm in China has been selected for conducting life cycle analysis with consideration of the infrastructure. Resource and energy-related inventory data were gathered over the wind farm's life cycle, including the phases of materials and manufacturing, transport, construction and installation, operations, and end-of-life. The results showed that the entire greenhouse gas emissions intensity was 16.4–28.2 gCO2 eq./kWh for the onshore 40 MW wind farm, which is slightly higher than those for nuclear power (10.9–13.9 gCO2 eq./kWh) and hydropower (3.1–3.9 gCO2 eq./kWh). It is almost comparable than photovoltaic power (16.0–40.0 gCO2 eq./kWh), but significantly lower than those for thermal power (810–820 gCO2 eq./kWh) and biomass power (~200 gCO2 eq./kWh). Additionally, life cycle cost analysis indicated that the levelized cost of electricity from wind power was approximately 0.01–0.02 USD/kWh.

Modelling the impacts of climate and land use change on water security in a semi-arid forested watershed using InVEST

Water security, a key policy objective for sustainable development, is under stress as a result of land use and climate change, especially in (semi-)arid areas like Iran. Land use change alters surface runoff and affects basin-wide hydrological processes and water consumption, while climate change modifies precipitation and temperature patterns and consequently evapotranspiration and water supply. In this study, water yield, supply and consumption are simulated in a watershed draining into the Caspian Sea in northern Iran, using the water yield model in the Integrated Valuation of Environmental Service and Tradeoffs (InVEST) tool. The novelty of this study is found in the combined modelling of the impacts of climate and land use change scenarios on water security, translating these results into a water stress indicator, and estimating the associated economic costs of reduced future water supply. The results show substantial spatial variation of the negative impacts of water supply and future water security across the watershed, further increasing the pressure on its inhabitants, their economic activities and ecological values. The estimation of the economic costs of increased water insecurity allows us to inform policy and decision-makers about future investments in climate adaptation and mitigation.

Environmental impacts of phosphorus recovery through struvite precipitation in wastewater treatment

Wastewater treatment currently focuses on removing phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) due to their potential to cause eutrophication in bodies of water. With growing concern for the longevity of global phosphate rock stores, however, there is now interest in recovering these nutrients. One method for recovering P and N is through the precipitation of struvite (magnesium ammonium phosphate) which also helps control unwanted struvite precipitation in pipes and on other surfaces at the treatment plant lessening a challenging maintenance problem, and produces a valuable alternative fertilizer product. A potential concern is that the environmental impacts struvite recovery creates through the use of additional chemicals and energy are not offset by its benefits. A life cycle assessment (LCA) case study of the full-scale wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Madison, WI USA was used to assess the environmental tradeoffs of struvite recovery in wastewater treatment. When only the struvite recovery system was considered, a portion of the environmental impact categories considered showed an overall environmental cost, while others showed a benefit, due to the phosphorus recovered. When the full scale WWTP was considered, there was an overall environmental impact to treating the wastewater, as there was prior to the struvite system deployment. However, due to the additional benefit of the struvite recovery, the overall environmental impacts of the WWTP are similar.

Robust facility location decisions for resilient sustainable supply chain performance in the face of disruptions

PurposeFacility location and re-location decisions are critical managerial decisions in modern supply chains. Such decisions are difficult in this environment as managers encounter uncertainty and risks. The study investigates establishing or moving distribution facilities in the global supply chain by considering costs, fulfilment, trade uncertainties, risks under environmental trade-offs and disruptive technologies.Design/methodology/approachThis paper combines the possibilities and probabilistic scenarios for a supply chain network by proposing the novel Robust Optimisation and Mixed Integer Linear Programming (ROMILP) method developed under the potential uncertainty of demand while considering the costs associated with a four-tier supply chain network. ROMILP has been solved in a real-time logistics environment by applying a case study approach.FindingsThe solution is obtained using an exact solution approach and provides optimality in all tested market scenarios along the proposed global logistics corridor. A sensitivity analysis examines potential facility location scenarios in a global supply chain context.Research limitations/implicationsLogistics managers can apply the ROMILP model to test the cost-benefit trade-offs against their facility location and relocation decisions while operating under uncertainty. Future research is proposed to extend the literature by applying data from the OBOR logistics corridor.Originality/valueThis study is the first to examine sustainable dimensions along the global logistics corridor and investigate the global container traffic perspective. The study also adds value to the Middle East logistics corridor regarding facility location decisions.

Effects of land-use and climate change on sediment and nutrient retention in Guizhou, China

ABSTRACT Introduction Sediment and nutrient retention have significant impacts on agricultural productivity and water quality. Obvious changes of climate and land-use have deeply affected freshwater ecosystem services in the last several decades. Nevertheless, it is unclear what the differences are in the impact of climate and land-use changes on freshwater ecosystem services. Outcomes The impacts of climate and land-use change on sediment and nutrient retention (two essential freshwater ecosystem services) were evaluated with the help of the Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model. The results from the study area suggest a decreasing trend in sediment and nutrient retention from 1995 to 2015 when climate and land-use were changed simultaneously. A decreasing trend in sediment retention and an increasing trend in nutrient retention were presented under scenario A (climate change from 1995 to 2015 with land-use unchanged), while the sediment exported and nutrient retention exhibited a decreasing trend except sediment retained under scenario B (land-use change from 1995 to 2015 with unchanged climate). Rainfall erosivity and soil erodibility were more sensitive to the output of sediment retention, while retention efficiency produced more of an effect on nutrient retention. Discussion and Conclusion Climate change played a dominant role in the change in sediment retention, while land-use change had a more significant effect on nutrient retention change than climate change. The results of this study provide explicitinformation for land-use managers to reduce the negative effects associated with sediment and nutrient retention.

Land reclamation and risk assessment in the coastal zone of China from 2000 to 2010

Monitoring and assessing of land reclamation are essential components of sustainable coastal management. In this study, satellite remote sensing data were used in combination with ground investigations to systematically obtain land reclamation data for the coastal zone of China from 2000–2010.Then, the spatiotemporal variation in land reclamation and morphology of the coastal zone was analyzed. Furthermore, a spatially explicit habitat risk assessment (HRA) model from the Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST 3.0) suite of tools was adopted to evaluate the risk posed by land reclamation to key coastal habitats over these ten years. Our results show that (1) the overall land reclamation intensity was higher in the north and lower in the south. At the Sea Region level, both the sea-filling area and tidal flat reclamation area in the Bohai Sea were higher than those of the other three sea regions. At the province level, Hebei, Jiangsu and Tianjin provinces were the top three in sea-filling reclamation, while Liaoning, Jiangsu and Shandong exhibited the greatest increases in tidal flat reclamation; (2) 31.2% of land reclamation happened in the natural coastal zone, reducing natural coastlines from 54.6% to 44.1% between 2000 and 2010; (3) land reclamation posed a great risk to important coastal habitats. Half of the tidal flat and 5% of the mangrove habitats experienced a high risk from tidal flat reclamation and sea filling, while 43.1% of saline meadows were at high risk, mainly from agricultural development and industrial construction. We argue that regional development strategies played important roles in stimulating land reclamation from 2000–2010. Considering multiple social and ecological functions of the coastal zone, trade-offs between land reclamation and ecosystem conservation should be recognized.