Abstract Purpose For over 20 years the feasibility of including man-made impacts on biodiversity in the context of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been explored. However, a comprehensive biodiversity impact assessment has so far not been performed. The aim of this study is to analyse how biodiversity is currently viewed in LCA, to highlight limitations and gaps and to provide recommendations for further research. Method Firstly, biodiversity indicators are examined according to the level of biodiversity they assess (genetic, species, ecosystem) and to their usefulness for LCA. Secondly, relevant pressures on biodiversity that should be included in LCA are identified and available models (in and outside of an LCA context) for their assessment are discussed. Thirdly, existing impact assessment models are analysed in order to determine whether and how well pressures are already integrated into LCA. Finally, suggestions on how to include relevant pressures and impacts on biodiversity in LCA are provided and the necessary changes in each LCA phase that must follow are discussed. Results The analysis of 119 indicators shows that 4% of indicators represent genetic diversity, 40% species diversity and 35% ecosystem diversity. 21% of the indicators consider further biodiversity-related topics. Out of the indicator sample, 42 indicators are deemed useful as impact indicators in LCA. Even though some identified pressures are already included in LCA with regard to their impacts on biodiversity (e.g. land use, carbon dioxide emissions etc.), other proven pressures on biodiversity have not yet been considered (e.g. noise, artificial light). Conclusion Further research is required to devise new options (e.g. impact assessment models) for integrating biodiversity into LCA. The final goal is to cover all levels of biodiversity and include all missing pressures in LCA. Tentative approaches to achieve this goal are outlined.

中文翻译：

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将生物多样性纳入生命周期评估——最新技术、差距和研究需求

摘要 目的 20 多年来，人们一直在探索在生命周期评估 (LCA) 背景下将人为对生物多样性影响的可行性。然而，迄今为止尚未进行全面的生物多样性影响评估。本研究的目的是分析目前在 LCA 中如何看待生物多样性，突出局限性和差距，并为进一步研究提供建议。方法 首先，根据生物多样性指标评估的生物多样性水平（遗传、物种、生态系统）及其对 LCA 的有用性来检查生物多样性指标。其次，确定了应包括在 LCA 中的生物多样性相关压力，并讨论了对其评估的可用模型（在 LCA 环境内外）。第三，分析现有的影响评估模型，以确定是否以及如何将井压整合到 LCA 中。最后，就如何将相关压力和对生物多样性的影响纳入 LCA 提出了建议，并讨论了每个 LCA 阶段必须遵循的必要变化。结果 对119个指标的分析表明，4%的指标代表遗传多样性，40%的物种多样性和35%的生态系统多样性。21% 的指标考虑了进一步的生物多样性相关主题。在指标样本中，有 42 个指标被认为是 LCA 中有用的影响指标。尽管一些已确定的压力已经包含在 LCA 中，因为它们对生物多样性的影响（例如土地利用、二氧化碳排放等），但尚未考虑其他已证实的对生物多样性的压力（例如噪音、人造光源）。结论 需要进一步研究以设计将生物多样性纳入 LCA 的新选项（例如影响评估模型）。最终目标是涵盖生物多样性的各个层面，并包括 LCA 中所有缺失的压力。概述了实现这一目标的暂定方法。