Unveiling landscape life cycle assessment Towards holistic understanding of carbon flows in the built environment

There is currently no immediate method nor regional databases to estimate carbon uptakes in woody vegetation, plants, soils, and mulches used in landscape design and construction. Nor little do we know about the environmental impacts caused during the nursery production, construction and maintenance activities of these landscape elements. Life cycle assessment is constantly developing with research. In Finland, it will be a requirement for buildings from the beginning of 2026 and therefore a suitable method for the assessment of urban green spaces is needed to have holistic understanding of carbon flows in the built environment. However, incorporating living organisms into the LCA framework represents a methodological shift that requires further refinement. In my doctoral research, I assess the suitability of LCA to urban green spaces while evaluating the development needs for methods and data.

Published Article:

Moinel, C; Kuittinen, M. & Hautamäki, R. (2024). Estimating CO2 flows in urban parks: knowns and unknowns. Frontiers in Sustainable Cities, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2024.1452403