Quantitative study on GHG emissions and the GWP influence of cemetery green space maintenance based on LCA
Cemetery landscapes are austere and generally require maintenance. The materials and equipment used for maintenance emit greenhouse gases (GHGs). This research aimed to quantify the annual GHG emissions and global warming potential (GWP) indices of traditional and natural cemeteries for more enviro...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Vilnius Gediminas Technical University
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Journal of Environmental Engineering and Landscape Management |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.vilniustech.lt/index.php/JEELM/article/view/18488 |
| _version_ | 1811162966035267584 |
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| author | Yang Liu Yakai Lei Douglas M. Johnston Mingyu Jiang Nalin Dong Dongbo Xie Zitong Ma Xinyu Zhang Nan Guo |
| author_facet | Yang Liu Yakai Lei Douglas M. Johnston Mingyu Jiang Nalin Dong Dongbo Xie Zitong Ma Xinyu Zhang Nan Guo |
| author_sort | Yang Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Cemetery landscapes are austere and generally require maintenance. The materials and equipment used for maintenance emit greenhouse gases (GHGs). This research aimed to quantify the annual GHG emissions and global warming potential (GWP) indices of traditional and natural cemeteries for more environmentally friendly green and grey facility planning of cemetery areas. Based on life cycle assessment (LCA), in Yorkshire, UK, as an example, traditional cemeteries were found to be mostly established with landscaped cemetery facilities, and natural cemeteries were found to include mostly underground burials covered with wild plants. The average GHG emissions per hm2 in traditional cemetery maintenance (1,552.88 kg/CO2-e) were 1.8 times those in natural cemeteries (870.88 kg/CO2-e). In the cemetery plant community, the mean GHG emissions for grassland maintenance (1,867.65 kg/CO2-e) were 6.7, 2.8 and 2.3 times higher than the woodland, meadow and shrub maintenance values of 280.77, 673.03 and 821.00 kg/CO2-e, respectively. The mean GWP indexes for traditional and natural cemetery green space maintenance were 0.027 and 0.015, respectively, which were generally higher than those for urban green space maintenance (0.010). This research recommends replacing grasslands with wild meadows, reducing the size of ground cemetery facilities and limiting the application of maintenance materials (i.e., irrigation water and pesticides) to reduce the environmental impact of green space in cemeteries.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T06:37:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2f1e8e0c1979465f8d6e04023d6aeb97 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1648-6897 1822-4199 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T06:37:05Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | Vilnius Gediminas Technical University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Environmental Engineering and Landscape Management |
| spelling | doaj.art-2f1e8e0c1979465f8d6e04023d6aeb972023-02-28T16:16:26ZengVilnius Gediminas Technical UniversityJournal of Environmental Engineering and Landscape Management1648-68971822-41992023-02-0131110.3846/jeelm.2023.18488Quantitative study on GHG emissions and the GWP influence of cemetery green space maintenance based on LCAYang Liu0Yakai Lei1Douglas M. Johnston2Mingyu Jiang3Nalin Dong4Dongbo Xie5Zitong Ma6Xinyu Zhang7Nan Guo8College of Landscape Architecture and Art, Henan Agricultural University, 63 Nongye Road, 450002 Zheng Zhou, ChinaCollege of Landscape Architecture and Art, Henan Agricultural University, 63 Nongye Road, 450002 Zheng Zhou, ChinaDepartment of Landscape Architecture, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York 63, 1 Forestry Drive Syracuse, 13210 NY, USDepartment of Landscape Architecture, The University of Sheffield, Western Bank, S10 2TN Sheffield, UKCollege of Landscape Architecture and Art, Henan Agricultural University, 63 Nongye Road, 450002 Zheng Zhou, ChinaCollege of Landscape Architecture and Art, Henan Agricultural University, 63 Nongye Road, 450002 Zheng Zhou, ChinaCollege of Landscape Architecture and Art, Henan Agricultural University, 63 Nongye Road, 450002 Zheng Zhou, ChinaCollege of Landscape Architecture and Art, Henan Agricultural University, 63 Nongye Road, 450002 Zheng Zhou, ChinaCollege of Landscape Architecture and Art, Henan Agricultural University, 63 Nongye Road, 450002 Zheng Zhou, China Cemetery landscapes are austere and generally require maintenance. The materials and equipment used for maintenance emit greenhouse gases (GHGs). This research aimed to quantify the annual GHG emissions and global warming potential (GWP) indices of traditional and natural cemeteries for more environmentally friendly green and grey facility planning of cemetery areas. Based on life cycle assessment (LCA), in Yorkshire, UK, as an example, traditional cemeteries were found to be mostly established with landscaped cemetery facilities, and natural cemeteries were found to include mostly underground burials covered with wild plants. The average GHG emissions per hm2 in traditional cemetery maintenance (1,552.88 kg/CO2-e) were 1.8 times those in natural cemeteries (870.88 kg/CO2-e). In the cemetery plant community, the mean GHG emissions for grassland maintenance (1,867.65 kg/CO2-e) were 6.7, 2.8 and 2.3 times higher than the woodland, meadow and shrub maintenance values of 280.77, 673.03 and 821.00 kg/CO2-e, respectively. The mean GWP indexes for traditional and natural cemetery green space maintenance were 0.027 and 0.015, respectively, which were generally higher than those for urban green space maintenance (0.010). This research recommends replacing grasslands with wild meadows, reducing the size of ground cemetery facilities and limiting the application of maintenance materials (i.e., irrigation water and pesticides) to reduce the environmental impact of green space in cemeteries. https://journals.vilniustech.lt/index.php/JEELM/article/view/18488cemetery green spaceglobal warming potentialgreenhouse gas emissionslife cycle assessmentmanagement and maintenanceplant community |
| spellingShingle | Yang Liu Yakai Lei Douglas M. Johnston Mingyu Jiang Nalin Dong Dongbo Xie Zitong Ma Xinyu Zhang Nan Guo Quantitative study on GHG emissions and the GWP influence of cemetery green space maintenance based on LCA Journal of Environmental Engineering and Landscape Management cemetery green space global warming potential greenhouse gas emissions life cycle assessment management and maintenance plant community |
| title | Quantitative study on GHG emissions and the GWP influence of cemetery green space maintenance based on LCA |
| title_full | Quantitative study on GHG emissions and the GWP influence of cemetery green space maintenance based on LCA |
| title_fullStr | Quantitative study on GHG emissions and the GWP influence of cemetery green space maintenance based on LCA |
| title_full_unstemmed | Quantitative study on GHG emissions and the GWP influence of cemetery green space maintenance based on LCA |
| title_short | Quantitative study on GHG emissions and the GWP influence of cemetery green space maintenance based on LCA |
| title_sort | quantitative study on ghg emissions and the gwp influence of cemetery green space maintenance based on lca |
| topic | cemetery green space global warming potential greenhouse gas emissions life cycle assessment management and maintenance plant community |
| url | https://journals.vilniustech.lt/index.php/JEELM/article/view/18488 |
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