Consequences of Coastal Wetlands Reclamation and the Need for Integrating Impact Assessment of Invasive Alien Plants Species and Coastal Armoring in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

Efforts to restore and reclaim coastal wetlands have led to the evolution of invasive alien plant species and coastal defenses across significant parts of the globe. Synergistic stresses on coastal environments are intensifying due to the implementation of invasive alien plant species (IAPS) and the rapid expansion of coastal protection. Combined with sea-level rise and other projected climate change impacts, coastal habitats are expected to face much greater pressures and habitat degradation. The lack of more extended timescale studies on IAPS and the insufficient knowledge about the ecological impacts of coastal armoring suggest that life cycle assessment (LCA) is still underutilized within the coastal environment. We examine quantitative methods for cause-effect evaluation of three major biodiversity loss drivers: biodiversity/habitat loss, greenhouse gases GHG warming and nutrient enrichment/eutrophication, which are pertinent to IAPS, and coastal armoring in wetlands. Though there has been a scarce application of LCA to measure anthropogenic impacts on coastal ecosystems, our analysis shows that impact indicators can be enhanced for all known drivers but at varying levels of cause-effect pathway coverage, ambiguity, and spatial coverage. Modeling methods for predicting the spatial distribution and severity of human-driven actions in the coastal environment are well developed. Such procedures could be deployed to create spatially explicit LCA fate factors. We emphasize unique research paradigms to make LCA a more thorough and rigorous environmental impact assessment tool by incorporating coastal biodiversity loss, especially IAPS and habitat loss, in a consistent manner. Stakeholder participation in coastal ecosystem management may help ameliorate budgetary concerns and enhance wetland restoration practices and implementations. Graphical abstract Highlights Coastal reclamation has facilitated the spread of invasive alien plants and coastal defenses in wetlands. Invasive alien plants and coastal defenses have significantly altered our wetland ecosystems. Cause–effect assessment models of climate change, habitat loss, and eutrophication can be improved. Life cycle assessment is needed to comprehensively and robustly assess coastal ecosystem impacts.