摘要：Methods for the inclusion of land use in life cycle assessment are not well established. Here,
we describe an approach that compares land disturbance between spatially compact and
diffuse activities that contribute to the life cycle of a single product, in this case
synthetic crude from Alberta's oil sands. We compare production using surface
mining and in situ extraction technologies. In situ technologies disturb less land
per unit of production than surface mining, but the spatial footprint of in situ
production is more dispersed—increasing landscape fragmentation—and in situ
production requires more natural gas which increases land use due to gas production.
We examine both direct and peripheral land use of oil sands development by
quantifying land disturbance using a parameterized measure of fragmentation that relies
on 'edge effects' with an adjustable buffer zone. Using a life cycle perspective,
we show that the land area influenced by in situ technology is comparable to
land disturbed by surface mining when fragmentation and upstream natural gas
production are considered. The results suggest that land disturbance due to natural
gas production can be relatively large per unit energy. This method could be
applied to other energy developments, for example, a comparison between coal
mining and natural gas production when both fuels are used to generate electricity.
