Assessment of the carbon neutral capacity of ecological slopes: A case study of wet-spraying vegetation concrete ecological river revetment

Abstract

This study evaluates the carbon neutrality of eco-slope protection projects to understand their role in climate change mitigation. Utilizing life cycle assessment, it defines system boundaries and compiles inventories to calculate and analyze carbon emissions and assimilations of a wet-spraying vegetation concrete eco-slope protection project in China, simplifying previous methodologies and emphasizing the critical role of vegetation. Findings indicate lifecycle carbon emissions total 608.01 tCO2e, broken down by source as follows: material (54.69%), maintenance (40.11%), energy (3.27%), transport (1.32%), and workforce (0.6%). Slope protection plants are estimated to assimilate 2,676.30 tCO2. The project is estimated to reach carbon neutrality in its 4.59th year, with an anticipated net carbon sink contribution of 2,068.29 tons over its lifespan. These results underscore eco-slope protection projects’ significant carbon neutral capacity, highlighting their importance in combating climate change and fostering the civil engineering industry's green transformation. HIGHLIGHTS People are getting more serious about global warming. The Paris Climate Agreement of 2015 sets targets to limit global temperature rise.; A large number of traditional slope protection projects have generated a significant amount of GHG emissions, and eco-slope protection methods have attracted widespread attention.; Wet-spraying vegetation concrete eco-slope protection produces 608.01 tCO2e over its lifecycle.; Slope protection vegetations absorb 2,676.30 tCO2 over their lifecycle.;

Keywords

• climate change
• carbon emission
• carbon neutralization
• ecological slope
• life cycle assessment
• vegetation concrete