Land Use Intensity-Specific Characterization Factors to Assess the Biodiversity Impact of Different Livestock Systems Using Dung Beetles as a Bioindicator

Livestock intensification drives biodiversity loss, making impact quantification essential. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) can evaluate whether regenerative practices, such as silvopastoral systems, mitigate this loss, but it requires specific characterization factors (CFs). In this pilot study, we applied the countryside Species-Area Relationship (SAR) model to derive the first invertebrate-specific CFs using dung beetles (Scarabaeinae). From field surveys, we calculated intensity-specific CFs for potential species loss (PSL/m2) in pastureland and cropland. We assessed biodiversity impacts per 1 kg calf live weight (LWC) across three livestock regimes: native silvopastoral (NSP, minimal land use), intensive silvopastoral (ISP, light land use), and monoculture (MC, intense land use). Results show high dung beetle affinity for NSP. The CFs distinguished impact intensity levels: MC had the highest PSL per area (6.76 × 10−10 PSL/m2), followed by ISP (5.93 × 10−10 PSL/m2) and NSP (4.99 × 10−10 PSL/m2). However, normalizing by yield reversed this trend: MC showed the lowest impact per 1 kg LWC (7.64 × 10−8 PSL/kg LWC), ISP was intermediate (1.06 × 10−7 PSL/kg LWC), and NSP had the highest impact (1.31 × 10−7 PSL/kg LWC). Incorporating upstream feed production significantly increased the overall biodiversity footprint, underscoring the need for comprehensive system boundaries. Integrating broader biodiversity components and landscape context remains essential to fully capture livestock management effects.