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1Arusha 11-15/12/2006
Luca Montanarella
EUROPEAN COMMISSIONJOINT RESEARCH CENTRE
Institute for Environment and SustainabilityTP 280
I-21020 Ispra (VA), Italy
Trends in Land Degradation in Europe
2Arusha 11-15/12/2006
EU Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection adopted by the European Commission on the
22nd of September 2006
• COMMUNICATION COM(2006) 231 on the Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection
• DIRECTIVE COM(2006) 232 establishing a framework for the protection of soil and amending Directive 2004/35/EC
• IMPACT ASSESSMENT SEC(2006) 620 of the Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection
3Arusha 11-15/12/2006
The impact of human activities on soil
Blocking of soil functions important to the ecology of the landscape
Destruction of soil
Gradual destruction of soils
Reduction in soil fertility
Soil erosion
Manures and fertilisers
Sewage sludge
Gravel extraction
Compaction
Gradual disappearance of farms
Pesticides & herbicides
Destruction of soil
Changes in the structure of soils
Reduction in soil fertility
SealingDistruction of
humus
Accumulation/Contamination
Heavy metals
Contamination of soils and ground water with applied agrochemicals and atmospheric pollutants
Changes in soil composition
Adverse impacts on living organisms in the soil
Acidification
Release of toxic substances
AcidsDiffuse input of contaminants as
particulates
Persistent substances
Salinisation
4Arusha 11-15/12/2006
Threats to soil as identified in COM(2002) 179
• Erosion
• Decline in organic matter
• Soil contamination
• Soil sealing
• Soil compaction
• Decline in soil biodiversity
• Salinisation
• Floods and landslides
5Arusha 11-15/12/2006
PESERA Soil Erosion Risk Assessment
Water erosion: 115 Million ha Wind erosion: 42 Million ha
6Arusha 11-15/12/2006
Main human-induced driving forces
Soil disturbance e.g. ploughing up-and-down slopes
Removal of vegetative soil cover and/or hedgerows
Increased field size (open fields)
Abandonment of terraces
Late sowing of winter cereals
Overstocking
Poor crop management
Inappropriate use of heavy machinery, in agricultural and forestry practices, but also during construction works.
7Arusha 11-15/12/2006
Consequences of erosionOn-site effects
Loss of soil
Loss of soil fertility due to disrupted nutrient cycles
Restrictions on land use hindering future redevelopment and reducing the area of productive and valuable soil available for other activities (agricultural and forestry production, recreation etc.)
Land value depreciation
Off-site effects
Damage to infrastructures due to excessive sediment load
Diffuse pollution of surface water
Negative effects on aquatic ecosystems and thereby biodiversity
Reduced water retention capacity, hence higher flood risk
Human health problems due to dust and particles in the air
8Arusha 11-15/12/2006
Cost of soil erosion
Table 1: Estimated total annual cost of soil erosion (million € 2003)
On-site
costs Off-site
costs Total estimate
Lower bound 40 680 720
Intermediate 588 6,676 7,264
Upper bound 860 13,139 13,999
Note: These estimates are taken from the Ecologic study and relate to the surface affected by erosion in 13 countries and to five land use categories covering a surface area of 150 million ha
9Arusha 11-15/12/2006
Organic Carbon (%) No Data 0 - 1 1 - 2 2 - 5 5 - 10 10 - 25 25 - 35 > 35
Organic carbon content (%) in the surface horizon (0-30 cm) of soils
Organic Carbon Gt 0.0 2.5 5.0 7.5 10.0 12.5 15.0
0.5 3.5
5.0
1.6 7.1
0.3
0.8 5.8
0.7
2.0
0.6
5.6
5.7
13.8 12.5
1.5
1.8
1.1
1.1 0.6
1.2 1.0 0.2
0.5 0.5 1.0
2.3
1.0
0.2 0.6
0.2
0.2
National Soil Organic Carbon stocks (0-30cm) in Gt
Model output Aggregated results
Topsoil Organic Carbon Content (30cm)
Organic matter decline
10Arusha 11-15/12/2006
Estimated changes in carbon stocksacross England & Wales (and UK)
Bellamy et al., Nature 437, 245-248 (2005)
Original Corg (g kg-1)
% o
f ar
ea o
f E
&W
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
0-20
> 3
00
100-
200
30-5
0
20-3
0
50-1
00
200-
300
Rat
e o
f ch
ang
e, M
t yr
-1
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
0-20
> 3
00
100-
200
30-5
0
20-3
0
50-1
00
200-
300
Net rate of change in England & Wales = - 4.4 Mt yr-1
Net rate of change in UK ≈ - 4.4 x UK / E&W topsoil OC stock≈ -13 Mt yr-1
% o
f to
tal O
C s
toc
k0
5
10
15
20
25
30
0-2
0
> 3
00
10
0-2
00
30
-50
20
-30
50
-10
0
20
0-3
00
OC stock = Corg x BD x depth x area
where BD = 1.3 – {0.275 ln(Corg/10)}
11Arusha 11-15/12/2006
Main human-induced driving forces
Conversion of grassland to arable land
Drainage of wetlands
Poor crop rotation and plant residue management such as burning crops residues
Accelerated mineralization due to management practices such as continued tillage
Deforestation
Soil organic carbon decline
12Arusha 11-15/12/2006
Consequences of SOM declineRelease of greenhouse gases
Negative effects on biodiversity, including soil biodiversity
Reduced water infiltration due to changes in soil structure, hence higher flood risk
Reduced absorption of pollutants and increased water and air pollution
Increased erosion with the effects stated above such as:
Loss of fertile soil
Loss of soil fertility (i.a. due to disrupted nutrient cycles)
Damage to infrastructures due to excessive sediment load
Diffuse pollution of surface water
Negative effects on aquatic ecosystems and thereby biodiversity
Restrictions on land use and hindering future redevelopment and reducing the area of productive and valuable soil available for other activities (agricultural and forestry production, recreation etc.)
Land value depreciation
13Arusha 11-15/12/2006
Loss of Biodiversity in SoilConsequences of biodiversity decline
Reduced food web functioning and consequently crop yield losses
Reduced soil formation
Reduced nutrient cycling and nitrogen fixation
Reduced carbon sequestration
Reduced resilience of the soil to endure pressures
Reduced recycling of organic waste/litter
Increased plant pests and diseases
Reduced water infiltration rate and water holding capacity
Reduced bioremediation capacity
Hampered soil structure (by affecting the stabilisation of organo-mineral complexes)
Reduced genetic resources present in the soil, including moral and ethical consequences
Negative impacts on terrestrial biodiversity outside of soil
Fungy (35000)
Nematodes(5000)
Protozoa(1500)
Algae (2500)
Bacteria (3200)
Acari (25000)
Others (6200)
Collembolla (6500)
Number of known
species in soil
14Arusha 11-15/12/2006
Soil Salinisation in EuropeSalinisation affects around 3.8 million ha in Europe
15Arusha 11-15/12/2006
Main human-induced driving forces for salinisation
Poor irrigation technology
Inappropriate drainage
Use of saline waters for irrigation and the overexploitation of groundwater
Consequences of salinisation
On-site effects
Loss of soil fertility due to toxic effects of high salt content
Loss of biodiversity
Land value depreciation
Off-site effects
Reduced water infiltration and retention resulting in increased water run-off
Damage to transport infrastructure from shallow saline groundwater
Damage to water supply infrastructure
16Arusha 11-15/12/2006
Yearly cost of salinisation in selected countries (million €) (LB: lower bound; UB: upper bound)
Spain Hungary Bulgaria
LB UB LB UB LB UB
On-site costs
Agricultural yield losses
42.71 137.64 70.16 133.91 1.08 5.38
Infrastructure damage
12.08 18.23 1.32
Off-site costs Environmental
damage 4.83 7.29 0.53
Total 59.62 154.55 95.68 159.43 2.93 7.23
Cost of Soil Salinisation in Europe
17Arusha 11-15/12/2006
Soil contamination
Main human induced driving forces
Industrial installations
Mining installations
Illegal waste dumps and landfill sites not properly managed
Storage of chemicals
Accidental and provoked spills of chemicals
Atmospheric depositions of dangerous substances
Military sites
Intentional introduction of dangerous substances in the soil
18Arusha 11-15/12/2006
Consequences of soil contamination
Risk to human health for people living on and in the surroundings of a contaminated site (through different exposure paths, e.g. consumption of food grown in from contaminated areas)
Contamination of surface water, mainly through run off of contaminated sediments
Contamination of groundwater and hence drinking water if extracted from groundwater
Risk to human health through drinking water extracted underneath of a contaminated site
Risk of ecotoxicity for the flora and fauna living in the soil on the site and around a contaminated site causing loss of biodiversity and biological activity
Loss of soil fertility due to disrupted nutrient cycles
Restrictions on land use and hindering future redevelopment and reducing the area of productive and valuable soil available for other activities (agricultural and forestry production, recreation etc.)
Land value depreciation
19Arusha 11-15/12/2006
The Cost of Soil Contamination
Estimated total annual cost caused by soil contamination for EU25 (€ M, 2003)
On-site costs
Off-site costs Total
Lower bound estimate 96 2,283 2,379
Intermediate estimate 192 17,126 17,318
Upper bound estimate 289 207,615 207,904
20Arusha 11-15/12/2006
Soil Compaction in Europe
36% of European Soils are having high or very high susceptibility to compaction
21Arusha 11-15/12/2006
Soils in Europe can support different loads depending on their soil strength
Precompression stress at a given pore water pressure pF 1.8 for topsoils of Europe in relation to a given low topsoil load (tyre inflation pressure: 60 kPa), high topsoil stress: 200 kPa)
Classification of the effective soil strength by the relationship of precompression stress to soil pressure: >1.5 very stable, elastic deformation, 1.5-1.2 stable, 1.2-0.8 labile, >0.8 unstable, additional plastic deformation.
Source: R. Horn, personal communication
22Arusha 11-15/12/2006
The Impact of Soil Compaction in Europe
Damage due to increasing soil deformation
After rain storm
Rapid water table increase in rivers and lakes
Reduced groundwater recharge
erosion
N2O gas
emission
N - loss due to stagnic water
Effects on the environment
Surface water runoff increase
Heavy machinery compacts arable, forest, and pasture soils
Consequences for plant production
Reduced growth, higher uncertainty
less yield
Increased fungi deseases,
more weeds
Reduced root growth (less dense and deep)
Soil biota suffersSoil quality declines due to - reduced pore volume,- reduced aeration
-Water infiltration reduced,
- soils remain longer wet and cold, - more slaking problems, - reduced water storage
Effects on soil management
- higher draft energy required, - higher fuel consumption,- wet and cold soils result in smaller number of working days,- more fertilizers needed
Dust emission increased
Source: R. Horn, personal communication
23Arusha 11-15/12/2006
Soil Sealing by Infrastructure and Housing
24Arusha 11-15/12/2006
Main human driving forces for sealing
Urban sprawl
Increased transport
Movement of population
Consequences of sealingDisruption of gas, water and energy fluxes
Increased flood risks
Reduced groundwater recharge
Increases water pollution (due to runoff water from housing and traffic areas being normally unfiltered and potentially contaminated with harmful chemicals)
Loss in soil and terrestrial biodiversity (due to fragmentation of habitats)
The Impact of Soil Sealing
25Arusha 11-15/12/2006
Landslides
26Arusha 11-15/12/2006
Main human-induced driving forces for landslides
Rupture of topography such as due to construction works
Land use changes such as deforestation and land abandonment
Extractions of materials
Consequences of landslides
Loss of human lives and well-being
Damage to property and infrastructure
Indirect negative effects on economic activities due to interruption of
f.i. transport routes
Loss of fertile soil
Contamination of soil due to damage to infrastructure such as pipelines
and storage facilities
Potential contamination of surface waters with associated off-site costs
as described already under erosion
27Arusha 11-15/12/2006
Incidences and costs of landslides in Europe
No. of events
Casualties (total) (av/event)
Affected people (total) (av/event)
Cost € (total) (av/event)
Austria 2 43 22 - - - -
Italy 8 1,387 173 10,100 1,263 1,200,000,000 600,000,000*
Sweden 1 13 13 50 50 11,000,000 11,000,000
UK 1 140 140 - - - -
Sum 12 1,583 132 10,150 846 1,211,000,000 403,666,667**
Source: EM-DAT: The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database www.em-dat.net – Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium. * Average based on two out of eight cases, for which there is quantified economic data. ** The average figure (average per event) is based on the three cases of landslides where quantitative data on economic impacts was available (Valtelina/Italy, July 1987, €500 M damage; Ancona/Italy, December 1982, €700 M damage; Gothenburg/Sweden, December 1977, €11 M damage).
The Cost of Landslides in Europe
28Arusha 11-15/12/2006
Conclusions• Extensive soil and land degradation processes are occurring
in Europe.• Observed degradation processes are mostly human induced. • Extreme climatic events may further exacerbate the impact
of the land degradation on local population.• The total costs of soil degradation that could be assessed
for erosion, organic matter decline, salinisation, landslides and contamination on the basis of available data, would be up to €38 billion annually for EU25.
• The recently adopted Soil Thematic Strategy by the European Commission provides the legal framework for EU Member States to implement adequate responses in order to revert the negative trend of land and soil degradation in Europe.
29Arusha 11-15/12/2006
Preliminary announcement
Wengen-2007International and Interdisciplinary Workshop
Desertification and Climate Change
Hotel Regina, Wengen, Switzerland, September 10-14, 2007
Co-organized by:
Michel Verstraete, Andreas Brink and Luca MontanarellaEuropean Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Ispra, Italy
Bob ScholesCouncil of Scientific and Industrial Research, South Africa
&
Martin Beniston Universities of Geneva and Fribourg, Switzerland
30Arusha 11-15/12/2006
Thank you for your interest!
“Unity in diversity”