Suchergebnisse

There is currently no legislation at the European level that focuses exclusively on soil conservation. A cross-policy analysis was carried out to identify gaps and overlaps in existing EU legislation that is related to soil threats and functions. We found that three soil threats, namely compaction, salinization and soil sealing, were not addressed in any of the 19 legislative policies that were analyzed. Other soil threats, such as erosion, decline in organic matter, loss of biodiversity and contamination, were covered in existing legislation, but only a few directives provided targets for reducing the soil threats. Existing legislation addresses the reduction of the seven soil functions that were analyzed, but there are very few directives for improving soil functions. Because soil degradation is ongoing in Europe, it raises the question whether existing legislation is sufficient for maintaining soil resources. Addressing soil functions individually in various directives fails to account for the multifunctionality of soil. This paper suggests that a European Soil Framework Directive would increase the effectiveness of conserving soil functions in the EU.

A diverse topography along with deforestation, changing climatic conditions, long-term human settlement, overuse of agricultural lands without sustainable planning, cultural difficulties in accepting conservative land management practices, and wrong political decisions have increased the vulnerability of many soils to degradation and resulted in a serious decline in their functional capacity. A progressive reduction in the capacity of soils to support plant productivity is not only a threat in the African continent and its large desert zone, but also in several parts of Central and Southeastern Europe (CASEE). The loss of soil functions throughout CASEE is mainly related to the human activities that have profound influence on soil dynamic characteristics. Improper management of soils has made them more vulnerable to degradation through water and wind erosion, organic matter depletion, salinity, acidification, crusting and sealing, and compaction. Unmitigated degradation has substantial implications for long term sustainability of the soils' capability to support human communities and resist desertification. If sustainable agricultural and land management practices are not identified, well understood and implemented, the decline in soil quality will continue and probably accelerate. The lack of uniform criteria for the assessment and evaluation of soil quality in CASEE countries prevents scientific assessments to determine if existing management practices are leading to soil quality improvement, or if not, what management practices should be recommended to mitigate and reverse the loss of soil health.

peer-reviewed ; There is increasing recognition that soils fulfil many functions for society. Each soil can deliver a range of functions, but some soils are more effective at some functions than others due to their intrinsic properties. In this study we mapped four different soil functions on agricultural lands across the European Union. For each soil function, indicators were developed to evaluate their performance. To calculate the indicators and assess the interdependencies between the soil functions, data from continental long‐term simulation with the DayCent model were used to build crop‐specific Bayesian networks. These Bayesian Networks were then used to calculate the soil functions' performance and trade‐offs between the soil functions under current conditions. For each soil function the maximum potential was estimated across the European Union and changes in trade‐offs were assessed. By deriving current and potential soil function delivery from Bayesian networks a better understanding is gained of how different soil functions and their interdependencies can differ depending on soil, climate and management. Highlights When increasing a soil function, how do trade‐offs affect the other functions under different conditions? Bayesian networks evaluate trade‐offs between soil functions and estimate their maximal delivery. Maximizing a soil function has varied effects on other functions depending on soil, climate and management. Differences in trade‐offs make some locations more suitable for increasing a soil function then others.

The challenges of achieving both food security and environmental sustainability have resulted in a confluence of demands on land within the European Union (EU): we expect our land to provide food, fiber and fuel, to purify water, to sequester carbon, and provide a home to biodiversity as well as external nutrients in the form of waste from humans and intensive livestock enterprises. All soils can perform all of these five functions, but some soils are better at supplying selective functions. Functional Land Management is a framework for policy-making aimed at meeting these demands by incentivizing land use and soil management practices that selectively augment specific soil functions, where required. Here, we explore how the demands for contrasting soil functions, as framed by EU policies, may apply to very different spatial scales, from local to continental scales. At the same time, using Ireland as a national case study, we show that the supply of each soil function is largely determined by local soil and land use conditions, with large variations at both local and regional scales. These discrepancies between the scales at which the demands and supply of soil functions are manifested, have implications for soil and land management: while some soil functions must be managed at local (e.g., farm or field) scale, others may be offset between regions with a view to solely meeting national or continental demands. In order to facilitate the optimization of the delivery of soil functions at national level, to meet the demands that are framed at continental scale, we identify and categorize 14 policy and market instruments that are available in the EU. The results from this inventory imply that there may be no need for the introduction of new specific instruments to aid the governance of Functional Land Management. We conclude that there may be more merit in adapting existing governance instruments by facilitating differentiation between soils and landscapes.

The challenges of achieving both food security and environmental sustainability have resulted in a confluence of demands on land within the European Union (EU): we expect our land to provide food, fiber and fuel, to purify water, to sequester carbon, and provide a home to biodiversity as well as external nutrients in the form of waste from humans and intensive livestock enterprises. All soils can perform all of these five functions, but some soils are better at supplying selective functions. Functional Land Management is a framework for policy-making aimed at meeting these demands by incentivizing land use and soil management practices that selectively augment specific soil functions, where required. Here, we explore how the demands for contrasting soil functions, as framed by EU policies, may apply to very different spatial scales, from local to continental scales. At the same time, using Ireland as a national case study, we show that the supply of each soil function is largely determined by local soil and land use conditions, with large variations at both local and regional scales. These discrepancies between the scales at which the demands and supply of soil functions are manifested, have implications for soil and land management: while some soil functions must be managed at local (e.g., farm or field) scale, others may be offset between regions with a view to solely meeting national or continental demands. In order to facilitate the optimization of the delivery of soil functions at national level, to meet the demands that are framed at continental scale, we identify and categorize 14 policy and market instruments that are available in the EU. The results from this inventory imply that there may be no need for the introduction of new specific instruments to aid the governance of Functional Land Management. We conclude that there may be more merit in adapting existing governance instruments by facilitating differentiation between soils and landscapes.

AbstractGrowing sustainability demands on land have a high knowledge requirement across multiple scientific domains. Exploring networks can expose opportunities for targeting. Using mixed-methods combining social network analysis (SNA) and surveys, networks for key soil functions in case studies in Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands are explored. We find a diversity of contrasting networks that reflect local conditions, sustainability challenges and governance structure. Farmers were found to occupy a central role in the agri-environmental governance network. A comparison of the SNA and survey results indicate low acceptance of messages from many central actors indicating scope to better harness the network for sustainable land management. The source of the messages was important when it came to the implementation of farm management actions. Two pathways for enhanced farmer uptake of multi-functionality are proposed that have wider application are; to increase trust between farmers and actors that are agents of multi-functional messages and/or to increase the bundling or multi-functionality of messages (mandate) of actors trusted by farmers.

The forests of 473 Italian Alpine municipalities were severely damaged by a strong wind at the end of October 2018. The affected forest area covers 42,500 ha. The president of one of the damaged regions asked for help from the TESAF Department of the University of Padua, Italy. Twenty-six international scientists (listed: 25; anonymous: 1) responded to the appeal and collectively wrote this article. At first the value of ramial chipped wood was discussed, then whether the forest should be left or not to its natural evolution, then whether there is a threat of bark beetles, then the time needed for the biodegradation of fallen trees was estimated from the on-site examination of humus forms, ending with political and social considerations. After eight months of discussion, with various reworkings and cuts, a controversial text was born, complete and practical at the same time.

The forests of 473 Italian Alpine municipalities were severely damaged by a strong wind at the end of October 2018. The affected forest area covers 42,500 ha. The president of one of the damaged regions asked for help from the TESAF Department of the University of Padua, Italy. Twenty-six international scientists (listed: 25; anonymous: 1) responded to the appeal and collectively wrote this article. At first the value of ramial chipped wood was discussed, then whether the forest should be left or not to its natural evolution, then whether there is a threat of bark beetles, then the time needed for the biodegradation of fallen trees was estimated from the on-site examination of humus forms, ending with political and social considerations. After eight months of discussion, with various reworkings and cuts, a controversial text was born, complete and practical at the same time.

The forests of 473 Italian Alpine municipalities were severely damaged by a strong wind at the end of October 2018. The affected forest area covers 42,500 ha. The president of one of the damaged regions asked for help from the TESAF Department of the University of Padua, Italy. Twenty-six international scientists (listed: 25; anonymous: 1) responded to the appeal and collectively wrote this article. At first the value of ramial chipped wood was discussed, then whether the forest should be left or not to its natural evolution, then whether there is a threat of bark beetles, then the time needed for the biodegradation of fallen trees was estimated from the on-site examination of humus forms, ending with political and social considerations. After eight months of discussion, with various reworkings and cuts, a controversial text was born, complete and practical at the same time.

The forests of 473 Italian Alpine municipalities were severely damaged by a strong wind at the end of October 2018. The affected forest area covers 42,500 ha. The president of one of the damaged regions asked for help from the TESAF Department of the University of Padua, Italy. Twenty-six international scientists (listed: 25; anonymous: 1) responded to the appeal and collectively wrote this article. At first the value of ramial chipped wood was discussed, then whether the forest should be left or not to its natural evolution, then whether there is a threat of bark beetles, then the time needed for the biodegradation of fallen trees was estimated from the on-site examination of humus forms, ending with political and social considerations. After eight months of discussion, with various reworkings and cuts, a controversial text was born, complete and practical at the same time.