THE SOIL THEMATIC STRATEGY RESEARCH ASPECTS

EUROSOIL, Wien - Soil Research Workshop - 27 August 2008

THE SOIL THEMATIC STRATEGYRESEARCH ASPECTS

Niek de WitEuropean Commission

DG Environment- Unit Agriculture, forests and soil


v Adopted by the Commission in September 2006v Contains the objective of EU soil policy: the protection of

soil functions across the EUv Sets out the four pillars of EU soil policyv Indicates the next steps at EU level, e.g. research

THE THEMATIC STRATEGY FOR SOIL PROTECTION


v Soil is a practically non-renewable natural resourcev Soil performs crucial functions for human activities and

ecosystems survivalv Soils are increasingly degrading or irreversibly lost across the

EU => the Community acquis is manifestly not sufficientv Costs of soil degradation are very high and are mainly borne

by society and not by the land usersv Commitment in the 6th EAP to adopt a Thematic Strategy on

soil protectionv To allow for a leading EU role in global challenges and drivers

for soil protection: CBD, UNFCCC, UNCCDv EU action is already inspiring other countries (e.g. US Senate

Resolution)

WHY A THEMATIC STRATEGY ON SOIL?


CONTENT OF THETHEMATIC STRATEGY

vCommunication

v Proposal for a Soil Framework Directive

vImpact Assessment


v All types of soils are consideredv All soil degradation processes are tackled

(however soil biodiversity loss -> more RTD)v Soil functions are at the core of the proposalv Soils should be used and not put under a glass coverv The Directive will bring about an improvement

compared to existing practices and national legislationv Emphasis on knowledge and monitoring prior to

taking measures to avoid squandering money and resources

THE BASES OF THE PROPOSAL


Protection of soil - the preservation of SOIL FUNCTIONS:(a) biomass production, incl. agriculture & forestry;

(b) storing, filtering, transforming nutrients, substances, water;

(c) biodiversity pool, habitats, species and genes;

(d) physical and cultural environment for humansand human activities;

(e) source of raw materials;

(f) acting as carbon pool;

(g) archive of geological and archaeological heritageMeasures for the prevention and restoration of degraded soils

OBJECTIVES


STRUCTURE OF THE DIRECTIVE

OBJECTIVE: Protection soil functions-Art. 1

• Integration in sectoral policies-Art. 3

• Precautionary measures-Art. 4

• Prevention of contamination-Art. 9

• Measures to limit or mitigate sealing-Art. 5

• Identification of risk areas for erosion, organic matter decline, compaction, salinisation, landslides-5 years-Articles 6, 7

• Identification of contaminated sites - 25 years- Artt. 10, 11, 12

• Programmes of Measures-Art. 8

• National Remediation Strategy-Artt. 13, 14


v CommunicationCOM(2006)231


LEGISLATIONProposal for a Soil Framework Directive COM(2006)232

RESEARCH

INTEGRATIONOF SOIL PROTECTION ASPECTS

AWARENESS RAISING

FOUR PILLARS OFEU SOIL POLICY


vprocesses underlying soil functions (e.g. soil’s role in climate change and in the protection of biodiversity) vthe spatial and temporal variability in these processes vecological, economic and social drivers for soil

degradationvthe factors influencing the ecological functions of soil vStrategies and technologies for the protection and

restoration of the soils.

These priorities will be part of the 7th Research Framework Programme (2007-2013) in the areas ‘Environment’ and ‘Food, Agriculture and biotechnology’

RESEARCH PRIORITIES


COM (2006)231: “Not enough is known about soil biodiversity. This will be addressed with a view to gaining a better understanding of the function of biodiversity as an environmental service. ”

RESEARCH PRIORITIES - SOIL BIODIVERSITY

Some aspects to study:v the impacts on soil biodiversity of: Ø the various soil management and land use practicesØ the effects of climate change (and vice versa),Ø the presence of contaminants; Interaction between soil

biodiversity, soil use and soil pollution (risk assessment)

v development of: ØComparable, standardized methods for the

characterisation of soil biodiversityØDefinition of biological indicator of soil quality/health

and subsequent development of a monitoring systemØBiodiversity based soil management strategies

RESEARCH PRIORITIES -SOIL BIODIVERSITY (2)

Other aspects of the strategy that would profit from targeted research activities:

vbetter understanding of the role of soil in GHG cycles

vmeasurable methods and techniques for soils as carbon sinks

vmeasures to prevent soil degradation processes

vmeasures to prevent soil contamination

vbuilding techniques to limit sealing and favour brownfieldredevelopment

OTHER RESEARCH PRIORITIES

vmodelling for the identification of risk areas

vmethodologies for the establishment of risk acceptability criteria

vmethodologies for the identification of contaminated sites

vcheap and reliable techniques for soil remediation

v improvement of the research Infrastructure: exchange of best practices and EU-wide analyses of best practices to define (and organise) research needs

OTHER RESEARCH PRIORITIES (2)


v Inability to adequately perform multidisciplinary research.v Lack of basic soil information in major areas of the EU; Large and often

unknown variability in the quality of available soil datav inability to express soil functions in social and financial terms. v Improve “branding” soil science; present “success stories”. v unable to define the carbon cycle in soils and landscapesv unable to answer societal questions for the EU area, e.g. how much C is lost

each year by erosion, how much fertile soils are lost or degraded, how much biofuels can potentially be produced, etc.

v Our knowledge on soil is fragmented along disciplinary lines; too much focus on static properties rather than on dynamic processes.

v The lack of common indicators and evaluation procedures leads to a highly confusing array of recommendations.

v We appear to ignore education as we focus on research.

RESEARCH PRIORITIES –EXPERTS’ VIEWS


RESEARCH FRAMEWORK (1)

landscape

3-layer model 1a land and water dynamics1b ecology2 roads, railways, canals3 settlements

7 soil functions 1.production food and biomass2.storing, filtering, transformation3.habitat, genepool4.physical&cultural environment5.source of raw materials6.carbon pool7.archive geological and

archeological heritage

STATE (S)


RESEARCH FRAMEWORK (2)

DPSIR-System:Spa Spr

past present

D+P=I+R=

Future(s)

Sf1,2..n

Scenarios:R=D+P=I=

1

2

nD=DriversP=PressuresI = ImpactR=ResponseS=State

Decision making

cost/benefitanalysis


v Translate the improved soil knowledge into developing and implementing:Ø soil management strategies to sustainably use and

protect soil functions; Ø Strategies to support the implementation of the Soil

Framework DirectiveØ strategies to contribute to halt biodiversity loss by

2010;Ø strategies to contribute to climate change

mitigation/adaptationv Development and establishment of a related, adequate soil

monitoring systemv Feed into the discussions in the international arena

(UNCCD, CBD and Kyoto)

POLICY AIMS OF THIS RESEARCH


http://ec.europa.eu/environment/soil/index.htm

Thank you for your attention!


v Soil biodiversity is a relatively new field of research

v Quantification of soil biodiversity is difficult

v Current knowledge fails to establish for their different species:

Ø their functions

Ø their ability to respond to environmental pressures

Ø their interactions with one another

Ø their spatial distributions throughout the soil matrix

Barriers in the implementation of

knowledge -1-


vSuch complexity renders monitoring expensive and resource consuming

vDissemination of knowledge on soil biodiversity to many other areas of research is inadequate and insufficient

vThe links with other research communities(such as soil science, hydrology) should be strengthened Back

Barriers in the implementation of

knowledge -2-

THE SOIL THEMATIC STRATEGY RESEARCH ASPECTS

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