Soil natural capital quantification by the stock adequacy method

AbstractA method is presented for assessing soil natural capital based on the principles of land evaluation. Policymakers are adopting concepts of flows of ecosystem services, and the natural capital stocks that support them, to provide more integrated analyses of the trade-offs between environmental, economic, social and cultural outcomes from land use. Soil is frequently overlooked in these analyses. Techniques are needed to quantify and map soil natural capital and their potential to provide ecosystem services to enable the soil science community to more effectively engage with decision-makers. To support this engagement, these techniques need to use available soil survey maps and databases to provide extensive geographic coverage of soil natural capital estimates. The method presented estimates the adequacy of soil natural capital stocks to support the soil processes behind the provision of ecosystem services under a specific land use. A stock adequacy index estimates the degree to which the provision of services is limited by soil natural capital stocks or advantaged by a stock surplus under a given land use. Reference values are derived from a curve of the response of the provision of the service to key soil stocks for a specified land use. These curves are determined from land evaluation and soil quality literature, or by modelling. The method is essentially an extension of land evaluation in which the evaluations are calibrated using an ecosystem approach. The output indices provide information about potential ecosystem services provision, land-use suitability, soil resource use efficiency, and environmental performance. Outputs from the method are demonstrated for a range of soils under pastoral dairy land use in Wairarapa, New Zealand

Farmer perspectives of the on-farm and off-farm pros and cons of planted multifunctional riparian margins

The planting of riparian margins is a policy option for pastoral farmers in response to land use induced environmental issues such as declining water quality, stream bank erosion, and loss of aquatic and terrestrial habitat. We elicited the views and experiences as to pros and cons of planting riparian margins from two sets of dairy farmers from Taranaki, New Zealand: those who are or have planted riparian margins, and those who have not yet done so. Those farmers who have planted riparian margins identified 21 positive aspects of riparian margin plantings and 11 negative aspects of riparian margin plantings. Perceived benefits identified by this group include water quality, increased biodiversity, the provision of cultural ecosystem services, immediate direct benefits to farm management and the farm system, and in some instances increased productivity on-farm. In contrast, those farmers that had fenced but not planted their riparian margins did not consider that riparian margin plantings could add further benefits to that which could be achieved by excluding stock from waterways, and associated only negative perceptions with riparian margin plantings. Planting riparian margins is not cost neutral and will not deliver anticipated environmental benefits in every situation. However, we argue that riparian margin plantings are an important ecological infrastructure investment that needs to be captured within a wider policy framework, the benefits of which extend beyond the mitigation of a single negative externality generated by land use practices, such as nutrient loss, and contribute to a multifunctional landscape

Scientific Opinion addressing the state of the science on risk assessment of plant protection products for in-soil organisms

Following a request from EFSA, the Panel on Plant Protection Products and their Residues developed an opinion on the science behind the risk assessment of plant protection products for in-soil organisms. The current risk assessment scheme is reviewed, taking into account new regulatory frameworks and scientific developments. Proposals are made for specific protection goals for in-soil organisms being key drivers for relevant ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes such as nutrient cycling, soil structure, pest control and biodiversity. Considering the time-scales and biological processes related to the dispersal of the majority of in-soil organisms compared to terrestrial non-target arthropods living above soil, the Panel proposes that in-soil environmental risk assessments are made at in- and off-field scale considering field boundary levels. A new testing strategy which takes into account the relevant exposure routes for in-soil organisms and the potential direct and indirect effects is proposed. In order to address species recovery and long-term impacts of PPPs, the use of population models is also proposed

Contribution for the derivation of a soil screening value (SSV) for uranium, using a natural reference soil

In order to regulate the management of contaminated land, many countries have been deriving soil screening values (SSV). However, the ecotoxicological data available for uranium is still insufficient and incapable to generate SSVs for European soils. In this sense, and so as to make up for this shortcoming, a battery of ecotoxicological assays focusing on soil functions and organisms, and a wide range of endpoints was carried out, using a natural soil artificially spiked with uranium. In terrestrial ecotoxicology, it is widely recognized that soils have different properties that can influence the bioavailability and the toxicity of chemicals. In this context, SSVs derived for artificial soils or for other types of natural soils, may lead to unfeasible environmental risk assessment. Hence, the use of natural regional representative soils is of great importance in the derivation of SSVs. A Portuguese natural reference soil PTRS1, from a granitic region, was thereby applied as test substrate. This study allowed the determination of NOEC, LOEC, EC20 and EC50 values for uranium. Dehydrogenase and urease enzymes displayed the lowest values (34.9 and ,134.5 mg U Kg, respectively). Eisenia andrei and Enchytraeus crypticus revealed to be more sensitive to uranium than Folsomia candida. EC50 values of 631.00, 518.65 and 851.64 mg U Kg were recorded for the three species, respectively. Concerning plants, only Lactuca sativa was affected by U at concentrations up to 1000 mg U kg1. The outcomes of the study may in part be constrained by physical and chemical characteristics of soils, hence contributing to the discrepancy between the toxicity data generated in this study and that available in the literature. Following the assessment factor method, a predicted no effect concentration (PNEC) value of 15.5 mg kg21dw was obtained for U. This PNEC value is proposed as a SSV for soils similar to the PTRS1

Quantifying and valuing the ecosystem services of pastoral soils under a dairy use : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Ecological Economics at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

The full range of ecosystem services provided by soils are rarely recognised or understood, nor is the link between soil natural capital and these services. Understanding these concepts is more important than ever to meet the food and fibre demands of a growing global population, while ensuring the sustainability of the finite resource that is soil. The objective of the thesis was to develop a framework to describe the natural capital and ecosystem services of pastoral soils, and to apply it to quantify and value soil ecosystem services under a dairy use in New Zealand. A new conceptual framework was developed from current scientific understanding of land classification, soil formation, soil processes and ecosystem services concepts. The framework links soil formation, maintenance and degradation processes to soil natural capital stocks, and provides a basis for exploring the influence of drivers like climate and land use on soil natural capital stocks and the flow of ecosystem services. The soil services identified included provision of food, support to human infrastructure and animals, flood mitigation, filtering of nutrients and contaminants, detoxification and recycling of wastes, carbon storage and greenhouse gases regulation, and pest and disease populations regulation. Based on the conceptual framework, new methodology was developed to quantify and model each provisioning and regulating service from soils. Proxies based on soil properties and a process-based model were used to explore the impacts of soil type (Horotiu silt loam and Te Kowhai silt loam) and dairy management practices on soil properties and processes behind each service at the farm scale. Neoclassical economic valuation techniques were then used to value soil ecosystem services for the case study examples. Under a dairy operation, the total value of soil ecosystem services was $15,777/ha/yr for a Horotiu silt loam. Regulating services ($11,445/ha/yr) had a greater value than provisioning services ($4,322/ha/yr). The ecosystem services from a Te Kowhai silt loam were less valuable,$11,687/ha/yr. The difference in value between soils reflects differences in their physical structure and associated hydraulic properties, the natural capital stocks behind many services. Valuing some services (e.g. filtering of P) was challenging since some services cannot be substituted by artificial inputs or manufactured capital. This new approach provides for the first time land managers and policy makers with the ability to compare the total utility of soils, not just their productivity and versatility for different land uses. It also provides a powerful practical tool for evaluating the environmental impact of farm management practices, resource management options and policy alternatives at the regional and national levels, by enabling direct linkages between the economy and the environment. This study allows the value of soil to be benchmarked against commonly used indicators of economic performance such as GDP at the national level and net profits at the farm scale. The case study examples showed that the value of 'un-priced' soil ecosystem services to be significantly higher than net profit of dairy farms

Rôle du pharmacien d'officine face aux soins palliatifs dans le cadre d'un réseau de soins à domicile

AIX-MARSEILLE2-BU Pharmacie (130552105) / SudocSudocFranceF

Natural capital and New Zealand’s Resource Management Act (1991)

Quantifying natural resources as natural capital and the valuation of the ecosystem services that flow from natural capital stocks are emerging areas of science. Are these developing concepts compatible with current resource management legislation? Can these ideas be used in judicial proceedings to protect natural capital and maintain the portfolio value of nature‟s ecosystem services? We describe two recent cases in New Zealand where natural capital concepts were used in the Environment Court to protect land from peri-urban creep and to protect receiving water quality through the allocation of a nutrient discharge allowance to land. Results have been mixed, with prospects appearing good