Linking ecosystem condition and ecosystem services: A methodological approach applied to European agroecosystems

Agriculture has been identified as one of the main drivers of environmental degradation in the European Union (EU). It can have negative impacts on air, water, soil and biodiversity. The condition of agroecosystems is affected by soil degradation, especially by soil erosion, which reduces agroecosystems' capacity to provide essential ecosystem services. Therefore, it is necessary to explore synergies and trade-offs between pressures, ecosystem condition and services to create relevant information for policy and decision-makers to implement sustainable response actions. As part of the EU environmental policy, the Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES) Working Group developed appropriate concepts to assess and link ecosystem condition and services. This study aims to test the indicators proposed by MAES to assess ecosystem condition and link it with the ecosystem services provision. For this, we applied a suggested operational framework developed in the context of the Biodiversity Strategies 2020 and 2030 for the integrated assessment of agroecosystems and regulating ecosystem service control of erosion rates supply at European scale. We quantified and mapped indicators for ecosystem condition, environmental and anthropogenic pressures and soil erosion control. We explored the relationships between the respective indicators and the capacity of agroecosystems to control soil erosion across the different Environmental Zones (EZ). Our results indicate that, in general, European agroecosystems have a high capacity to control soil erosion with some variations within the EZ. Supply capacity is positively, negatively and not correlated with the various pressure and condition indicators. Management and climate indicators play a significant role in the assessment of this service. These results highlight that conservational management practices are fundamental to reduce soil loss and improve agroecosystem condition. However, the design and implementation of such management practices must consider regional and local landscape characteristics, agricultural practices and the needs and opportunities of stakeholders. © 2021 The Author(s

Gesunde Agrarlandschaften : Zur Erfassung und Bewertung von Ökosystemleistungen

Die Funktionsfähigkeit von Ökosystemen ist von zentraler Bedeutung für unsere Gesellschaft. Dabei stehen in Agrarlandschaften insbesondere Böden als zu schützendes Umweltmedium unter Druck. Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler vom Institut für Physische Geographie und Landschaftsökologie erforschen in verschiedenen Projekten landschaftsökologische Erfassungs- und Bewertungsmethoden, um Strategien zur nachhaltigen Nutzung und zur (Neu)Gestaltung von Agrarlandschaften zu entwickeln

Mapping Control of Erosion Rates: Comparing Model and Monitoring Data for Croplands in Northern Germany

Control of erosion rates (CER) is a key ecosystem service for soil protection. It is mandatory for sustaining the capacity, especially of agroecosystems, to provide ecosystem services. By applying an established framework to assess soil regulating services, this study compares two approaches to assess CER provision for 466 ha of cropland in Lower Saxony (Central Northern Germany). In a "sealed modelling approach", the structural and the mitigated structural impact were modelled by applying the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). The second approach uses spatially explicit long-term monitoring data on soil loss rates obtained in the investigation area as an alternative to the USLE-based modelled mitigated structural impact. Assuming that the monitoring data have a higher reliability than the modelled data, the comparison of both approaches demonstrated the uncertainties of the USLE-based assessment of CER. The calculated indicators based on a sound monitoring database on soil loss rates showed that, due to limitations of the USLE model, the structural impact in thalwegs has been underestimated. Incorporating models with the ability to estimate soil loss by rilling und gullying can help to overcome this uncertainty. The produced set of complementary large-scale CER maps enables an integrated analyses of CER. In the entire investigation area, the provision of CER regulating ecosystem services was generally high, indicating good management practices. Differences at the field scale and between the different regions can be explained by variations of the structural impact and the management practices

Gute Nachrichten für den Boden (?) – Erkenntnisse aus 17 Jahren Bodenerosionsdauerbeobachtung in Niedersachsen

In 17 Jahren wurden im Rahmen der Bodenerosions¬dauer¬beo¬bachtung in Nieder-sachsen mittels Schad¬kar¬tierungen umfang-reiche Daten zur Häufigkeit und Intensität von Bodenerosion durch Wasser auf 465 ha bewirt¬schaftete Fläche gesammelt. Die läng-jährigen Abtragsraten auf den Beo¬bach¬tungs-flächen sind wesentlich geringer als es Modellierungen, z. B. mit der ABAG, erwarten lassen. Dieses Ergebnis kann auf die Domi-nanz belegbar bodenschonender Bewirt-schaf¬tung durch die Landwirte zurückgeführt werden. Neben den generell niedrigen Abtrags¬werten wurden erhöhte bis hohe Bodenabträge in Bereichen mit konver-gierendem Abfluss des Oberflächen¬wassers detektiert. Zudem bele¬gen die Daten einen Zusammenhang zwischen boden¬bear-beitungs¬intensiven Ackerkulturen (insbeson-de¬re Kar¬toffel) und erhöhten Boden¬abträgen

The impact of soil erosion on soil-related ecosystem services: development and testing a scenario-based assessment approach

The ecosystem service (ES) approach usually addresses soil erosion as the regulating service control of erosion rates or soil retention. In addition to the assessment of this regulating ES, mitigated impacts on soil-related ES by preventing soil erosion can be assessed. This study presents a scenario-based approach for the assessment of the impact of soil erosion on soil-related ES. The assessment approach was tested in agricultural landscapes in Northern Germany, combining mapping and assessment of soil-related ES. In six scenarios, the degradation of soils due to soil erosion was simulated by the calculation of soil profile reductions. The scenarios represent two levels of impact with three time steps (+50, +100, +150 years). In the scenarios for the structural impact, the potential soil erosion rates were extrapolated into the future to generate spatially explicit information on degraded soils. In the scenarios for the mitigated impact, the actual soil erosion rates were extrapolated. Four soil-related ES were assessed for the initial state and the scenarios crop provision, water filtration, water flow regulation and fresh water provision. The comparison of the potential service supply of the four soil-related ES in the scenarios enabled the assessment of the long-term effect of the ES control of erosion rates. The mitigated reduction in the potential service supply for three of the considered ES (crop provision, water filtration, water flow regulation) is large and highlights the importance of sustainable soil management. Contrary to this, the ES fresh water provision benefits of erosion-induced soil profile reductions. © 2021, The Author(s)

Derivation of Soil Roughness Using Multi-Temporal Laser Scanning Point Clouds

The present paper deals with the derivation of roughness parameters of soil from laser scanning point clouds, allowing to draw conclusions about properties of the soil (e. g. soil aggregation, soil sealing) and related to this its vulnerability to soil erosion. For this purpose, soil erosion scenes with agricultural cultivation are acquired in five measuring epochs under field conditions. For geo-referencing of the acquired time series of point clouds, a target-based and a data-driven approach are compared. In order to derive roughness parameters, the point clouds are cleaned of vegetation and then modelled to reduce the measurement noise. For this purpose, a collocation-based approach is used, in which a trend surface roughly approximates the point clouds. Remaining systematic deviations, which are caused by the insufficient functional approximation, are caught with the help of a stochastic signal, the variances and correlations lengths of which simultaneously provide information about the soil’s roughness

Bodenerosion als Risiko für die Landwirtschaft : Neue Methoden quantifizieren den Bodenverlust durch Wasser auf Äckern

Bodenerosion durch Wasser gefährdet weltweit Böden. Verschiedene Politikinstrumente definieren Maßnahmen zum Schutz der Böden. Ein Baustein dieser Instrumente sind Monitoringprogramme zur Beobachtung des Erosionsgeschehens und zur Quantifizierung des Bodenabtrags. Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler des Instituts für Physische Geographie und Landschaftsökologie und des Institute of Geo-Engineering der Technischen Universität Clausthal entwickeln gemeinsam Methoden zur hochaufgelösten Quantifizierung des Bodenabtrags. Dazu nutzen sie auf Agrarflächen moderne geodätische Erfassungstechnik, wie Laserscanner und Drohnen und erstellen detaillierte 3D-Modelle der Bodenoberflächen als Grundlage für die Abtragsquantifizierung

Das standörtliche Trockenstressrisiko in den Wäldern der Nordwestschweiz : räumlich hochauflösende Modellierung am Beispiel der Kantone Basel-Landschaft und Basel-Stadt

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