European Soil Strategy

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• European Soil Strategy
• Soil Pollution with Heavy Metals
• an overview
• Jan Japenga

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European Soil Strategy Communication on Soils,
2002

• Communication on Soils, April 2002

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European Soil Strategy Communication on Soils,
2002
Main threats to soils were defined in a
Communication on Soils by the EC, launching the
European Soil Strategy

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European Soil Strategy Communication on Soils,
2002

• Background of the 2002 Communication on Soils
• UN Convention to Combat Desertification (1998)
• Prevent /reduce land degradation
• Rehabilitate/reclaim (partly) degraded land
• 6th Environmental Action Programme of the
  European Commission (2001)
• Protection of soils against erosion and pollution
• EU Sustainable Development Strategy (2001)
• Soil loss and declining fertility erode the
  viability of agricultural land

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European Soil Strategy Communication on Soils,
2002

• Purpose of the 2002 Communication on Soils
• To build political commitment to soil protection
• To turn soil protection in Europe more systematic
• To describe the actual state of the soil in
  Europe in terms of eight defined threats to soil
  quality
• To develop a legislative basis for soil
  monitoring to create a knowledge-based approach
  for soil protection
• To initiate actions to create a comprehensive
  European Soil Strategy

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European Soil Strategy Communication on Soils,
2002

• Positioning of the 2002 Communication on Soils
• Relation with existing/developing EU-policies
  regulations
• Environmental policy
• Nitrates Directive
• Water Framework Directive
• http//europa.eu.int/comm/environment/water/water
  -framework/index_en.html
• Waste Framework Directive etc.
• The EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
• European Commission Communication on Sustainable
  Development (http//europa.eu.int/comm/environment
  /eussd/)
• Regional Policy and Structural Funds
• Transport Policy

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European Soil Strategy Communication on Soils,
2002

• Website link for European policy paper overviews

http//europa.eu.int/comm/dgs_en.htm
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European Soil Strategy Communication on Soils,
2002

• Main threats cf. the 2002 Communication on Soils
• Erosion
• Contamination (local diffuse)
• Loss of soil organic matter
• Decline of biodiversity
• Compaction and other physical soil deterioration
• Salinisation
• Floods landslides
• Sealing

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European Soil Strategy Main threats to European
Soils

• Threats are interrelated

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European Soil Strategy Main threats to European
Soils

• Erosion
• Contamination (local diffuse)
• Loss of soil organic matter
• Decline of biodiversity
• Compaction and other physical soil deterioration
• Salinisation
• Floods landslides
• Sealing

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European Soil Strategy Main threats to European
Soils

• Soil Contamination

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European Soil Strategy Main threats to European
Soils

• Contamination
• Introduction of (naturally occurring or
  man-made) chemicals in/onto the soil by point
  sources or by diffuse input sources.
• Presence of contaminants in soils may cause
  risks of
• food chain effects adverse effects on human
  health
• breakdown of soil buffering capacity
• deteriorated ecosystem health and biodiversity
  losses
• cross contamination to water bodies (groundwater
  surface waters)
• Risks may enforce or inhibit land use changes as
  risks vary with land use options

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European Soil Strategy Main threats to European
Soils

• Contamination
• Local (point) sources
• (past present) mining activities (mine
  tailings, acid mine drainage)
• (past present) industrial facilities and
  military sites, mainly in Eastern Europe
• waste landfills
• Diffuse input sources
• atmospheric deposition (from industry, traffic,
  agriculture)
• soil acidification, most important in Eastern
  Europe
• heavy metals from fertilisers manure
• pesticides (mainly historic)
• waste material applications (sewage sludge,
  sediments)

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European Soil Strategy Main threats to European
Soils

• Contamination
• Extent of the problem in Europe (local soil
  contamination)
• 300.000 to 1.500.000 polluted sites in Europe
• 3000 former military sites in Eastern Europe
• high soil clean-up and polluted land management
  costs in some EU-countries
• Netherlands 550 MEuro and Spain 14 MEuro in
  2000, which reflects a different perception
  of contamination severity
• total expected clean-up costs in the European
  Union 59.000 119.000 MEuro
• Extent of the problem in Europe (diffuse soil
  contamination)
• acidification causes release of heavy metals and
  aluminum in certain areas
• radionuclides are persistent in forest areas
• wide-spread soil-related water pollution
  (nitrogen, pesticides)

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European Soil Strategy Technical Working Groups

• Technical Working Groups

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European Soil Strategy Technical Working Groups

• After the 2002 Communication on Soils DG
  Environment decided to formulate a Thematic
  Strategy for Soil Protection.
• Five Technical Working Groups (TWGs) were
  installed
• Monitoring
• Erosion
• Organic Matter
• Contamination
• Research

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European Soil Strategy Technical Working Groups

• In 2004 all TWGs delivered their final reports

http//forum.europa.eu.int/Public/irc/env/soil/ li
brary?l/reports_workingvmdetailedsbTitle
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European Soil Strategy Technical Working Groups

• Common approach for all TWGs
• The eight threats to soils defined by the 2002
  Communication on Soils
• The DPSIR approach to structure problems and
  their solution

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European Soil Strategy Technical Working Groups

• Common approach for all TWGs
• The eight threats to soils defined by the 2002
  Communication on Soils
• The DPSIR approach to structure problems and
  their solution

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European Soil Strategy Communication on Soils,
2002

• Main threats cf. the 2002 Communication on Soils
• Erosion
• Contamination (local diffuse)
• Loss of soil organic matter
• Decline of biodiversity
• Compaction and other physical soil deterioration
• Salinisation
• Floods landslides
• Sealing

21
European Soil Strategy Technical Working Groups

• Common approach for all TWGs
• The eight threats to soils defined by the 2002
  Communication on Soils
• The DPSIR approach to structure problems and
  their solution

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European Soil Strategy Technical Working Groups

• Common approach for all TWGs
• The eight threats to soils defined by the 2002
  Communication on Soils
• The DPSIR approach to structure problems
  and their solution

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European Soil Strategy Technical Working Groups
- DPSIR

• The DPSIR approach
• Driver
• Pressure
• State
• Impact
• Response

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European Soil Strategy Technical Working Groups
- DPSIR
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European Soil Strategy Technical Working Groups
- DPSIR

• RESPONSES
• Responses can address D, P, S I, e.g dependent
  on soil type /soil use and threat.
• Examples for contamination
• Industrial/mining soil
• Agricultural soil
• Contaminated soil

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European Soil Strategy Technical Working Groups
- DPSIR
RESPONSES industrial/mining soil ----
contamination threat
Response to impacts is extremely expensive Respon
se to drivers to avoid pressures is most adequate
(input control, choice of soils, protective
measures regarding pollutant accumulation)
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European Soil Strategy Technical Working Groups
- DPSIR
RESPONSES agricultural soil ---- contamination
threat
Response to impacts is extremely expensive Respon
se to drivers to avoid pressures is inadequate.
Agiculture unavoidably puts pressures on a
soil. Response to soil state is most convenient
(input output, avoiding accumulation)
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European Soil Strategy Technical Working Groups
- DPSIR
RESPONSES contaminated soil ---- contamination
threat
Response to impacts (remediation, polluted land
management) is expensive, but anavoidable as the
soil state is already changed and already leads
to impacts. Impacts include decreased soil
fertility, declining biodiversity, health risks.
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European Soil Strategy Technical Working Groups

• Technical Working Groups (TWGs)
• Monitoring
• Erosion
• Organic Matter
• Contamination
• Research

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European Soil Strategy Technical Working Groups

• Technical Working Groups (TWGs)
• Monitoring
• Erosion
• Organic Matter
• Contamination
• Research

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European Soil Strategy Technical Working Groups

• Some conclusions and policy recommendations on
  soil contamination
• Local sources point source safety,
  environmental liability
• Diffuse inputs need for better regulations on
  the use of agricultural additives
• Contaminated land management adopt the RBLM
  approach (Risk Based Land Management)

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European Soil Strategy Technical Working Groups

• Technical Working Groups (TWGs)
• Monitoring
• Erosion
• Organic Matter
• Contamination
• Research

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European Soil Strategy The European Soil
Research Agenda

• The European Soil Research Agenda

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European Soil Strategy The European Soil
Research Agenda

• Research clusters as proposed by the TWG
  Research
• Processes underlying soil functions and soil
  quality
• Spatial and temporal changes of soil processes
  and parameters
• Ecological, economic and social drivers of soil
  threats
• Factors (threats) influencing soil eco-services
• Strategies and operational procedures for soil
  protection
• Cross-cutting and over-arching issues

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European Soil Strategy The European Soil
Research Agenda

• RESEARCH

Soil eco-services
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European Soil Strategy The European Soil
Research Agenda

• Research clusters as proposed by the TWG
  Research
• Processes underlying soil functions and soil
  quality
• Spatial and temporal changes of soil processes
  and parameters
• Ecological, economic and social drivers of soil
  threats
• Factors (threats) influencing soil eco-services
• Strategies and operational procedures for soil
  protection
• Phytoremediation

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Phytoremediation of heavy metals

• Phytoremediation of heavy metals
• The use of plants in soil remediation and
• polluted land management

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Phytoremediation of heavy metals

• Phytoremediation of heavy metals
• Phytoextraction
• Plants extract heavy metals from the (moderately
  polluted) soil and the contaminated plant
  material is further treated
• Phytostabilisation/revegetation/ecological
  restoration
• Plants, in combination with soil treatment, are
  used to physically and chemically stabilise
  (heavily polluted soil) thus reducing the risks
  for humans and ecosystems

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Phytoremediation of heavy metals

• Phytoextraction of heavy metals
• Critical Success Factors
• High heavy metal uptake rates high biomass
  production
• Low leaching rates to avoid groundwater pollution

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Phytoremediation of heavy metals

• Phytoextraction of heavy metals
• Approaches
• Use of hyperaccumulators
• Use of biodegradable soil additives to
  temporarily increase heavy metal uptake rates

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Phytoremediation of heavy metals

• Phytoextraction of heavy metals
• Examples
• Use of Miscanthus var. for the transformation of
  agricultural soil into forest soil (cadmium and
  phosphate removal)
• Use of Berkheya coddii (hyperaccumulator) to
  remove nickel from soils around a smelter in
  South Africa. Nickel returned to the smelter

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Phytoremediation of heavy metals

• Phytostabilisation of heavy metals
• Critical Success Factors
• Low heavy metal uptake rates to avoid food-chain
  contamination
• Low leaching rates to avoid groundwater pollution

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Phytoremediation of heavy metals

• Phytostabilisation of heavy metals
• Approaches
• Use of a combination of vegetation and soil
  treatment (immobilisation of heavy metals,
  agonomic measures)
• Perennial vegetation with good root system and
  low heavy metal uptake rate
• Preference for local plant species (ecological
  restoration) or cash crops (e.g. energy crops)

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Phytoremediation of heavy metals

• Phytostabilisation of heavy metals
• Examples
• Use of Miscanthus and Vetiver for the
  stabilisation of copper polluted soil in
  Tongling, China
• Use of local species (Arabidopsis halleri) to
  stabilise heavy metal polluted dredged sediment
  in NW France

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Phytoremediation of heavy metals

• Phytostabilisation of heavy metals
• Phytostabilisation fits into the European Soil
  Strategy as it is a tool which can be used in
  Risk Based Land Management in combination with
  socio-economic measures.

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Phytoremediation of heavy metals

• CONCLUSION
• Phytoremediation fits very well into the
  European Soil Strategy and in the European Soil
  Research Agenda.