Soil Biodiversity at the JRC

Transcription

1 Soil Biodiversity at the JRC Simon Jeffery & Ciro Gardi EUROPEAN COMMISSION JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE Institute for Environment and Sustainability TP 280 I Ispra (VA), Italy

2 Background The Thematic Strategy for the Protection of Soil was developed within the Commission s 6th Environment Action Program This is due to the recognition that soils are a fundamental environmental compartment performing vital ecological, social and economic services including: filtering and buffering of contaminants from water providing a pool of biodiversity source of raw materials sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide archive of cultural heritage

3 Why is Soil Biodiversity Important? Soil organisms are responsible for supplying the environment with a number of critically important ecosystem services including: Soil formation Decomposition of organic matter Soil fertility and plant growth Water infiltration and retention Degradation of pollutants Biocontrol of pests Pollination However, specific knowledge regarding functions performed by soil biota is still limited

4 The Value of Soil Biodiversity Functional value relating to the natural services that the soil biota provides, the associated preservation of ecosystem structure and integrity, and ultimately the functioning of the planetary system via connections with the atmosphere and hydrosphere Utilitarian ( direct use ) value which covers the commercial and subsistence benefits of soil organisms to humankind Intrinsic ( non-use ) value which comprises social, aesthetic, cultural and ethical benefits Bequest ( serependic ) value relating to future, but as yet unknown, value of biodiversity to future planetary function or generations of humankind

5 The Economics of Soil Biodiversity Activity Soil biodiversity involved in such activity World economic benefits of biodiversity (x $10 9 /year) Waste recycling Various saprophytic and litter feeding invertebrates (detritivores), fungi, bacteria, actinomycetes and other microorganisms 760 Soil formation Diverse soil biota facilitate soil formation, e.g. earthworms, termites, fungi, etc 25 Nitrogen fixation Biological nitrogen fixation by diazotroph bacteria 90 Bioremediation of chemicals Maintaining biodiversity in soils and water is imperative to the continued and improved effectiveness of bioremediation and biotreatment. 121 Biotechnology Nearly half of the current economic benefit of biotechnology related to agriculture involving nitrogen fixing bacteria, pharmaceutical industry, etc 6 Biocontrol of pests Soil provide microhabitats for natural enemies of pest, soil biota (e.g. mycorrhizas) contribute to host plant resistance and plant pathogens control. 160 Pollination Many pollinators may have edaphic phase in their life-cycle 200 Total 1,542 Adapted from Pimentel et al. (1997)

6 Raising Awareness Production of informative leaflet and booklet providing information on soil biodiversity which are freely available on request Participated in the JRC open day to help inform the public about the functions of soil biodiversity Worked towards the inclusion of soil biodiversity in the Global Biodiversity Outlook

7 Database of Soil Biodiversity Database to include field studies of soil biodiversity in EU27 Not currently going to include microbiota Database will be hosted online This will allow easy access to soil biodiversity researchers to aid highlighting of gaps in knowledge and compiling of data for studies and reviews

8 Ecoregions Work is currently underway in partnership is EFSA Aim to produce a European map of ecoregions for the soil biota Ecoregions will defined as areas of similar physico-chemico soil properties, combined with information regarding the soil biota

9 Links between biodiversity and function Economics of soil biodiversity and ecosystem services Soil indicators Development of monitoring Modelling land use impacts Taxonomy methodology Climate change and soil biodiversity Soil functions and om dynamics Expert Workgroup Number of times chosen

10 DPSIR Framework Increase of human population Change of life style Energy consumption Land use change Land use intensity Agricultural intensity Dissipative use of chemicals GMO use, trade and release Globalization Mobility infrastructures Driving Forces Climate change Land use change Habitat disruption Soil organic matter decline Soil erosion Climate change Pressures Soil Land use compaction change Habitat disruption Soil Soil organic sealing matter decline erosion Soil Soil compaction pollution Soil sealing Human Soil pollutionintensive exploitation Human intensive exploitation GMO GMO pollution pollution species Invasive Habitat fragmentation species Habitat fragmentation SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Environmental policy Soil protection State Responses Impact SOIL BIODIVERSITY DECLINE Loss of biological diversity Reduction of soil organisms quantity CHANGE OF THE ECOLOGICAL STRUCTURE Change of ecosystem functions Loss of ecosystem goods and services

11 Human intensive exploitation Soil organic matter decline Habitat disruption Soil sealing Soil pollution Land use change Soil compaction Soil erosion Habitat fragmentation Climate change Invasive Species GMO Pollution Potential Threat Weighting (%)

12 Biochar Reviewing of the interactions between biochar and the soil biota It is this interaction which determines the level of recalcitrance of biochar within the soil and hence its residence time in soils Biochar appears to increase mycorrhizal fungi and overall microbial biomass It also appears to increase microbial respiration in some situations There is some preliminary evidence that this may be linked with a priming effect in forest soils

13 Ongoing Activities Production of an Atlas of Soil Biodiversity in Europe Aimed at a general audience Contributors include leading European experts on soil biodiversity Will contain two main sections One mainly text based to provide and overview of soil biodiversity, its interaction with ecosystem services, economic value etc. Plus an Encyclopedia of Soil Biodiversity which will be mainly picture based, aimed at raising awareness of the incredible levels of diversity found in the soil system Projects run in conjunction with Regione Lombarida

14 Future Directions Members of consortia responding to call aimed at achieving an understanding of the role soil biodiversity plays in ensuring the sustainable use of soil The objective is to deepen the understanding of soil biodiversity and of its interactions and links with the soil functions (as defined in the proposal for a Soil Framework Directive (COM(2006)232)

15 Mapping Soil Biodiversity Only limited information is known concerning current levels of soil biodiversity, especially at European scale Only by having a benchmark is it possible to know whether soil biodiversity is decreasing or increasing in a given area

16 Threats to Soil Biodiversity Threats to soil biodiversity were not explicitly mentioned in the Soil thematic Strategy (COM 2006 (231)) However those threats listed, along with those outlined by the DPSIR Framework, are all likely to function as threats to soil biodiversity A map of these threats will help highlight areas of soil biodiversity under particular threat

17 Thank you for your attention Marcin Pawinski Steve Hopkin Karl Ritz Lewis J Deacon Joint Research Centre, Ispra, 17 th September 2009