LIFE INF/ES/540.

Transcription

1 LIFE INF/ES/540

2 LAND TAKE AND SOIL ECOSYSTEM SERVICE LOSSES Silvia Ronchi Centro di Ricerca sui Consumi di Suolo Politecnico di Milano Barcellona - November 6 th, 2014

3 Centro di Ricerca sui Consumi di Suolo (research center on land take process) Silvia Ronchi

4 W H Y A R E A S E R C H C E N T R E? 1 Knowledge to govern the phenomenon The necessity of knowledge To quantify the land take process and to know the intesity of this process of land use changes related to a limited and non renewable natural resource. critical questions 1. The land use classification 2. The method to assess the land use changes 3. The scale and the use of the data at different levels 4. The interpretation of the data Silvia Ronchi

5 W H Y A R E A S E R C H C E N T R E? 2 Interpretation of the phenomenon The morphological characters sprawl and metropolisation process (process of qualitative transformation, both functional and morphological) The environmental and landscape value of a territory Urbanization pressure Silvia Ronchi

6 W H Y A R E A S E R C H C E N T R E? 3 Understand the causes The land take process and the population and employment dynamics are related to: - Income - New ways of life - New forms of production and logistics Silvia Ronchi

7 Silvia Ronchi What is SOIL SEALING? It is the covering of the ground by an impermeable material, as a result of urban development and infrastructure construction. It is one of the main causes of soil degradation in the EU Soil is a limited and non renewable resource that provides different services for the human well-being. The land take and the soil sealing processes negatively affect the capability of soil to deliver ecosystem services. La proposta di studio di fattibilità Silvia Ronchi Istituto Nazionale di Urbanistica Albino, 14 maggio 2014

8 According to the European Soil Thematic Strategy (EU, 2006) it is necessary to improve the integration of measures to prevent, contrast and limit soil sealing and the degradation of soil. Soils provide a very wide range of vital ecosystem functions, playing a crucial role in food production as well as the production of renewable materials such as timber, offering habitats for both below and above-ground biodiversity, filtering and moderating the flow of water to aquifers, removing contaminants and reducing the frequency and risk of flooding and drought; they can help regulate the microclimate in compact urban environments, particularly where they support vegetation; they can also provide aesthetic functions through the landscape. Agricultural land also provides ecological services for cities such as recycling of urban wastes (e.g. sewage sludge) and products (e.g. compost). Silvia Ronchi RiCasa Land - Crema Life Barcellona, November 18 settembre 6 th 2014

9 S O I L E C O S Y S T E M S E R V I C E S Silvia Ronchi RiCasa - Crema 18 settembre 2014

10 Silvia Ronchi W H Y P R E V E N T S O I L S E A L I N G? The regeneration process of a soil is rare and complex, requires a significant contribution in terms of energy and time, taking into consideration that in order to restore just 2.5 cm of degraded soil requires up to 500 years. The Ecosystem services are affected by land use conversion and, for instance, soil sealing. 2,5cm >>> 500 years 10 cm >>> years (Pileri, 2013)

11 Silvia Ronchi W H Y P R E V E N T S O I L S E A L I N G? The forecast made by FAO: the arable land has decreased from 0,45 hectares per capita since 1961 and will reach 0,2 hectares per capita in 2020, and 0,1 hectares by 2050.

12 Silvia Ronchi W H Y P R E V E N T S O I L S E A L I N G? 1 hectare of agricultural soil = food x 6 people x 1 year 1 hectare of agricultural soil produces: 55 tons of beets 52 tons of vegetable crops 12 tons of corn 7 tons of rice (Pileri, 2013)

13 Silvia Ronchi W H Y P R E V E N T S O I L S E A L I N G? Soil sealing influences the soil ability to retain water 1 hectare of permeable soil retains up to liters of water (Pileri, 2013)

14 W H Y P R E V E N T S O I L S E A L I N G? Water which cannot infiltrate due to soil sealing must be redirected with the use of expensive runoff system. The maintenance and cleaning of canals and pipes for this purpose cost EUR per hectare of sealed land in Germany A parking lot with conventional asphalt surface produce 50% more rainwater runoff which flows into the local waste water treatment system than a parking lot with a permeable surface. (Central Europe Programme, 2012 EU commission, 2011) Silvia Ronchi

15 Silvia Ronchi W H Y P R E V E N T S O I L S E A L I N G? CO2 in atmosphere: 750 Gt CO2 in soil: Gt 1 hectare of permeable soil can stock up to kg of CO2 eq. The CO2 can be emitted into the atmosphere within a few decades if the soil is sealed or removed. (Pileri, 2013)

16 Silvia Ronchi S O I L E C O S Y S T E M S E R V I C E S and L A N D U S E P L A N N I N G The ecological systems functions direct and indirect goods and services essential to the survival of the organisms ES set of processes and conditions that makes possible the survival of human life in natural ecosystems. Soil is one of the fundamental components for supporting life on Earth, which drives ecosystem and global functions and thus helps maintaining life above ground. The increase of population, the economic growth, the urban sprawl, and the expansion of industrial and agricultural activities, determine changes in land use impact/alteration/degradation on the Soil ES worldwide. The provision of ecosystem services is directly affected by land use in the last years, there was a growing interest in the analyses of the services provided by Soil and the need to include them in decision-making processes in order to achieve sustainable development The provisioning of soil ES strictly depends on the land use

17 Silvia Ronchi The development of cities and the decisions concerning the use of the land are held by the planning discipline that has the responsibility of each single land use change. Land-use Land take process. Soil use and soil protection important issues for land use planning, to Know the factors that reduce the soil ability to carry out its functions. Emerging priorities of spatial planning is to limit soil sealing and contamination that are predominant in the urban and periurban areas. The awareness of this aspect could be included and incorporated as a part of planning decisions with a multidisciplinary approach with the use of a common language, and filling in the gap between soil scientists, urban planners and decision makers = the knowledge of soil functions can orient the decision-makers to make a rational choice for land-use and to identify and select the development strategies that are more performable in processes related to soil and its functions Predict the effects of land use decisions on Soil Ecosystem services is a crucial need in spatial planning.

18 FOR INFORMATION