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Nutrients are essential for plants and animals - but, in
excessive amounts, they can lead to a significant decrease
in soil and water quality.
Nutrients can be introduced into the environment through
fertilisers or other agrochemicals and strict regulations
have been adopted to limit their use. A new atlas - the work
of European Commission scientists - provides, for the first
time, a clear view on the pressure on eco-systems due to nutrients
and their source.
The atlas was the basis for identifying areas in Europe with
the highest levels of nutrient pressure, which include large
portions of The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland
and Italy.
The atlas is the product of the FATE initiative (Fate
of Pollutants in Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems) at
the European Commission's Joint Research Centre - investigating
the impact of nutrients such as agrochemicals on the environment.
Nutrients get into the environment through agriculture, wastewater
treatment plants, industry, etc. However, there has been little
research into - and no EU-wide assessment of - the contribution
of these sectors to nutrient pollution and the extent of its
impact. The FATE initiative was designed to specifically address
this gap in environmental research, with particular emphasis
on agriculture. The results of the project should help better
implementation of existing legislation and also provide a
scientific basis for any future legislation.
For example, the information used in the atlas shows that
the range of surplus nutrients in agro-intensive areas varies
widely among European countries - with the Netherlands topping
200 kg/ha and Italy not exceeding 40kg/ha. There is also a
wide variety of levels within countries - for instance, France
has an overall nitrogen excess of 50 kg/ha, whereas Brittany,
standing alone, exhibits levels exceeding 120 kg/ha.
The scientists were able to show that excess nutrient loss
is often due to practices such as over-fertilisation, making
prevention both relatively straightforward and low-cost. Indeed,
applications of nitrogen fertilisers were found, at times,
to be twice as high as crop needs. The FATE team was also
able to identify a close link between increased nutrient pressures
on the environment and high-density livestock production.
The team also evaluated the impact of several climate change
scenarios, showing that farmers in already intensive production
areas, will be forced to increase their use of fertilisers
to maintain optimum crop yields, while demand for water resources
will also increase - further taxing Europe's water supply.
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