Life Quality – Soil – Food Chain

1. Life Quality – Soil – Food Chain GyörgyVárallyay Research Institute for Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Budapest, Hungary 5thAlps-Adria Scientific Workshop 6–11 March, 2006, Opatija, Croatia

2. Quality of life criteria: • healthy and good-quality food • clean water • pleasant environment • rational land use • sustainable management of natural resources • conservation of soil and water resources • landscape preservation

3. Relationships between resources and the society atmosph. hydrosph. soil biota Protection of land management resources Land resources socio-economic implications facts requirements Decision making as interface processes production environment possibilities for regulation transport RESOURCES SOCIETY

4. The DPSIR Framework Applied to Soils

6. SOILS/LANDrepresent a considerable part of the natural resources consequently, their • rational utilization • conservation and the • maintenance of their multipurpose functionality have particular significance in the • national economy (optimal utilization of natural resources, rational biomass production ….), and • environment protection (soil-water-biota-biosphere conservation)

7. SOIL FUNCTIONS • conditionally renewable natural resource; • integrator [transformer] of other natural resources; • most important media for biomass production; • storage of heat, water, nutrients; pollutants; • buffer of various natural and human-induced stresses; • filter [prevention of groundwater pollution etc.] • transformation of various substances [including detoxication]; • habitat for soil biota, gene-reservoir, media of biodiversity; • conservator of natural and human heritage.

8. Sustain food and biomass production Plant health Physical environment of roots Plant nutrition mineralisation N,P,S,K,… availability of water porosity aeration Ca, Fe, Mg, K, Cu CEC PGPR, pathogens allelochemicals P N mycorhizae earthworms rhizobia rhizosphere

9. water air Nitrates, phosphates infiltration Pesticides, metals CO2, CH4, N2O.. Retention by clays and organic matter (adsorption, complexation, bound residues) Mineralisation of OM carbon sequestration Maintenance of soil structure by OM-Mineral interactions Protection from erosion soil pollution erosion loss of biological activity and biodiversity desertification Environmental functions of soil

10. Soil functions Society has utilized these functions in different ways (rate, method, efficiency) throughout history, depending on the given natural conditions and socio-economic circumstances. Irrational use may result in over-exploitation, in the decreasing efficiency of one or more soil functions, and – above a certain limit – in serious environmental deterioration.

11. Major limitations of the agro-ecological potential North and Central Asia South East Asia South America Central America North America Australasia World Average South Asia Africa Europe Drought Mineral stress Shallow depth Water excess Perma- frost Left available % 36 25 22 18 16 15 15 14 10 11

12. Land degradation problems in Europe Erosion Organic Matter Compaction Decline in Biodiversity Floods and landslides Contamination local and diffuse Salinization Sealing

13. Carpathian Plains are relatively favourable forrainfed biomass productionbut faced with various ecological constraints • soil degradation processes • extreme moisture regime • nutrient stresses • environmental pollution

14. In the Carpathian Basin the most important soil degradation processes are as follows: • Soil erosion by water or wind. • Soil acidification. • Salinization/alkalization/sodification. • Physical soil degradation, such as structure destruction, compaction, surface sealing, etc. • Extreme moisture regime: (sometimes) simultaneous hazard of over-moistening, waterlogging and drought-sensitivity. • Biological degradation, such as unfavourable changes in soil biota, decrease in soil organic matter. • Unfavourable changes in the biogeochemical cycles of elements, especially in the regime of plant nutrients, such as leaching; volatilization; biotic and abiotic immobilization. • Decrease in the buffering capacity of soil; soil pollution, environmental toxicity.

15. Limited water resources • atmospheric precipitation • quantity spatial • form high distribution • chemical composition time • surface waters • quantity • extremes • quality • subsurface waters • quality • depth • fluctuation • seepage • surface runoff • erosion • sediment transport    … • sedimentation ?

16. Reasons high spatial (territorial) temporal variability of atm. precipitation rain: snow - snowmelt relief [macro, meso, micro] soil vegetation land use Consequences water losses ~ E ~ surface runoff ~ filtration soil losses [O.M., nutrients…] biota „losses” vegetation losses yield losses energy losses EXTREME Moisture Regime flood water logging water surplus over-moistening drought water deficiency

17. wastes water air from other source) in soil (original) resource emission transmission - imission total content extractant soil properties solubility dependent soluble content Direct pollution with soil (dust suspended matter) can move can reach water resource Water (solute) transport dependable mobile content Direct „poisening” Drinking „available content” may enter living organisms (food chain) Selective uptake by plants (plant nutrition) „plant available” Selective uptake by animals (animal nutrition) „animal available” Meat eating Plant eating Selective uptake by human beings (human nutrition) „human available” Human health impacts

18. SOIL FUNCTIONS SOIL PROPERTIES ! SOIL PROCESSES SOIL FORMING FACTORS The main task of up-to-date soil science is the efficient control of soil processes! Any soil-related action require adequate information on soil and on its environment terrain land-site ecosystem

19. Control of soil processes Registration of facts and consequences soil properties - fertility yield environmental impacts Analysis of potential reasons(soil processes) Analysis – modelling of soil properties soil processes soil-plant (crop) relations soil-environment Analysis of influencing factors and their mechanisms prognosis Possibilities of theoretical real regulation rational (control) economic Methods and technologies for the „optimum” variants IMPLEMENTATION

20. Registration of soil properties Parameters (definitions, selection) measurement Methods for their determination calculation estimation Survey, sampling, laboratory analysis background (capacitiy) Data Category systems Soil information systems vertical Spatial and time variability of soil properties horizontal Mapping Monitoring Remote-sensing Geo-statistics

21. EMISSION MOBILIZATION d Strategy for pollution control vulnerability susceptibility sensitivity soil of waters ecosystem to various compounds TRANSMISSION „+” pollution IMISSION „+” mobilizing agent (pH) d LOAD (deposition, accumulation) d d CRITICAL LOAD concentration (stress) d i d i CTB EXCEEDANCE d IMMOBILE CONTENT (POOL) i -increase d -decrease

22. The main possibilities of efficient soil pollution control are: –emission/imission reduction (preventing or reducing the quantity of pollutants deposited on or transported to the soil surface or into the soil); –prevention of the mobilization of potentially harmful chemical compounds or elements which are already present in the soil but in – temporarily – immobile form; –decrease in the susceptibility/vulnerability of soil to various pollutants (through an increase in the buffering capacity of soils), making it tolerant of a higher critical load of pollutants and consequently reducing the „exceedance risk” and its unfavourable ecological consequences.

23. Hungarian soil science and agrochemistry have achieved significant results in food chain pollution control: • determination of the specific solubility, mobility, availability and toxicity of various elements and chemical compounds under different soil conditions; • quantification of the „tolerance limits” and „critical loads” of various desirable or acceptable target levels (critical quantity, critical concentration); • definition and classification of the potential economical, environmental, ecological and health consequences of exceedance loads or stresses; • elaborationof alternative methods and technologies for the prevention, minimalization, or at least reduction of soil pollution and its unfavourable economical, ecological and environmental consequences.

24. Thank you very much for your attention!