Scientific-Technical Reports

Monitoraggio ambientale antecedente l’entrata in funzione di un termodistruttore Environmental Monitoring before the entrance in function of Power Plants EUR 20674 IT, 257pp. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg (2003). R.M Cenci, M. Barbiere et al. Download report: (Size: 32.7 MB) Preview FrontPage :

Processing Indices of Change and Extremes from Regional Climate Change Data Indicators of climate change and extremes from regional models coming from the PRUDENCE project of the Danish Meteorological Institute, the consortial simulation of the Climate Limited-area Modelling Community and 12 runs of bias-corrected data from the ENSEMBLES project were processed. The resulting indicators were standardized to a common map projection, grid size and spatial extent to be directly available for further analysis or integration with other spatial data. The indicators were used in the data available from the European Climate Adaptation Platform (CLIMATE-ADAPT), the European Database of Vulnerabilities to Natural Hazards (EVDAB), the JRC activities within the FP7 RESPONSES project and support the evaluation of changes in soil organic carbon under climate scenarios. Author(s) Hiederer, R. – Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union – 2012 – 29pp. – EUR25339 Scientific and Technical Research series - ISBN 978-92-79-24994-5 , doi: 10.2788/27516 Download report: (Size: 1 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 09/04/2013

Threats to the Soil Resource Base of Food Security in China and Europe To secure adequate food supply is the major challenge for humanity in the 21st century. Growing world population and its urbanization put pressure on this basic need, which is further threatened by the constant loss of fertile land. The assessment of sustainability of food supply under increasing pressure on land resources has been selected as one of the most important priority topics of the activities of Sino-EU Panel on Land and Soil (SEPLS). The Panel has performed a number of related researches and discussed the results on a scientific seminar in January 2012 in Nanjing, China. This report is an output of this seminar with a summary of the structured discussions on the below issues. Author(s) Gergely Tóth and Xiubin Li (eds.) – Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union – 2013 – 117pp. – EUR25632EN Scientific and Technical Research series, ISSN 1831-9424, doi:10.2788/71196 Download report: (Size: 4 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 10/09/2013

Progress in the Management of Contaminated Sites in Europe This report presents the current state of knowledge about progress with the management of contaminated sites in Europe. It directly supports the EU Soil Thematic Strategy (COM(2006) 231), which identifies local soil contamination as an important issue. It presents facts, analyses and methods on the management of Contaminated Sites, which can inform policy makers, professional practitioners, researchers, citizens and the media. The report is based on data that were collected from the National Reference Centres for Soil in 39 countries belonging to the European Environment Information and Observation Network (EIO-NET) during a campaign organised by the JRC European Soil Data Centre in 2011-2012. The information presented in this report is based on a set of indicators which have been agreed on and used by the EIONET for more than a decade. This set of indicators contributes to the Core Set Indicator "Progress in the Management of Contaminated Sites" (CSI 015) of the European Environment Agency (EEA), which is used for reporting on the State of the Environment. Author(s) Marc van Liedekerke, Gundula Prokop, Sabine Rabl-Berger, Mark Kibblewhite and Geertrui Louwagie. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union 2014 – 64 pp. – UR – Scientific and Technical Research series – ISSN 1831-9424 (online) ISBN 978-92-79-34846-4 (PDF), doi:10.2788/4658 Download report: (Size: 6 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 27/02/2014

A Practical Guide to Geostatistical Mapping of Environmental Variables Geostatistical mapping can be defined as analytical production of maps by using field observations, auxiliary information and a computer program that calculates values at locations of interest. A Practical Guide to Geostatistical Mapping of Environmental Variables. EUR 22904 EN, Scientific and Technical Research series, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg, 143 pp. Hengl, T., 2007. Download report: (Size: 8.9 MB) Preview FrontPage :

European Soil Portal The Official Guide for the European Soil Portal. References to Data, Documents, Applications, Projects, Themes and Utilities. Also, the features of the Soil portal are presented against the INSPIRE principles. EUR 22186 EN, 69pp. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg. Panos Panagos, Marc Van Liedekerke and Luca Montanarella Download report: (Size: 11.2 MB) Preview FrontPage :

An Innovative Approach for Updating Soil Information based on Digital Soil Mapping Techniques In this study, we propose a novel innovative approach to address the issues on evaluating the traditional soil maps and updating the existing soil information based on the principles of digital soil mapping. EUR22545, 44pp. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg (2007). Senthil-Kumar Selvaradjou, Luca Montanarella, Florence Carre, Arwyn Jones, Panos Panagos, Kaliaperumal Ragunath, Ramalingam Kumaraperumal, and Subramanian Natarajan. Download report: (Size: 1.7 MB) Preview FrontPage :

The State of Soil in Europe - A contribution of the JRC to the European Environment Agency's Environment State and Outlook Report - SOER 2010 This report published by the JRC and the European Environment Agency provides a comprehensive overview of soil resources and degradation processes. The core of this report was prepared for the Assessment on Soil, which forms part of the 'The European Environment - state and outlook 2010 Report' (SOER) 20102, coordinated by the European Environment Agency (EEA). This Reference Report uses data from the European Soil Data Centre (ESDAC), managed on behalf of EU institutions by the JRC. The information also helps European citizens to better understand, care for and improve Europe's environment. The soil assessment was one of a set of 13 Europe-wide thematic assessments of key environmental themes and the only one coordinated by the JRC. Author(s): Arwyn Jones, Panos Panagos, Sara Barcelo, Faycal Bouraoui, Claudio Bosco, Olivier Dewitte, Ciro Gardi, Markus Erhard, Javier Hervás, Roland Hiederer, Simon Jeffery, Anke Lükewille, Luca Marmo, Luca Montanarella, Claudia Olazábal, Jan-Erik Petersen, Vit Penizek, Thomas Strassburger, Gergely Tóth, Miet Van Den Eeckhaut, Marc Van Liedekerke, Frank Verheijen, Eva Viestova, Yusuf Yigini 2012 – 76 pp. – EUR 25186 EN– Scientific and Technical Research series. Download report: (Size: 4 MB) Last Update: 13/02/2012

Validation of the EU Soil Sampling Protocol to verify the changes of Organic Carbon stock in mineral soil (Piemonte Region, Italy) Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a measure of the total amount of organic compounds or carbon (C) in soil independently of their origin or decomposition. Interest in SOC is common among soil scientists and related practitioners because of its importance for principle physical, chemical and biological soil ecological functions and that SOC is a universal indicator of soil quality. EUR 22339 EN, 46pp. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg. Stolbovoy Vladimir, Nicola Filippi, Luca Montanarella, Mauro Piazzi, Fabio Petrella, Javier Gallego, Senthil-Kumar Selvaradjou Download report: (Size: 1.9 MB) Preview FrontPage :

Elementi chimici nei funghi superiori (Chemical elements in fungi) Funghi di riferimento come strumento di lavoro per la bioindicazione e la biodiversita (Fungi as study means for biodiversity and bio-indication I funghi in natura sono tra i principali agenti dei cicli biogeochimici, i cicli di materia ed energia alla base del funzionamento degli ecosistemi Il presente volume comprende: Indicazione delle localita di campionamento dei funghi e dei suoli, I dati analitici (ca 300.000) riguardanti la totalità dei campioni (ca 10.000) di funghi e di suoli analizzati, La statistica descrittiva per tutti i generi e le specie analizzati, Le mappe che illustrano la distribuzione delle concentrazioni degli elementi inorganici nei funghi. Author(s): R. M. Cenci, L. Cocchi, O. Petrini, F. Sena, C. Siniscalco, L. Vescovi, 22010 – 232 pp– EUR 24415 IT– EUR – Scientific and Technical Research series – ISSN 1018-5593 - ISBN 978-92-79-16023-3 Download report: (Size: 29.5 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 22/07/2010

Evaluation of BioSoil Demonstration Project - Soil Data Analysis The BioSoil demonstration Project was initiated under the Forest Focus-Scheme (Regulation (EC) Nr. 2152/2003) concerning the monitoring of forests and environmental interactions in the Community, and aimed to broaden the scope of previous forest monitoring activities (on atmospheric pollution and forest fires) to the fields of soil characteristics and biodiversity indicators. The evaluation of the project concentrated on analysing a selected number of parameters submitted by NFCs for estimating the distribution and changes in soil organic carbon and the performance of the WRB classification. Author(s): R. Hiederer, E. Michéli, T. Durrant, 2011 – 155 pp. – EUR 24729 EN– Scientific and Technical Research series – ISSN 1018-5593, ISBN 978-92-79-19320-0, Doi 110.2788/56105 Download report: (Size: 3.5 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 11/02/2011

Will there be enough plant nutrients to feed a world of 9 billion in 2050? Will there be enough plant nutrients to feed a world of 9 billion in 2050? is the central question addressed by a JRC study. This exercise was based on consultations with experts and a thematic workshop focused on three areas of interest: 1) the demand for fertilizers to sustain crop production necessary to feed the world in 2050; 2) perspectives on the supply of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) to world agriculture and 3) the role of innovation and technology in changing the match between demand and supply of fertilizers. Implications of the main findings for current EU and international policies were addressed. "There is no specific reason to be alarmed about the overall supply of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus for the world's agriculture but because of changing conditions in production, demand and use, continuous vigilance is called for." Author(s):Jean-Paul Malingreau, Hugh Eva, Albino Maggio. 2012 – 30pp. – EUR 25327 EN – Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union – 2012 – 30 pp. – 21.0 x 29.7 cm, EUR – Scientific and Technical Research series – ISSN 1831-9424 (online) ISSN 1018-5593 (print), ISBN 978-92-79-24910-5 (pdf),ISBN 978-92-79-24909-9 (print), doi: 10.2788/26603 Download report: (Size: 1.5 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 26/09/2012

Chemical elements in Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes (The reference mushrooms as instruments for investigating bioindication and biodiversity) Fungi in the wild are among the principal agents in biogeochemical cycles; those cycles of matter and energy which enable ecosystems to work. By investigating the biodiversity of Italian fungal species and concentration levels of chemical elements in them, it may be possible to employ these fungi as biological indicators for the quality of forest, woodland and semi-natural environments. The data archives of EUR Reports record the dry-material concentrations, of 35 chemical elements, including heavy metals, in over 9000 samples of higher mushrooms. These samples represent around 200 genera and a thousand species. As the archive has attained statistical stability it has been possible to define the concept of a "reference mushroom". The use of a "reference mushroom" may bring benefits – perhaps only as a methodological approach – in various fields of mycological and environmental research; from biodiversity and bioindication, through taxonomy right up to health and sanitation issues. The sheer volume of the collected data may prove to be useful as a comparison for data collected in the future; such results would also allow a better and more-exhaustive interpretation of the effects of environmental-protection laws which have been enacted over the years in order to reduce or remedy current climate-change phenomena and the environmental damage caused by human activity. Editors:R. M. Cenci and F. Sena, 2011 – 232 pp. – EUR 24415 EN– Scientific and Technical Research series – ISSN 1018-5593, ISBN 978-92-79-20395-4, Doi 10.2788/22228 Download report: (Size: 28.5 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 06/09/2011

Addressing soil degradation in EU agriculture: relevant processes, practices and policies. Report on the project 'Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Conservation (SoCo)' Agriculture occupies a substantial proportion of the European land, and consequently plays an important role in maintaining natural resources and cultural landscapes, a precondition for other human activities in rural areas. Unsustainable farming practices and land use, including mismanaged intensification as well as land abandonment, have an adverse impact on natural resources. Having recognised the environmental challenges of agricultural land use, the European Parliament requested the European Commission in 2007 to carry out a pilot project on 'Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Conservation through simplified cultivation techniques' (SoCo). The project originated from a close cooperation between the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) and the Joint Research Centre (JRC). It was implemented by the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) and the Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES). Authors: SoCo Project Team, Editors: Geertrui Louwagie, Stephan Hubertus Gay, Alison Burrell.Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.– 332 pp., EUR – Scientific and Technical Research series – ISSN 1018-5593, ISBN 978-92-79-13358-1, DOI 10.2791/69723 Download report: (Size: 18 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 13/08/2009

Soil Protection Activities and Soil Quality Monitoring in South Eastern Europe Conference papers, June 18th and 19th, 2009, Sarajevo - Bosnia and Herzegovina. The conference Soil Protection Activities and Soil Quality Monitoring in South Eastern Europe was organized in Sarajevo as a joint action by the Soil Science Society of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Soil Science Society of Slovenia. The main objectives of conference were to review the soil protection and soil quality monitoring activities in SEE including research activities, project reports, good practice guides and various methodologies and monitoring strategies. The special emphasis was laid on the ecological and technical soil functions, remediation and re-cultivation measures, data collection and processing, soil protection policy, soil quality and soil resources management issues on the regional level. The conference was an opportunity to key regional soil science research institutions to present activities and achievements with further prospects of cross - border scientific collaboration. This publication presents a selection of 20 conference papers prepared by the authors from SEE countries (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) and guest contributions from Austria, Slovenia and Syria. Editors:Panos Panagos, Vernik Tomaž, Hamid Custovic, Borut Vršcaj, 2011 – 208 pp. – EUR 24889 EN– Scientific and Technical Research series – ISSN 1831-9424, ISBN 978-92-79-20728-0, Doi 10.2788/36675 Download report: (Size: 10.5 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 27/07/2011

SCAPE: The way ahead SCAPE project (Soil Conservation and Protection for Europe) has given scientists the opportunity to discuss soil conservation and protection strategies in an informal way with people who are either responsible for finding solutions, or being affected by them. Several hundreds of people have contributed to this book, either collectively or individually. They include the scientists, soil conservation and protection practitioners and stakeholders who participated in the SCAPE platforms, as well as many EU officers who are responsible for future research and environment policy. They also include people who met at the Vital Soil Conference at the Hague in November 2004 and as well the group of International experts in soil and environmental law who met at the September 2005 Conference in Iceland. Anton Imeson, Arnold Arnoldussen, Diego de la Rosa, Luca Montanaralla, Luuk Dorren, Michiel Curfs, Olafur Arnalds, Sanneke van Asselen et (2005) SCAPE: The way ahead. 139pp. Keywords: Soil Conservation, Soil Protection, Soil Data, European Sustainable Land Management Download report: (Size: 10.8 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 22/03/2010

Final report on the project ‘Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Conservation (SoCo)’ This report synthesises the findings of the SoCo project and translates them into conclusions and recommendations. Following the introduction (Chapter 1), Chapter 2 reviews soil degradation processes, soil conservation practices and policy measures at European level. Soil degradation risk was assessed through parametric and empirical models, whereas the review of soil conservation farming practices is based on the available literature. The literature review of policy measures is supplemented by a survey of policy implementation at national or regional level. Chapter 3 takes the analysis to the local scale by means of ten case studies distributed over three macro-regions. Aggregated environmental benefits of adopting particular soil conservation practices are explored with model calculations in Chapter 4. Finally, Chapter 5 discusses the effectiveness and efficiency of instruments for soil protection, maintenance and improvement in Europe, exploring opportunities and critical issues linked to the adoption of conservation practices. The report closes with policy-relevant conclusions as a basis for policy recommendations. Authors: SoCo Project Team, Editors: Geertrui Louwagie, Stephan Hubertus Gay, Alison Burrell.Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. EUR 23820 EN, ISBN 978-92-79-12400-6, ISSN 1018-5593, DOI 10.2791/10052 Download report: (Size: 8 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 24/09/2009

Landslide Mapping in Austria. This study presents and discusses landslide inventories, susceptibility and hazard maps and databases available in Austria. Schweigl, J., Hervás, J., 2009. Landslide Mapping in Austria. JRC Scientific and Technical Report EUR 23785 EN, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg, 61 pp. ISBN 978-92-79-11776-3. Download report: (Size: 26 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 07/04/2009

Soil Sampling Protocol to Certify the Changes of Organic Carbon Stock in Mineral Soils of European Union (Version 2) The objective of this report is to introduce a second, updated, version of the Protocol for soil sampling (Stolbovoy et al., 2005) which includes improvements on Technical specification, Location of the sampling sites, Sampling quantity and composition, Sample collection, Data acquisition and accuracy control, Field validation of the AFRSS method. EUR 21576 EN/2 . 57 pp. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg. Vladimir Stolbovoy, Luca Montanarella, Nicola Filippi, Arwyn Jones, Javier Gallego and Giacomo Grassi Download report: (Size: 2 MB) Preview FrontPage :

Threats to Soil Quality in Europe The special session during EUROSOIL 2008 dedicated to the threats to soil quality in Europe has allowed for an indepth analysis of the status of research in this are and the identification of still existing research gaps for future action. The full coverage of the threats identified within the Soil Thematic Strategy will allow to further support the on-going process towards better soil protection in Europe. Gergely Tóth, Luca Montanarella and Ezio Rusco (eds.) EUR 23438 EN, ISBN 978-92-79-09529-0, ISSN 1018-5593, DOI 10.2788/8647 . Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities , 2008. Download report: (Size: 8MB) Preview FrontPage :

Biofuels: a New Methodology to Estimate GHG Emissions from Global Land Use Change - A methodology involving spatial allocation of agricultural land demand and estimation of CO2 and N2O emissions This study provides a new methodology developed by the JRC IES and IE for estimating changes in soil carbon stocks and GHG emissions resulting from global land use changes caused by the production of biofuels. The methodology follows a two-step approach: a) Creation of database (e.g. land use/crop cover/soil types etc.), combining different data sources into a single harmonised database; b) Simulation based on cropland demands from the general equilibrium model MIRAGE (run by IFPRI) and on cropland demand from the partial equilibrium model AGLINK-COSIMO Author(s): Roland Hiederer, Fabien Ramos, Claudia Capitani, Renate Koeble, Viorel Blujdea, Oscar Gomez, Declan Mulligan and Luisa Marelli, 2010 – 150 pp. – EUR 24483 EN– Scientific and Technical Research series – ISSN 1018-5593, ISBN 978-92-79-16389-0, DOI 10.2788/48910 Download report: (Size: 2 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 12/11/2010

Background Guide for the Calculation of Land Carbon Stocks in the Biofuels Sustainability Scheme: Drawing on the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories This Guide covers the calculation of carbon-stock changes in soil and above- and below-ground vegetation due to land use conversion in support of Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources, particularly for assessing carbon-stock changes due to land conversion for biofuel production. The methodology put forward is based on the Tier 1 approach as developed under the IPCC Guidelines 2006. It is based on specifying default values for carbon stocks and using coefficients of divergence from the default values according to land use/cover. The methodological approach of the IPCC was adapted for use with spatial layers instead of data tables. The spatial layers of the factors influencing carbon-stock changes were generated with global coverage and thematically aligned to comply with stipulations made in the Directive. According to the types of land use/cover conversion, a review is made of the methodology of the IPCC (2006). Particular problems regarding peatlands are presented. Drained peatlands cannot be assessed in terms of carbon-stock changes because drainage occurs on the overall peat soil profile (not only on the first 30 cm). This has direct consequences not only on CO2 emissions but also on CH4 and N2O. Tables of coefficients of conversions are then proposed according to climate zone and continental boundaries for soil carbon-stock changes and for above- and below-ground carbon stock changes in biomass in a Technical Annex. Author(s): Florence Carré, Roland Hiederer, Viorel Blujdea, Renate Koeble, 2010 – 109 pp. – EUR 24573 EN– Scientific and Technical Research series – ISSN 1018-5593, ISBN 978-92-79-17455-1, Doi 10.2788/34463 Download report: (Size: 2.5 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 12/11/2010

Development of a Spatial European Soil Property Data Set For many applications of modelling environmental conditions or developing scenarios for environmental change analysis soil property data in form of spatial layers are needed. Raster data formats are widely used for the modelling of movements through space and the storage of parameters, which change constantly and without a pattern that could be described by a plain mathematical function. This study into providing spatial soil property layers uses a soil database where the soil properties are stored in tables of generalized combinations of attributes and linked to a spatial layer of delineated mapping units. Roland Hiederer & Robert J.A. Jones, 2009. Development of a Spatial European Soil Property Data Set. JRC Scientific and Technical Report EUR 23839 EN, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg, 30 pp.ISBN 978-92-79-12535-5, ISSN 1018-5593 , DOI 10.2788/19220. Download report: (Size: 1 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 19/06/2009

Mapping Soil Properties for Europe - Spatial Representation of Soil Database Attributes The European Soil Database (ESDB) provides the most detailed and comprehensive set of data for soil properties with pan-European coverage. However, using the ESDB soil properties in combination with spatial applications is hampered by the structure of the database for soil typological attributes. In this study a layer of mapped typological units was used to resolve issues related to the database structure for the spatial representation of soil properties and to map key soil properties to standardized spatial layers. The information available from the ESDB tends to be more suited to characterise the site of a soil unit, including morphological conditions. The range of soil property data was extended by the Harmonized World Soil Database (HWSD), which provides more detailed information on soil properties. Combining data from both databases was achieved by processing the attributes in a database management system and then linking the output to a spatial reference layer and by transferring attributes to the spatial layer from each database and processing the data by spatial overlay functions of a Geographic Information System (GIS). Author(s) Hiederer, R. – Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union – 2013 – 47pp. – EUR26082EN Scientific and Technical Research series, ISSN 1831-9424, doi:10.2788/94128 Download report: (Size: 6 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 27/08/2013

Monitoring, Reporting and Verification systems for Carbon in Soils and Vegetation in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries Improved terrestrial carbon management offers tremendous potential for climate change mitigation and, in many cases, there are associated co-benefits such as increased productivity, resilience, and biodiversity. In January 2011, the Institute for Environment and Sustainability of the Joint Research Centre organized an inter-service meeting on “Monitoring, Reporting and Verification systems for carbon in soils and vegetation in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries” with the objective of refining its long-term research agenda in that domain. This was achieved in the light of the needs of the Directorates-General involved in the development and environment policies namely DEVCO, ENV, CLIMA, ENTR, RTD and AGRI as well as of the recent evolution of the UNFCCC negotiations. This report encompasses the proceedings of the meeting together with the conclusions and recommendations to JRC work program stated by the invited experts and policy-makers from the different relevant DGs. Editors: Delphine de Brogniez, Philippe Mayaux, Luca Montanarella, 2011 – 99 pp. – EUR 24932 EN– Scientific and Technical Research series – ISSN 1831-9424, ISBN 978-92-79-21137-9, Doi 10.2788/63356 Download report: (Size: 3 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 10/10/2011