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The need for harmonizing methodologies for assessing soil threats in Europe van Beek C.L., Toth T., Hagyo A., Toth G., Recatala Boix L., Ano Vidal C., Malet J.P., (...), Oenema O. The need for harmonizing methodologies for assessing soil threats in Europe (2010) Soil Use and Management, 26 (3), pp. 299-309. Central to the EU thematic strategy for soil protection is that areas affected by soil degradation through erosion, soil organic matter (SOM) decline, compaction, salinization and landslides should be identified in a clear and consistent way. However, the current methodologies to achieve this often differ and this can result in different perceptions of risks amongst EU Member States. The aims of this paper are to: (i) assess the current status of assessment methodologies in Europe (EU27) associated with erosion, SOM decline, compaction, salinization and landslides and (ii) discuss the issues associated with harmonization of these methodologies throughout the EU27. The need for harmonization is assessed using the relative share of common elements between different methodologies. The results demonstrate that the need for harmonization in methodology is greatest for erosion and compaction and least for SOM decline and landslides. However, many of the methodologies which were investigated are still incomplete and there are significant differences in terms of: (i) understanding the threats, (ii) methods of data collection, (iii) processing and interpretation and (iv) risk perception. Access the paper: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-2743.2010.00280.x Last Update: 05/07/2011

An Analysis of the Land Use Sustainability Index (LUSI) at Territorial Scale Based on Corine Land Cover. Gardi C, Bosco C, Rusco E, Montanarella L. An Analysis of the Land Use Sustainability Index (LUSI) at Territorial Scale Based on Corine Land Cover . Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal 21 (5); 2010. p. 680-694. The aim of this paper is to propose a methodology based on the use of a simple and accessible database, such as Corine Land Cover (CLC), for providing an in depth evaluation of environmental sustainability. This evaluation has been carried out through the analysis of factors such as landscape and habitat composition, the level of biodiversity, the degree of anthropisation and soil sealing and the arable land availability. Access the paper: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14777831011067953 Last Update: 05/07/2011

Dioxins, Trace elements, Bioindicators and biodiversity in Soils Soils of the Province of Pavia have been the object of a biological, physical and chemical survey in order to obtain a detailed assessment of their “quality”. For this purpose, standard international methods were used to identify sampling, collection, handling and analysis points. With the use of the Land Use Cover Area from Statistical Survey (LUCAS) network, 7 Primary Points and 34 Secondary Points have been identified. On the basis of the same network, 116 sampling points (Tertiary Points) have been selected within six areas of prevalently industrial nature. The bio-physical-chemical analyses of all the soil samples were the following: trace elements (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Ti and Zn), macro elements (C tot, Corg, Al, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, N, Na, P and Si), dioxins and furans, pH, water retention, pedological profile, bacteria Authors: R. M. Cenci, F. Sena, Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 2009 – 192 pp, EUR23935EN– Scientific and Technical Research series – ISSN 1018-5593, ISBN 978-92-79-12793-9, DOI 10.2788/2351 Download report: (Size: 12 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 09/07/2009

Soil Biodiversity Monitoring in Europe: Ongoing Activities and Challenges. Gardi C, Montanarella L. Soil Biodiversity Monitoring in Europe: Ongoing Activities and Challenges. European Journal of Soil Science, Volume 60 Issue 5, Pages 807 - 819, 2009, DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2389.2009.01177.x The increasing interest in soil biodiversity and its protection, has twofold aspects: the per se biodiversity conservation issues and the mostly unknown economical values of the services provided by soil biodiversity. Inventory and monitoring are the necessary tools for the achievement of an adequate level of knowledge on soil biodiversity status and for the detection of hot spot as well as areas subject to decline. In this paper the main tools and methodological approaches for soil biodiversity measurement are presented, as well as the technical aspects related to the inventory and monitoring activities at large spatial scale. Technical aspects related to the inventory and monitoring activities at a large spatial scale are discussed. A short review of some current experiences of soil biodiversity monitoring at the European level is also presented. Access the paper Last Update: 26/04/2010

Climate change: soil can make a difference! Climate is a principle factor of soil development. Climate drives major soil-forming processes including transformation, accumulation and transport of substances that result in the diversity of soil types on the Earth. Soil is one of the key life support systems responsible for the performance of major ecological functions such as biomass production in agriculture and forestry, storing, fi ltering and transforming nutrients, substances and water, biodiversity (e.g. habitats, species and genes), physical and cultural environment for humans and human activities, source of raw materials, etc. The change of climate alters all processes in soil which may have serious consequences for the both environment and society. Therefore, climate-soil relationship is one of the priority topics in soil science. This booklet presents an overview of the various activities which are being carried out by the Soil Action or to which the basic soil data were provided. In addition, new methods to verify the changes of the organic carbon and estimate the potentials of carbon change in the EU mineral soils are introduced. The overall goal of the document is to provide examples that clearly illustrate that soil is an important issue in climate change. Policies and strategies supporting the effective management of soil can really make a difference for the mitigation of climate change. Vladimir Stolbovoy, Brechje Maréchal, Arwyn Jones, Ezio Rusco and Luca Montanarella, 2008. Conference on ‘Climate change - can soil make a difference?’ , 12th June 2008 , Centre Borschette, Brussels Download report: (Size: 13 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 30/06/2009

Data Management for Monitoring Forest Soils in Europe for the Biosoil Project. Lacarce E, Le Bas C, Cousin J, Pesty B, Toutain B, Durrant T, Montanarella L. Data Management for Monitoring Forest Soils in Europe for the Biosoil Project. Soil Use and Management, Volume 25 Issue 1, Pages 57 - 65, 2009, DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-2743.2009.00194.x Growing environmental awareness and advances in modelling have generated interest in soil monitoring networks. Data management tools have to be developed in order to store data, check for errors and retrieve data for sharing and for analysis. As a result, we have designed a web application and a database for the Biosoil project that focuses on European forest soils. Integral to the system are authentication of users and access rights to the modules and data. It also logs all activities of each user. During data submission, the system automatically manages data transfer from the flat file (ASCII file) to the database after compliance checks. Then error tracking is followed by automated expert checks. These checks identify potential mistakes that can be corrected or commented on by data providers. Since the quality of the results obtained from analysing the data can only be as good as the data, proper management practices should be considered at all stages of the monitoring activity, if the value of the information is to be properly exploited. Access the paper Last Update: 26/04/2010

Soils, Society & Global Change This book highlights how our ability to manage soils plays an important role in global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity reduction, food and water security, and economic and social progress. It explores policy and legal challenges, knowledge management issues, and the crucial role of soil in the successful implementation of the global environmental conventions. The book concludes with the Programme for Action which includes a number of proactive recommendations on how global policies can be improved to protect soil as a resource. The context for this book is the 2007 centennial celebrations of organized conservation and restoration of soil and vegetation in Iceland. As Europe’s northernmost nation, Iceland historically suffered acute land degradation problems and through a century of perseverance has now become a world leader in soil restoration research and techniques. A number of international partners and world-class experts on a variety of pertinent fields gathered in Selfoss, Iceland to join in an International Forum. This book outlines the groundbreaking ideas developed by these experts to address the global soil problems and innovative ways to address the combined challenges of soil, society and global change. Proceedings of the International Forum Celebrating the Centenary of Conservation and Restoration of Soil and Vegetation in Iceland Edited by Harriet Bigas, Gudmundur Ingi Gudbrandsson, Luca Montanarella and Andrés Arnalds. European Communities, pp 212, 2009. JRC50243, EUR 23784 EN, Catalogue number: LB-NA-23784-EN-C , ISSN: 1018-5593, ISBN 978-92-79-11775-6, DOI: 10.2788/84964 Download report: (Size: 10 MB) Preview FrontPage : Last Update: 30/06/2009

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

ENVASSO: ENVironmental ASsessment of Soil for mOnitoring. The project's main objective was to define and document a soil monitoring system for implementation in support of a Soil Framework Directive, aimed at protecting soil in the EU. The final reports from the ENVASSO project can be downloaded through the following links: Volume I identifies 290 potential indicators relating to 188 key issues for nine threats to soil identified in the Commission's Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection. Volume IIa identifies the existing soil inventory and monitoring systems in the EU Member States and evaluates the extent to which existing soil monitoring networks adequately represent European soil typological units, land use/cover, specific soil criteria - such as soil organic carbon, bulk density, heavy metal contents - and existing spatial assessments of threats to soil such as soil erosion, compaction and desertification. Volume IIb is a Survey of National Soil Monitoring Networks, containing comprehensive fact sheets listing for each national network, its purpose, the sampling strategy adopted, the analytical methods used and the number of monitoring sites. Volume III reviews user-needs for soil information and briefly describes existing soil information systems in a selection of Member States. Volume IVa summarises the results of testing 22 indicator procedures in 28 Pilot Areas in the Member Sates. (Oct 2009) Volume IVb contains 28 Pilot Area study reports that adhere to a standard reporting template to aid comparison and evaluation. They represent a wide range of soil-landscapes from the north to the south of Europe........ Volume V describes the procedures and protocols needed for harmonised soil monitoring in Europe which have been modified following the extensive testing of 22 indicators in 28 Pilot Areas of EU Member States reported in Volume IV. Volume VI summarises the results presented in the preceding volumes (I-V) and concludes with a proposed approach to monitoring soil conditions in Europe. Last Update: 30/10/2009

Tolerable Versus Actual Soil Erosion Rates in Europe. Verheijen F, Jones R, Rickson J, Smith C. Tolerable Versus Actual Soil Erosion Rates in Europe. Earth-Science Reviews, Volume 94, Issues 1-4, May 2009, Pages 23-38 , doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2009.02.003 Erosion is a major threat to soil resources in Europe, and may impair their ability to deliver a range of ecosystem goods and services. This is reflected by the European Commission's Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection, which recommends an indicator-based approach for monitoring soil erosion. Defined baseline and threshold values are essential for the evaluation of soil monitoring data. Therefore, accurate spatial data on both soil loss and soil genesis are required, especially in the light of predicted changes in climate patterns, notably frequency, seasonal distribution and intensity of precipitation. Rates of soil loss have been measured, modelled or inferred for most types of soil erosion in a variety of landscapes, by studies across the spectrum of the Earth sciences. This paper reviews the concept of tolerable soil erosion and summarises current knowledge on rates of soil formation, which are then compared to rates of soil erosion by known erosion types, for assessment of soil erosion monitoring at the European scale. Access the paper Last Update: 26/04/2010

Applying quality assurance procedures to environmental monitoring data: a case study Durrant T, Hiederer R., Applying quality assurance procedures to environmental monitoring data: a case study, Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 2009, 11, 774 - 781, DOI: 10.1039/b818274b Managing data in the context of environmental monitoring is associated with a number of particular difficulties. These can be broadly split into issues originating from the inherent heterogeneity of the parameters sampled, problems related to the long time scale of most monitoring programmes and situations that arise when attempting to maximise cost-effectiveness. The complexity of environmental systems is reflected in the considerable effort and cost required to collect good quality data describing the influencing factors that can improve our understanding of the interrelationships and allow us to draw conclusions about how changes will affect the systems. The resulting information is also frequently elaborate, costly and irreplaceable. Since the quality of the results obtained from analysing the data can only be as good as the data, proper management practices should be considered at all stages of the monitoring activity, if the value of the information is to be properly exploited. Access the paper Last Update: 26/04/2010

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

Sustainable mineral resources management: from regional mineral resources exploration to spatial contamination risk assessment of mining. Gyozo Jordan and JRC PECOMINES Project (Giovanni Bidoglio, Marco D'Alessandro, Tamas Hamor, Stefan Sommer, Panos Panagos, Marc van Liederkerke, Anca-Marina Vijdea), Environmental Geology, Springer Berlin , ISSN 0943-0105, Issue Volume 58, Number 1 / July, 2009, pp 153-169, DOI 10.1007/s00254-008-1502-y. Wide-spread environmental contamination associated with historic mining in Europe has triggered social responses to improve related environmental legislation, the environmental assessment and management methods for the mining industry. The objective of this paper is to show how regional mineral resources mapping has developed into the spatial contamination risk assessment of mining and how geological knowledge can be transferred to environmental assessment of mines. The paper provides a state-of-the-art review of the spatial mine inventory, hazard, impact and risk assessment and ranking methods developed by national and international efforts in Europe. It is concluded that geological knowledge on mineral resources exploration is essential and should be used for the environmental contamination assessment of mines. Access the paper Last Update: 26/04/2010

Addressing soil degradation in EU agriculture: relevant processes, practices and policies. 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). Report on the project 'Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Conservation (SoCo)'.Authors: SoCo Project Team, Editors: Geertrui Louwagie, Stephan Hubertus Gay, Alison Burrell. EUR 23767 EN, ISSN 1018-5593, Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2009. Download report: (Size: 4 MB) , Download the Annex (14 MB) Preview FrontPage :

Basin characteristics and nutrient losses: the EUROHARP catchment network perspective. F. Bouraoui, B. Grizzetti, G. Adelsköld, H. Behrendt, I. de Miguel, M. Silgram, S. Gómez, K. Granlund, L. Hoffmann, B. Kronvang, S. Kværnø, A. Lázár, M. Mimikou, G. Passarella, P. Panagos, H. Reisser, B. Schwarzl, C. Siderius, A. S. Sileika, A. A. M. F. R. Smit, R. Sugrue, M. VanLiedekerke and J. Zaloudik. Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 2009, 11, 515 - 525, DOI: 10.1039/b822931g The EC-funded EUROHARP project studies the harmonisation of modelling tools to quantify nutrient losses from diffuse sources. This paper describes a set of study areas used in the project from geographical conditions, to land use and land management, geological and hydro-geological perspectives. The status of data availability throughout Europe in relation to the modelling requirements is presented. The relationships between the catchment characteristics and the nutrient export are investigated, using simple data available for all the catchments. In addition, this study also analyses the hydrological representativity of the time series utilised in the EUROHARP project. Access the paper Last Update: 26/04/2010

Soil Erosion in the Alpine Area: Risk Assessment and Climate Change. Bosco C, Rusco E, Montanarella L, Panagos P. Soil Erosion in the Alpine Area: Risk Assessment and Climate Change. Studi Trentini di Scienze Naturali 85; 2009. p. 117-123 Objective of the research is to define the magnitude of the Actual Soil Erosion Risk in the alpine area and linked it with a perspective of medium long terms in relation to climate change. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) was applied to the whole alpine space. It allowed to produce, with a spatial resolution of 100 m, the map of actual soil erosion and two further maps defining soil erosion rates in IPCC A2 and B2 scenarios. This analysis was carried out by means of the dataset the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) of Trieste made us available. It provides daily rainfall values for the years 1960 - 1990 and for the IPCC A2 and B2 scenario 2070 - 2100. From a comparison between actual erosion and soil losses in A2 and B2 scenarios it comes out that our model does not show relevant raises in erosion rates. Download the paper Last Update: 26/04/2010

Soil Biodiversity What is biodiversity? Biodiversity has different meanings depending on the situation being discussed and the target audience. For example, the Oxford English Dictionary defines biodiversity as being. The variety of plant and animal life in the world or in a particular habitat. This is definition is clearly sufficient for non-specialists. However, when looking more specifically at biodiversity, it becomes evident that thought needs to be given to other groups such as fungi, bacteria and archea. As soil is such as diverse system when considered biologically (as well as physically or chemically) it is necessary to include all taxonomic groups. Therefore, throughout this booklet, when referring to soil biodiversity it will be in reference to the variety of all living organisms found within the soil system. Ciro Gardi and Simon Jeffery EUR23759EN, ISBN 978-92-79-11289-8, ISSN 1018-5593, DOI 10.2788/7831 , Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2009. Download report: (Size: 4 MB) Preview FrontPage :

Bioindicatori per valutare la qualità dei suoli di alcuni parchi della città di Roma Il presente studio è stato effettuato alfine di stimare parte della qualità ambientale in alcuni parchi della città di Roma. Per tale indagine sono stati utilizzati muschi, suoli superficiali raccolti nei parchi di Villa Borghese, Villa Ada e Villa Doria Pamphili. Queste aree sono state scelte perché adiacenti a strade ad alto traffico veicolare. Complessivamente sono state approntate 11 stazioni di prelievo. R. M. Cenci, D. Dabergami, E. Beccaloni, G. Ziemacki, A. Benedetti, L. Pompili, A. S. Mellina, M. Bianchi EUR 23567 IT, Catalogue number LB-NA-23567-IT-C, ISSN 1018-5593, ISBN: 978-92-79-10648-4 Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities , 2008. Download report: (Size: 1 MB) Preview FrontPage :

Digital Soil Map of the World. Published in SCIENCE, Pedro A. Sanchez, Sonya Ahamed, Florence Carré, Alfred E. Hartemink, Jonathan Hempel, Jeroen Huising, Philippe Lagacherie, Alex B. McBratney, Neil J. McKenzie, Maria de Lourdes Mendonça-Santos, Budiman Minasny, Luca Montanarella, Peter Okoth, Cheryl A. Palm, Jeffrey D. Sachs, Keith D. Shepherd, Tor-Gunnar Vågen, Bernard Vanlauwe, Markus G. Walsh, Leigh A. Winowiecki, Gan-Lin Zhang. Science 7 August 2009, Vol. 325. no. 5941, pp. 680 - 681, DOI: 10.1126/science.1175084 Soils are increasingly recognized as major contributors to ecosystem services such as food production and climate regulation (1, 2), and demand for up-to-date and relevant soil information is soaring. But communicating such information among diverse audiences remains challenging because of inconsistent use of technical jargon, and outdated, imprecise methods. Also, spatial resolutions of soil maps for most parts of the world are too low to help with practical land management. While other earth sciences (e.g., climatology, geology) have become more quantitative and have taken advantage of the digital revolution, conventional soil mapping delineates space mostly according to qualitative criteria and renders maps using a series of polygons, which limits resolution. These maps do not adequately express the complexity of soils across a landscape in an easily understandable way. Access the paper or Download it Last Update: 26/04/2010

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 :

Soils of the European Union This report is based on the information contained in the European Soil Database, the result of more than ten years of fruitful effort and collaboration between the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy, and Europe’s leading soil science institutions. The current report overviews soils of the European Union classified in a new standard which is the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB; FAO 1998). This system originates from the approach of the FAO to correlate soil resources globally. The advantage of using the system of the FAO is that the soil resources of the European Union are integrated into the world-wide context. Gergely Tóth, Luca Montanarella, Vladimir Stolbovoy, Ferenc Máté, Katalin Bódis, Arwyn Jones, Panos Panagos and Marc Van Liedekerke (eds.). EUR 23439 EN, ISBN 978-92-79-09530-6, ISSN 1018-5593, DOI 10.2788/87029 . Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities , 2008. Download report: (Size: 4MB) Preview FrontPage :

Numerical classification of soil profile data using distance metrics. F. Carré and and M. Jacobson, Geoderma, November 2008 , Volume 148, Issues 3-4, 15 January 2009, Pages 336-345. Quantitative grouping of soil layer descriptions into profile classes has not advanced much since the 1960s. Here we tackle the problem from pedological, utilitarian and joint points of view using an application, OSACA, that we have developed for the purpose. The program calculates the taxonomic distances between observed profiles based on layer (horizon) characteristics. Characteristics can be either observed soil properties or layer class memberships. OSACA either allocates profiles to existing classes, or creates a new classification of the profiles. Since the pedological distance seems to be more useful for creating classes for pedogenetic and geomorphic studies, whereas the utilitarian distance may be more useful for environmental applications, we test the three distances for soil taxonomy application and available water capacity prediction by using as input variables, soil attributes, and classifying them into new set of profiles. More information about the Article or contact the Author

Soil geography and geostatistics (Concepts and Applications) Geostatistics, which can be defined as the tools for studying and predicting the spatial structure of georeferenced variables, have been mainly used in soil science during the past two decades. Since now, hundreds of geostatistical papers have been published on soil science issues (see bibliography ibid., this volume).The use of geostatistical tools in soil science is diverse and extensive. It can be for studying and predicting soil contamination in industrial areas, for building agrochemical maps at the field level, or even to map physical and chemical soil properties for a global extent. The users of the output maps are going from soil scientists to environmental modelers. Krasilnikov, P., Carré, F. & Montanarella, L. (eds.). EUR 23290 EN, Catalogue number: LB-NA-23290-EN-C, ISBN 978-92-79-08720-2, ISSN 1018-5593 Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities , 2008. Download report: (Size: 5 MB) Preview FrontPage :

Landslide Mapping: Inventories, Susceptibility, Hazard and Risk. Hervás, J. and Bobrowsky, P., 2009. In: Sassa, K. and Canuti, P. (Eds.), Landslides - Disaster Risk Reduction. Springer, Berlin, ISBN 978-3-540-69966-8, pp. 321-349. This book chapter introduces the interrelated concepts of mapping landslide inventories, susceptibility, hazard and risk. It further presents main landslide inventory methods, contents and tools. Then it discusses the differences between landslide susceptibility and hazard mapping and provides an overview of some of the most commonly used methods of susceptibility and hazard analysis, from qualitative (heuristic) approaches to quantitative (statistical and physically based) models. It also introduces the concept of landslide risk and discusses some qualitative and quantitative approaches to risk assessment and mapping. Finally, it provides case study examples of landslide mapping approaches and programmes. More information about the Book or contact the Author

Assessment of Mercury-Polluted Soils Adjacent to an Old Mercury-Fulminate Production Plant. M. Camps Arbestain, L. Rodríguez-Lado, M. Bao, and F. Macías . Applied and Environmental Soil Science Volume 2009 (2009), Article ID 387419, 8 pages doi:10.1155/2009/387419 Mercury contamination of soils and vegetation close to an abandoned Hg-fulminate production plant was investigated. Maximum concentrations of Hg (>6.5?g kg-1 soil) were found in the soils located in the area where the wastewater produced during the washing procedures carried out at the production plant used to be discharged. DOI: 10.1155/2009/387419 Access the paper or contact the Author