Life Quality – Soil – Food Chain

GyörgyGyörgy VárallyayVárallyay

Research Institute for Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Budapest, Hungary

5th Alps-Adria Scientific Workshop 6–11 March, 2006, Opatija, Croatia

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

Relationships between resources and the society

Land resourcesProtection of land

management resources

atmosph. hydrosph. soil biota

socio-economic

implications

Dec

isio

n m

akin

g a

s in

terf

ace

processes

possibilities for regulation

facts

production

transport

requirements

RESOURCES SOCIETY

environment

The DPSIR Framework Applied to Soils

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)

SOIL FUNCTIONS

• conditionally renewable natural resource;

• integrator [transformer] of other natural resources;

• most important media for biomass production;most important media for biomass production;

• storagestorage of heat, water, nutrients; pollutants;

• bufferbuffer of various natural and human-induced stresses;

• filterfilter [prevention of groundwater pollution etc.]

• transformationtransformation of various substances [including detoxication];

• habitat for soil biota, gene-reservoir, media of biodiversity;

• conservator of natural and human heritage.

Sustain food and biomass productionSustain food and biomass production

Physical environment of roots

Plant nutrition

availability of waterporosityaeration

earthwormsrhizosphere

N,P,S,K,…

Ca, Fe, Mg, K, Cu

mineralisation

CEC

mycorhizaerhizobia

Plant health

PGPR, pathogens

allelochemicalsP N

Environmental functions of soilEnvironmental functions of soil

soil

waterair

COCO22, CH, CH44, N, N22O..O..

Mineralisation of OMcarbon sequestration

Nitrates, phosphatesNitrates, phosphates

Pesticides, metalsPesticides, metals

infiltrationinfiltration

Retention by clays and organic matter (adsorption, complexation, bound residues)

Maintenance of soil structure by OM-Mineral interactionsProtection from erosion

erosionerosion

pollutionpollution

desertificationdesertification

loss of biological activity loss of biological activity and biodiversityand biodiversity

Soil functionsSoil functions

SocietySociety has utilized these functions in different ways (rate, method, efficiency) throughout history, depending on the given natural conditions and socio-economic circumstances. Irrational useIrrational 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.

Drought

Mineralstress

Shallowdepth

Waterexcess

Perma-frost

Leftavailable

Major limitations of the agro-ecological potentialMajor limitations of the agro-ecological potential

Euro

pe

Wor

ld

Ave

rage

Cen

tral

A

mer

ica

Nor

th

Am

eric

aSo

uth

Asi

a

Afr

ica

Sout

h A

mer

ica

Aus

tral

asia

Sout

h Ea

st A

sia

Nor

th a

nd

Cen

tral

Asi

a

% 36 25 22 18 16 15 15 14 1110

Land degradation problems in Europe

Organic Matter

Decline inBiodiversity

Contamination local and diffuse

Erosion

Sealing

Compaction

Salinization

Floods and landslides

Carpathian PlainsCarpathian Plains are relatively favourablefavourable for

rainfed biomass productionbut faced with various ecological constraints

soil degradation processes extreme moisture regime nutrient stresses environmental pollution

In the Carpathian Basin the most important soil soil degradation processesdegradation processes are as follows:

(1) Soil erosion by water or wind.

(2) Soil acidification.

(3) Salinization/alkalization/sodification.

(4) Physical soil degradation, such as structure destruction, compaction, surface sealing, etc.

(5) Extreme moisture regime: (sometimes) simultaneous hazard of over-moistening, waterlogging and drought-sensitivity.

(6) Biological degradation, such as unfavourable changes in soil biota, decrease in soil organic matter.

(7) Unfavourable changes in the biogeochemical cycles of elements, especially in the regime of plant nutrients, such as leaching; volatilization; biotic and abiotic immobilization.

(8) Decrease in the buffering capacity of soil; soil pollution, environmental toxicity.

LimitedLimited water resources

atmospheric precipitation quantity spatial

form high distribution chemical composition time

surface waters quantity

extremes quality

subsurface waters quality

depthfluctuation

seepage surface runoff erosion

sediment transport … sedimentation

?

EXTREME Moisture Regime

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

floodwater logging water surplusover-moistening

drought water deficiency

wastes

„plant available”

in soil (original)

„available content”

mobile content

from other source)

airwater

total content

soluble content

„human available”

„animal available”

resource

solubility

- imissionemission transmission

dependent

Water (solute) transport dependable

Selective uptake by plants (plant nutrition)

Selective uptake by animals (animal nutrition)

Selective uptake by human beings (human nutrition)

Human health impacts

may enter living organisms (food chain)

Dir

ect

„po

isen

ing

”

Pla

nt

eat

ing

Dir

ect

po

llu

tio

n w

ith

so

il (

du

st s

usp

end

ed

mat

ter)

Mea

t ea

tin

g

Dri

nki

ng

extractant soil properties

can move can reach water resource

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 informationon soil andon its environment terrain

land-site ecosystem

Control of soil processes

Registration offacts and consequences

Analysis of potential reasons (soil processes)

Analysis of influencing factors and their mechanisms

Possibilities of theoretical real regulation rational (control) economic

Methods and technologies for the „optimum” variants

soil properties - fertilityyieldenvironmental impacts

IMPLEMENTATION

Analysis – modelling of

soil propertiessoil processessoil-plant (crop) relationssoil-environment

pro

gn

osi

s

Registration of soil properties

Parameters (definitions, selection)

measurementMethods for their determination calculation

estimation

Survey, sampling, laboratory analysisbackground (capacitiy)

Category systems

verticalSpatial and time variability of soil properties horizontal

Mapping Monitoring

Remote-sensingGeo-statistics

Data

Soil information systems

Strategy for pollution control

i -increase

d -decrease

EMISSION

MOBILIZATION

„+”

mo

bili

zin

g a

gen

t (p

H)

d

d

d

dd

TRANSMISSION

IMISSION

LOAD(deposition,

accumulation)

d

CRITICAL LOADconcentration

(stress) i

CTB

IMMOBILE CONTENT(POOL)

EX

CE

ED

AN

CE

d

„+”

po

lluti

on

i

vulnerabilitysusceptibilitysensitivity

soilof waters ecosystemto various compounds

The main possibilities of efficient soil pollution soil pollution controlcontrol are:

– eemission/imission reductionmission/imission reduction (preventing or reducing the quantity of pollutants deposited on or transported to the soil surface or into the soil);

– prevention of the mobilizationprevention of the mobilization of potentially harmful chemical compounds or elements which are already present in the soil but in – temporarily – immobile form;

– ddecrease in the susceptibility/vulnerabilityecrease 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.

Hungarian soil science and agrochemistry have achieved significant results in results in food chain pollution control:food chain pollution control:

- ddeterminationetermination of the specific solubility, mobility, availability and toxicity of various elements and chemical compounds under different soil conditions;

- qquantificationuantification of the „tolerance limits” and „critical loads” of various desirable or acceptable target levels (critical quantity, critical concentration);

- definition and classificationdefinition and classification of the potential economical, environmental, ecological and health consequences of exceedance loads or stresses;

- eelaborationlaboration of alternative methods and technologiesof alternative methods and technologies for the prevention, minimalization, or at least reduction of soil pollution and its unfavourable economical, ecological and environmental consequences.

Thank you very Thank you very much formuch for

your attention!your attention!