Browsing by Author "Lindner, Marcus"

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    Land as an Environmental Resource
    (2013-07-04T00:00:00Z) Hart, Kaley; Allen, K.; Lindner, Marcus; Keenleyside, C.; Burgess, Paul J.; Eggers, J.; Buckwell, A.
    Report Prepared for DG Environment, Contract No ENV.B.1/ETU/2011/0029, Institute for European Environmental Policy, London. Land is a multifunctional resource and the amount available to be used for different purposes is relatively fixed. This study focuses on the rural land resource and its essential role in delivering all ecosystem services, including food, timber, biomass for energy, clean water, healthy soils, carbon sequestration, cultural landscapes and recreational space, underpinned by biodiversity. Some of these ecosystem services, such as crops, livestock and timber do not have to be produced within the EU to be enjoyed by EU consumers as they can be traded. Others, notably environmental services such as clean water are location specific and have to be produced within the EU, for European citizens to benefit from them. Consequently, while the main concern of this study is land use in the EU, it must be recognised that a larger area of the world, including land in many other countries, is deployed to meet the needs of European citizens. This ‘footprint' overseas needs to take account of exports too, but includes land growing food, livestock feed, fibre, wood, bioenergy feedstocks and other commodities, as well as less quantifiable, but important, services provided by forests and other ecosystems. With large scale trade in commodities in and out of the EU, there is a dynamic interplay between land uses, which need to be taken into account. EU land use cannot be considered in isolation. To meet the multiple demands being placed upon rural land in a way that is sustainable and promotes the efficient use of natural resources, policy decisions have to be made about the appropriate use of the available resource in any given location and situation. These can guide, influence and, in some cases, regulate the decision of land owners and managers. The need for a coherent approach to land use and its integration into key policy areas is therefore paramount. The purpose of the study is to consider the range of demands facing different types of rural land use and related ecosystem services in the EU to 2050 and, in light of these, to examine the various ways in which these demands could be met.
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    Projected changes in mineral soil carbon of European forests, 1990–2100
    (Agricultural Institute of Canada, 2006) Smith, Pete; Smith, Jo; Wattenbach, Martin; Meyer, Jeannette; Lindner, Marcus; Zaehle, Sönke; Hiederer, Roland; Jones, Robert J. A.; Montanarella, Luca; Rounsevell, Mark; Reginster, Isabelle; Kankaanpää, Susanna
    Forests are a major land use in Europe, and European forest soils contain about the same amount of carbon as is found in tree biomass. Changes in the size of the forest soil carbon pool could have significant impacts on the European carbon budget. We present the first assessment of future changes in European forest soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks using a dedicated process-based SOC model and state-of-the-art databases of driving variables. Soil carbon change was calculated for Europe using the Rothamsted Carbon model using climate data from four climate models, forced by four Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emissions scenarios (SRES). Changes in litter input to the soil due to forest management, projected changes in net primary production (NPP), forest age-class structure, and changes in forest area were taken into account. Results are presented for mineral soil only. Under some climate scenarios carbon in forest soils will increase slightly (0.1 to 4.6 Pg) in Europe over the 21st Century, whilst for one scenario, forest SOC stocks are predicted to decrease by 0.3 Pg. Different trends are seen in different regions. Climate change will tend to speed decomposition, whereas increases in litter input due to increasing NPP and changing age-class structure will slow the loss of SOC. Increases in forest area could further enhance the total soil carbon stock of European forests. Whilst climate change will be a key driver of change in forest soil carbon, changes in ageclass structure and land-use change are estimated to have greater effects.