SoilTrEC: A global initiative on critical zone research and integration

Manoj Menon, Svetla Rousseva, Nikolaos P. Nikolaidis, Pauline van Gaans, Panos Panagos, Danielle Maia de Souza, Kristin Vala Ragnarsdottir, Georg J. Lair, Liping Weng, Jaap Bloem, Pavel Kram, Martin Novak, Brynhildur Davidsdottir, Gudrun Gisladottir, David A. Robinson, Brian Reynolds, Tim White, Lars Lundin, Bin Zhang, Christopher DuffyStefano M. Bernasconi, Peter De Ruiter, Winfried E.H. Blum, Steven A. Banwart

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

25 Scopus citations

Abstract

Soil is a complex natural resource that is considered non-renewable in policy frameworks, and it plays a key role in maintaining a variety of ecosystem services (ES) and life- sustaining material cycles within the Earth's Critical Zone (CZ). However, currently, the ability of soil to deliver these services is being drastically reduced in many locations, and global loss of soil ecosystem services is estimated to increase each year as a result of many different threats, such as erosion and soil carbon loss. The European Union Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection alerts policy makers of the need to protect soil and proposes measures to mitigate soil degradation. In this context, the European Commission-funded research project on Soil Transformations in European Catchments (SoilTrEC) aims to quantify the processes that deliver soil ecosystem services in the Earth's Critical Zone and to quantify the impacts of environmental change on key soil functions. This is achieved by integrating the research results into decision- support tools and applying methods of economic valuation to soil ecosystem services. In this paper, we provide an overview of the SoilTrEC project, its organization, partnerships and implementation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)3191-3195
Number of pages5
JournalEnvironmental Science and Pollution Research
Volume21
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2014

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Environmental Chemistry
  • Pollution
  • Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

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