Multi-functional benefits from targeted set-aside land in a Danish catchment
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ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF A GREEN BIO-ECONOMY
Multi-functional benefits from targeted set-aside land in a Danish catchment Fatemeh Hashemi
, Brian Kronvang
Received: 26 November 2019 / Revised: 29 April 2020 / Accepted: 8 July 2020
Abstract In this study, we explored how a targeted land use change in a Danish catchment (River Odense) may provide multi-functional benefits through nitrogen (N)-load reductions to obtain good ecological quality in Odense estuary, protection of N-vulnerable groundwater aquifers, protection of Natura2000 sites and carbon sequestration. An N-load model linked to GIS thematic layers of known protected areas (Natura2000 sites and N-vulnerable groundwater aquifers) was utilised targeting high N-load areas to locate set-aside land. The achieved multifunctional benefits within the catchment and estuary were assessed and cost–benefit assessment was performed by dividing the total welfare costs of the set-aside by the total multi-functional benefits gained from each strategy. The results show that obtaining multi-functional benefits at the lowest cost requires a targeted shift of set-aside from the traditional hot-spot N-load areas to designated protected areas. Keywords Diffuse water pollution Multi-functional benefits Nitrogen load reduction Targeted land use change
INTRODUCTION Many aquatic action plans aimed at reducing the level of nitrogen (N)-loads from non-point sources have been implemented in Denmark since the late 1980s (Kronvang et al. 2008) and resulted in an almost 50% reduction of N-leaching from the mid-1980s to 2003 (Naturstyrelsen 2014). Nevertheless, N-leaching is still a major concern for meeting the requirements for good ecological status in groundwater and coastal waters (Kronvang et al. 2005).
The Food and Agriculture Package implemented by the Danish Parliament in 2016 introduced new spatially targeted measures for N-load reductions that include specific N-load reduction targets for all coastal water catchments. The present focus in Denmark for enacting a new policy of differentiated agricultural N-mitigation is based on the spatial variation in groundwater N-reduction (i.e. the redox reaction where nitrate is reduced to N2, primarily under anaerobic conditions), a result of geological heterogeneity in the subsurface geology. As N-reduction shows significant small-scale variations depending on the hydrogeological and riverine conditions (Hansen et al. 2014), a spatially differentiated approach with measures targeted towards areas with low natural N-reduction will be more cost-effective than the traditional uniform measures (Olesen et al. 2019; Refsgaard et al. 2019). In addition, the Paris Agreement in 2016 entails a focus on carbon sequestration and with regard to this, Denmark is obliged to meet a 30% CO2 reduction target for agricultural emissions by 2030. Furthermore, the EU Habitats Directive and the Rio Agreement require protection of biodiversity. A spatially targeted strategy may also contribute to the ‘green shift’ in that targeted land use change is a
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