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E. Lugato
European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy

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Journal article
Published: 29 April 2021 in Nature Geoscience
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Soil carbon sequestration is seen as an effective means to draw down atmospheric CO2, but at the same time warming may accelerate the loss of extant soil carbon, so an accurate estimation of soil carbon stocks and their vulnerability to climate change is required. Here we demonstrate how separating soil carbon into particulate and mineral-associated organic matter (POM and MAOM, respectively) aids in the understanding of its vulnerability to climate change and identification of carbon sequestration strategies. By coupling European-wide databases with soil organic matter physical fractionation, we assessed the current geographical distribution of mineral topsoil carbon in POM and MAOM by land cover using a machine-learning approach. Further, using observed climate relationships, we projected the vulnerability of carbon in POM and MAOM to future climate change. Arable and coniferous forest soils contain the largest and most vulnerable carbon stocks when cumulated at the European scale. Although we show a lower carbon loss from mineral topsoils with climate change (2.5 ± 1.2 PgC by 2080) than those in some previous predictions, we urge the implementation of coniferous forest management practices that increase plant inputs to soils to offset POM losses, and the adoption of best management practices to avert the loss of and to build up both POM and MAOM in arable soils. Particulate and mineral-associated soil organic carbon have different climate sensitivity and distributions in Europe, according to analyses of measurements of soil carbon fractions from 352 topsoils.

ACS Style

Emanuele Lugato; Jocelyn M. Lavallee; Michelle L. Haddix; Panos Panagos; M. Francesca Cotrufo. Different climate sensitivity of particulate and mineral-associated soil organic matter. Nature Geoscience 2021, 14, 295 -300.

AMA Style

Emanuele Lugato, Jocelyn M. Lavallee, Michelle L. Haddix, Panos Panagos, M. Francesca Cotrufo. Different climate sensitivity of particulate and mineral-associated soil organic matter. Nature Geoscience. 2021; 14 (5):295-300.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Emanuele Lugato; Jocelyn M. Lavallee; Michelle L. Haddix; Panos Panagos; M. Francesca Cotrufo. 2021. "Different climate sensitivity of particulate and mineral-associated soil organic matter." Nature Geoscience 14, no. 5: 295-300.

Journal article
Published: 01 September 2020 in Environmental Research Letters
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Emanuele Lugato; Alessandro Cescatti; Arwyn Jones; Guido Ceccherini; Gregory Duveiller. Maximising climate mitigation potential by carbon and radiative agricultural land management with cover crops. Environmental Research Letters 2020, 15, 094075 .

AMA Style

Emanuele Lugato, Alessandro Cescatti, Arwyn Jones, Guido Ceccherini, Gregory Duveiller. Maximising climate mitigation potential by carbon and radiative agricultural land management with cover crops. Environmental Research Letters. 2020; 15 (9):094075.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Emanuele Lugato; Alessandro Cescatti; Arwyn Jones; Guido Ceccherini; Gregory Duveiller. 2020. "Maximising climate mitigation potential by carbon and radiative agricultural land management with cover crops." Environmental Research Letters 15, no. 9: 094075.

Journal article
Published: 24 August 2020 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
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Soil erosion is a major global soil degradation threat to land, freshwater, and oceans. Wind and water are the major drivers, with water erosion over land being the focus of this work; excluding gullying and river bank erosion. Improving knowledge of the probable future rates of soil erosion, accelerated by human activity, is important both for policy makers engaged in land use decision-making and for earth-system modelers seeking to reduce uncertainty on global predictions. Here we predict future rates of erosion by modeling change in potential global soil erosion by water using three alternative (2.6, 4.5, and 8.5) Shared Socioeconomic Pathway and Representative Concentration Pathway (SSP-RCP) scenarios. Global predictions rely on a high spatial resolution Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE)-based semiempirical modeling approach (GloSEM). The baseline model (2015) predicts global potential soil erosion rates of 43 − 7 + 9.2 Pg yr−1, with current conservation agriculture (CA) practices estimated to reduce this by ∼5%. Our future scenarios suggest that socioeconomic developments impacting land use will either decrease (SSP1-RCP2.6–10%) or increase (SSP2-RCP4.5 +2%, SSP5-RCP8.5 +10%) water erosion by 2070. Climate projections, for all global dynamics scenarios, indicate a trend, moving toward a more vigorous hydrological cycle, which could increase global water erosion (+30 to +66%). Accepting some degrees of uncertainty, our findings provide insights into how possible future socioeconomic development will affect soil erosion by water using a globally consistent approach. This preliminary evidence seeks to inform efforts such as those of the United Nations to assess global soil erosion and inform decision makers developing national strategies for soil conservation.

ACS Style

Pasquale Borrelli; David A. Robinson; Panos Panagos; Emanuele Lugato; Jae E. Yang; Christine Alewell; David Wuepper; Luca Montanarella; Cristiano Ballabio. Land use and climate change impacts on global soil erosion by water (2015-2070). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2020, 117, 21994 -22001.

AMA Style

Pasquale Borrelli, David A. Robinson, Panos Panagos, Emanuele Lugato, Jae E. Yang, Christine Alewell, David Wuepper, Luca Montanarella, Cristiano Ballabio. Land use and climate change impacts on global soil erosion by water (2015-2070). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2020; 117 (36):21994-22001.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Pasquale Borrelli; David A. Robinson; Panos Panagos; Emanuele Lugato; Jae E. Yang; Christine Alewell; David Wuepper; Luca Montanarella; Cristiano Ballabio. 2020. "Land use and climate change impacts on global soil erosion by water (2015-2070)." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117, no. 36: 21994-22001.

Journal article
Published: 26 April 2020 in Remote Sensing
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Soil erosion is one of the eight threats in the Soil Thematic Strategy, the main policy instrument dedicated to soil protection in the European Union (EU). During the last decade, soil erosion indicators have been included in monitoring the performance of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study comes five years after the assessment of soil loss by water erosion in the EU [Environmental science & policy 54, 438–447 (2015)], where a soil erosion modelling baseline for 2010 was developed. Here, we present an update of the EU assessment of soil loss by water erosion for the year 2016. The estimated long-term average erosion rate decreased by 0.4% between 2010 and 2016. This small decrease of soil loss was due to a limited increase of applied soil conservation practices and land cover change observed at the EU level. The modelling results suggest that, currently, ca. 25% of the EU land has erosion rates higher than the recommended sustainable threshold (2 t ha−1 yr−1) and more than 6% of agricultural lands suffer from severe erosion (11 t ha−1 yr−1). The results suggest that a more incisive set of measures of soil conservation is needed to mitigate soil erosion across the EU. However, targeted measures are recommendable at regional and national level as soil erosion trends are diverse between countries which show heterogeneous application of conservation practices.

ACS Style

Panos Panagos; Cristiano Ballabio; Jean Poesen; Emanuele Lugato; Simone Scarpa; Luca Montanarella; Pasquale Borrelli. A Soil Erosion Indicator for Supporting Agricultural, Environmental and Climate Policies in the European Union. Remote Sensing 2020, 12, 1365 .

AMA Style

Panos Panagos, Cristiano Ballabio, Jean Poesen, Emanuele Lugato, Simone Scarpa, Luca Montanarella, Pasquale Borrelli. A Soil Erosion Indicator for Supporting Agricultural, Environmental and Climate Policies in the European Union. Remote Sensing. 2020; 12 (9):1365.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Panos Panagos; Cristiano Ballabio; Jean Poesen; Emanuele Lugato; Simone Scarpa; Luca Montanarella; Pasquale Borrelli. 2020. "A Soil Erosion Indicator for Supporting Agricultural, Environmental and Climate Policies in the European Union." Remote Sensing 12, no. 9: 1365.

Journal article
Published: 18 November 2019 in Nature Geoscience
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Effective land-based solutions to climate change mitigation require actions that maximize soil carbon storage without generating surplus nitrogen. Land management for carbon sequestration is most often informed by bulk soil carbon inventories, without considering the form in which carbon is stored, its capacity, persistency and nitrogen demand. Here, we present coupling of European-wide databases with soil organic matter physical fractionation to determine continental-scale forest and grassland topsoil carbon and nitrogen stocks and their distribution between mineral-associated and particulate organic matter pools. Grasslands and arbuscular mycorrhizal forests store more soil carbon in mineral-associated organic carbon, which is more persistent but has a higher nitrogen demand and saturates. Ectomycorrhizal forests store more carbon in particulate organic matter, which is more vulnerable to disturbance but has a lower nitrogen demand and can potentially accumulate indefinitely. The share of carbon between mineral-associated and particulate organic matter and the ratio between carbon and nitrogen affect soil carbon stocks and mediate the effects of other variables on soil carbon stocks. Understanding the physical distribution of organic matter in pools of mineral-associated versus particulate organic matter can inform land management for nitrogen-efficient carbon sequestration, which should be driven by the inherent soil carbon capacity and nitrogen availability in ecosystems.

ACS Style

M. Francesca Cotrufo; Maria Giovanna Ranalli; Michelle L. Haddix; Johan Six; Emanuele Lugato. Soil carbon storage informed by particulate and mineral-associated organic matter. Nature Geoscience 2019, 12, 989 -994.

AMA Style

M. Francesca Cotrufo, Maria Giovanna Ranalli, Michelle L. Haddix, Johan Six, Emanuele Lugato. Soil carbon storage informed by particulate and mineral-associated organic matter. Nature Geoscience. 2019; 12 (12):989-994.

Chicago/Turabian Style

M. Francesca Cotrufo; Maria Giovanna Ranalli; Michelle L. Haddix; Johan Six; Emanuele Lugato. 2019. "Soil carbon storage informed by particulate and mineral-associated organic matter." Nature Geoscience 12, no. 12: 989-994.

Research article
Published: 17 May 2019 in Land Use Policy
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Employing a linkage between a biophysical and an economic model, this study estimates the economic impact of soil erosion by water on the world economy. The global biophysical model estimates soil erosion rates, which are converted into land productivity losses and subsequently inserted into a global market simulation model. The headline result is that soil erosion by water is estimated to incur a global annual cost of eight billion US dollars to global GDP. The concomitant impact on food security is to reduce global agri-food production by 33.7 million tonnes with accompanying rises in agri-food world prices of 0.4%–3.5%, depending on the food product category. Under pressure to use more marginal land, abstracted water volumes are driven upwards by an estimated 48 billion cubic meters. Finally, there is tentative evidence that soil erosion is accelerating the competitive shifts in comparative advantage on world agri-food markets.

ACS Style

Martina Sartori; George Philippidis; Emanuele Ferrari; Pasquale Borrelli; Emanuele Lugato; Luca Montanarella; Panos Panagos. A linkage between the biophysical and the economic: Assessing the global market impacts of soil erosion. Land Use Policy 2019, 86, 299 -312.

AMA Style

Martina Sartori, George Philippidis, Emanuele Ferrari, Pasquale Borrelli, Emanuele Lugato, Luca Montanarella, Panos Panagos. A linkage between the biophysical and the economic: Assessing the global market impacts of soil erosion. Land Use Policy. 2019; 86 ():299-312.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Martina Sartori; George Philippidis; Emanuele Ferrari; Pasquale Borrelli; Emanuele Lugato; Luca Montanarella; Panos Panagos. 2019. "A linkage between the biophysical and the economic: Assessing the global market impacts of soil erosion." Land Use Policy 86, no. : 299-312.

Journal article
Published: 01 March 2019 in Biomass and Bioenergy
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ACS Style

N. Scarlat; F. Fahl; E. Lugato; F. Monforti-Ferrario; J.F. Dallemand. Integrated and spatially explicit assessment of sustainable crop residues potential in Europe. Biomass and Bioenergy 2019, 122, 257 -269.

AMA Style

N. Scarlat, F. Fahl, E. Lugato, F. Monforti-Ferrario, J.F. Dallemand. Integrated and spatially explicit assessment of sustainable crop residues potential in Europe. Biomass and Bioenergy. 2019; 122 ():257-269.

Chicago/Turabian Style

N. Scarlat; F. Fahl; E. Lugato; F. Monforti-Ferrario; J.F. Dallemand. 2019. "Integrated and spatially explicit assessment of sustainable crop residues potential in Europe." Biomass and Bioenergy 122, no. : 257-269.

Research article
Published: 14 November 2018 in Science Advances
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Understanding of the processes governing soil organic carbon turnover is confounded by the fact that C feedbacks driven by soil erosion have not yet been fully explored at large scale. However, in a changing climate, variation in rainfall erosivity (and hence soil erosion) may change the amount of C displacement, hence inducing feedbacks onto the land C cycle. Using a consistent biogeochemistry-erosion model framework to quantify the impact of future climate on the C cycle, we show that C input increases were offset by higher heterotrophic respiration under climate change. Taking into account all the additional feedbacks and C fluxes due to displacement by erosion, we estimated a net source of 0.92 to 10.1 Tg C year−1 from agricultural soils in the European Union to the atmosphere over the period 2016–2100. These ranges represented a weaker and stronger C source compared to a simulation without erosion (1.8 Tg C year−1), respectively, and were dependent on the erosion-driven C loss parameterization, which is still very uncertain. However, when setting a baseline with current erosion rates, the accelerated erosion scenario resulted in 35% more eroded C, but its feedback on the C cycle was marginal. Our results challenge the idea that higher erosion driven by climate will lead to a C sink in the near future.

ACS Style

Emanuele Lugato; Pete Smith; Pasquale Borrelli; Panos Panagos; Cristiano Ballabio; Alberto Orgiazzi; Oihane Fernandez-Ugalde; Luca Montanarella; Arwyn Jones. Soil erosion is unlikely to drive a future carbon sink in Europe. Science Advances 2018, 4, eaau3523 .

AMA Style

Emanuele Lugato, Pete Smith, Pasquale Borrelli, Panos Panagos, Cristiano Ballabio, Alberto Orgiazzi, Oihane Fernandez-Ugalde, Luca Montanarella, Arwyn Jones. Soil erosion is unlikely to drive a future carbon sink in Europe. Science Advances. 2018; 4 (11):eaau3523.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Emanuele Lugato; Pete Smith; Pasquale Borrelli; Panos Panagos; Cristiano Ballabio; Alberto Orgiazzi; Oihane Fernandez-Ugalde; Luca Montanarella; Arwyn Jones. 2018. "Soil erosion is unlikely to drive a future carbon sink in Europe." Science Advances 4, no. 11: eaau3523.

Preprint content
Published: 17 October 2018
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Soil organic matter (SOM) dynamics in ecosystem-scale biogeochemical models have traditionally been simulated as immeasurable fluxes between conceptually-defined pools. This greatly limits how empirical data can be used to improve model performance and reduce the uncertainty associated with their predictions of carbon (C) cycling. Recent advances in our understanding of the biogeochemical processes that govern SOM formation and persistence demand a new mathematical model with a structure built around key mechanisms and biogeochemically-relevant pools. Here, we present one approach that aims to address this need. Our new model (MEMS v1.0) is developed upon the Microbial Efficiency-Matrix Stabilization framework which emphasizes the importance of linking the chemistry of organic matter inputs with efficiency of microbial processing, and ultimately with the soil mineral matrix, when studying SOM formation and stabilization. Building on this framework, MEMS v1.0 is also capable of simulating the concept of C-saturation and represents decomposition processes and mechanisms of physico-chemical stabilization to define SOM formation into four primary fractions. After describing the model in detail, we optimize four key parameters identified through a variance-based sensitivity analysis. Optimization employed soil fractionation data from 154 sites with diverse environmental conditions, directly equating mineral-associated organic matter and particulate organic matter fractions with corresponding model pools. Finally, model performance was evaluated using total topsoil (0–20 cm) C data from 8192 forest and grassland sites across Europe. Despite the relative simplicity of the model, it was able to accurately capture general trends in soil C stocks across extensive gradients of temperature, precipitation, annual C inputs and soil texture. The novel approach that MEMS v1.0 takes to simulate SOM dynamics has the potential to improve our forecasts of how soils respond to management and environmental perturbation. Ensuring these forecasts are accurate is key to effectively informing policy that can address the sustainability of ecosystem services and help mitigate climate change.

ACS Style

Andy D. Robertson; Keith Paustian; Stephen Ogle; Matthew D. Wallenstein; Emanuele Lugato; M. Francesca Cotrufo. Unifying soil organic matter formation and persistence frameworks: the MEMS model. 2018, 2018, 1 -36.

AMA Style

Andy D. Robertson, Keith Paustian, Stephen Ogle, Matthew D. Wallenstein, Emanuele Lugato, M. Francesca Cotrufo. Unifying soil organic matter formation and persistence frameworks: the MEMS model. . 2018; 2018 ():1-36.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Andy D. Robertson; Keith Paustian; Stephen Ogle; Matthew D. Wallenstein; Emanuele Lugato; M. Francesca Cotrufo. 2018. "Unifying soil organic matter formation and persistence frameworks: the MEMS model." 2018, no. : 1-36.

Journal article
Published: 01 September 2018 in Science of The Total Environment
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Copper (Cu) distribution in soil is influenced by climatic, geological and pedological factors. Apart from geological sources and industrial pollution, other anthropogenic sources, related to the agricultural activity, may increase copper levels in soils, especially in permanent crops such as olive groves and vineyards. This study uses 21,682 soil samples from the LUCAS topsoil survey to investigate copper distribution in the soils of 25 European Union (EU) Member States. Generalized Linear Models (GLM) were used to investigate the factors driving copper distribution in EU soils. Regression analysis shows the importance of topsoil properties, land cover and climate in estimating Cu concentration. Meanwhile, a copper regression model confirms our hypothesis that different agricultural management practices have a relevant influence on Cu concentration. Besides the traditional use of copper as a fungicide for treatments in several permanent crops, the combined effect of soil properties such as high pH, soil organic carbon and clay, with humid and wet climatic conditions favours copper accumulation in soils of vineyards and tree crops. Compared to the overall average Cu concentration of 16.85 mg kg−1, vineyards have the highest mean soil Cu concentration (49.26 mg kg−1) of all land use categories, followed by olive groves and orchards. Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) combined with kriging were used to map copper concentration in topsoils and to evidence the presence of outliers. GPR proved to be performant in predicting Cu concentration, especially in combination with kriging, accounting for 66% of Cu deviance. The derived maps are novel as they include information about the importance of topsoil properties in the copper mapping process, thus improving its accuracy. Both models highlight the influence of land management practices in copper concentration and the strong correlation between topsoil copper and vineyards.

ACS Style

Cristiano Ballabio; Panos Panagos; Emanuele Lugato; Jen-How Huang; Alberto Orgiazzi; Arwyn Jones; Oihane Fernández-Ugalde; Pasquale Borrelli; Luca Montanarella. Copper distribution in European topsoils: An assessment based on LUCAS soil survey. Science of The Total Environment 2018, 636, 282 -298.

AMA Style

Cristiano Ballabio, Panos Panagos, Emanuele Lugato, Jen-How Huang, Alberto Orgiazzi, Arwyn Jones, Oihane Fernández-Ugalde, Pasquale Borrelli, Luca Montanarella. Copper distribution in European topsoils: An assessment based on LUCAS soil survey. Science of The Total Environment. 2018; 636 ():282-298.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Cristiano Ballabio; Panos Panagos; Emanuele Lugato; Jen-How Huang; Alberto Orgiazzi; Arwyn Jones; Oihane Fernández-Ugalde; Pasquale Borrelli; Luca Montanarella. 2018. "Copper distribution in European topsoils: An assessment based on LUCAS soil survey." Science of The Total Environment 636, no. : 282-298.

Journal article
Published: 09 July 2018 in Sustainability
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In the European Union (EU), copper concentration in agricultural soil stems from anthropogenic activities and natural sources (soil and geology). This manuscript reports a statistical comparison of copper concentrations at different levels of administrative units, with a focus on agricultural areas. Anthropogenic sources of diffuse copper contamination include fungicidal treatments, liquid manure (mainly from pigs), sewage sludge, atmospheric deposition, mining activities, local industrial contamination and particles from car brakes. Sales of fungicides in the EU are around 158,000 tonnes annually, a large proportion of which are copper based and used extensively in vineyards and orchards. Around 10 million tonnes of sewage sludge is treated annually in the EU, and 40% of this (which has a high copper content) is used as fertilizer in agriculture. In the EU, 150 million pigs consume more than 6.2 million tonnes of copper through additives in their feed, and most of their liquid manure ends up in agricultural soil. These three sources (sales of fungicides, sewage sludge and copper consumption for pigs feed) depend much on local traditional farming practices. Recent research towards replacing copper spraying in vineyards and policy developments on applying sewage and controlling the feed given to pigs are expected to reduce copper accumulation in agricultural soil.

ACS Style

Panos Panagos; Cristiano Ballabio; Emanuele Lugato; Arwyn Jones; Pasquale Borrelli; Simone Scarpa; Alberto Orgiazzi; Luca Montanarella. Potential Sources of Anthropogenic Copper Inputs to European Agricultural Soils. Sustainability 2018, 10, 2380 .

AMA Style

Panos Panagos, Cristiano Ballabio, Emanuele Lugato, Arwyn Jones, Pasquale Borrelli, Simone Scarpa, Alberto Orgiazzi, Luca Montanarella. Potential Sources of Anthropogenic Copper Inputs to European Agricultural Soils. Sustainability. 2018; 10 (7):2380.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Panos Panagos; Cristiano Ballabio; Emanuele Lugato; Arwyn Jones; Pasquale Borrelli; Simone Scarpa; Alberto Orgiazzi; Luca Montanarella. 2018. "Potential Sources of Anthropogenic Copper Inputs to European Agricultural Soils." Sustainability 10, no. 7: 2380.

Letters to editor
Published: 03 July 2018 in Global Change Biology
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This study combines two unprecedentedly high resolution (250 × 250 m) maps of soil erosion (inter-rill and rill processes) and soil organic carbon to calculate a global estimate of erosion-induced organic carbon (C) displacement. The results indicate a gross C displacement by soil erosion of 2.5-0.3+0.5 Pg C/year. The greatest share of displaced C (64%) comes from seminatural lands and forests. This suggests that lateral C transfer from erosion in noncroplands may play a more important role than previously assumed.

ACS Style

Pasquale Borrelli; Panos Panagos; Emanuele Lugato; Christine Alewell; Cristiano Ballabio; Luca Montanarella; David A. Robinson. Lateral carbon transfer from erosion in noncroplands matters. Global Change Biology 2018, 24, 3283 -3284.

AMA Style

Pasquale Borrelli, Panos Panagos, Emanuele Lugato, Christine Alewell, Cristiano Ballabio, Luca Montanarella, David A. Robinson. Lateral carbon transfer from erosion in noncroplands matters. Global Change Biology. 2018; 24 (8):3283-3284.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Pasquale Borrelli; Panos Panagos; Emanuele Lugato; Christine Alewell; Cristiano Ballabio; Luca Montanarella; David A. Robinson. 2018. "Lateral carbon transfer from erosion in noncroplands matters." Global Change Biology 24, no. 8: 3283-3284.

Letter
Published: 26 February 2018 in Nature Climate Change
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International initiatives such as the ‘4 per 1000’ are promoting enhanced carbon (C) sequestration in agricultural soils as a way to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions1. However, changes in soil organic C turnover feed back into the nitrogen (N) cycle2, meaning that variation in soil nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions may offset or enhance C sequestration actions3. Here we use a biogeochemistry model on approximately 8,000 soil sampling locations in the European Union4 to quantify the net CO2 equivalent (CO2e) fluxes associated with representative C-mitigating agricultural practices. Practices based on integrated crop residue retention and lower soil disturbance are found to not increase N2O emissions as long as C accumulation continues (until around 2040), thereafter leading to a moderate C sequestration offset mostly below 47% by 2100. The introduction of N-fixing cover crops allowed higher C accumulation over the initial 20 years, but this gain was progressively offset by higher N2O emissions over time. By 2060, around half of the sites became a net source of greenhouse gases. We conclude that significant CO2 mitigation can be achieved in the initial 20–30 years of any C management scheme, but after that N inputs should be controlled through appropriate management.

ACS Style

Emanuele Lugato; Adrian Leip; Arwyn Jones. Mitigation potential of soil carbon management overestimated by neglecting N2O emissions. Nature Climate Change 2018, 8, 219 -223.

AMA Style

Emanuele Lugato, Adrian Leip, Arwyn Jones. Mitigation potential of soil carbon management overestimated by neglecting N2O emissions. Nature Climate Change. 2018; 8 (3):219-223.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Emanuele Lugato; Adrian Leip; Arwyn Jones. 2018. "Mitigation potential of soil carbon management overestimated by neglecting N2O emissions." Nature Climate Change 8, no. 3: 219-223.

Article
Published: 30 January 2018 in Land Degradation & Development
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Much research has been carried out on modelling soil erosion rates under different climatic and land use conditions. While some studies have addressed the issue of reduced crop productivity due to soil erosion, few have focused on the economic loss in terms of agricultural production and Gross Domestic Product(GDP). In this study, soil erosion modellers and economists come together to carry out an economic evaluation of soil erosion in the European Union(EU). The study combines bio-physical and macroeconomic models to estimate the cost of agricultural productivity loss due to soil erosion by water in the EU. The soil erosion rates, derived from the RUSLE2015 model, are used to estimate the loss in crop productivity (physical change in the production of plants) and to model their impact on the agricultural sector per country. A Computable General Equilibrium(CGE) model is then used to estimate the impact of crop productivity change on agricultural production and GDP. The 12 million hectares of agricultural areas in the EU that suffer from severe erosion are estimated to lose around 0.43% of their crop productivity annually. The annual cost of this loss in agricultural productivity is estimated at around €1.25 billion. The CGE model estimates the cost in the agricultural sector to be close to €300 million, and the loss in GDP to be about €155 million. Italy emerges as the country that suffers the highest economic impact, while the agricultural sector in most northern and central European countries is only marginally affected by soil erosion losses.

ACS Style

Panos Panagos; Gabriele Standardi; Pasquale Borrelli; Emanuele Lugato; Luca Montanarella; Francesco Bosello. Cost of agricultural productivity loss due to soil erosion in the European Union: From direct cost evaluation approaches to the use of macroeconomic models. Land Degradation & Development 2018, 29, 471 -484.

AMA Style

Panos Panagos, Gabriele Standardi, Pasquale Borrelli, Emanuele Lugato, Luca Montanarella, Francesco Bosello. Cost of agricultural productivity loss due to soil erosion in the European Union: From direct cost evaluation approaches to the use of macroeconomic models. Land Degradation & Development. 2018; 29 (3):471-484.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Panos Panagos; Gabriele Standardi; Pasquale Borrelli; Emanuele Lugato; Luca Montanarella; Francesco Bosello. 2018. "Cost of agricultural productivity loss due to soil erosion in the European Union: From direct cost evaluation approaches to the use of macroeconomic models." Land Degradation & Development 29, no. 3: 471-484.

Review
Published: 18 December 2017 in Environmental Evidence
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The loss of carbon (C) from agricultural soils has been, in part, attributed to tillage, a common practice providing a number of benefits to farmers. The promotion of less intensive tillage practices and no tillage (NT) (the absence of mechanical soil disturbance) aims to mitigate negative impacts on soil quality and to preserve soil organic carbon (SOC). Several reviews and meta-analyses have shown both beneficial and null effects on SOC due to no tillage relative to conventional tillage, hence there is a need for a comprehensive systematic review to answer the question: what is the impact of reduced tillage intensity on SOC?

ACS Style

Neal R Haddaway; Katarina Hedlund; Louise E. Jackson; Thomas Kätterer; Emanuele Lugato; Ingrid K. Thomsen; Helene B. Jørgensen; Per-Erik Isberg. How does tillage intensity affect soil organic carbon? A systematic review. Environmental Evidence 2017, 6, 30 .

AMA Style

Neal R Haddaway, Katarina Hedlund, Louise E. Jackson, Thomas Kätterer, Emanuele Lugato, Ingrid K. Thomsen, Helene B. Jørgensen, Per-Erik Isberg. How does tillage intensity affect soil organic carbon? A systematic review. Environmental Evidence. 2017; 6 (1):30.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Neal R Haddaway; Katarina Hedlund; Louise E. Jackson; Thomas Kätterer; Emanuele Lugato; Ingrid K. Thomsen; Helene B. Jørgensen; Per-Erik Isberg. 2017. "How does tillage intensity affect soil organic carbon? A systematic review." Environmental Evidence 6, no. 1: 30.

Journal article
Published: 08 December 2017 in Nature Communications
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Human activity and related land use change are the primary cause of accelerated soil erosion, which has substantial implications for nutrient and carbon cycling, land productivity and in turn, worldwide socio-economic conditions. Here we present an unprecedentedly high resolution (250 × 250 m) global potential soil erosion model, using a combination of remote sensing, GIS modelling and census data. We challenge the previous annual soil erosion reference values as our estimate, of 35.9 Pg yr−1 of soil eroded in 2012, is at least two times lower. Moreover, we estimate the spatial and temporal effects of land use change between 2001 and 2012 and the potential offset of the global application of conservation practices. Our findings indicate a potential overall increase in global soil erosion driven by cropland expansion. The greatest increases are predicted to occur in Sub-Saharan Africa, South America and Southeast Asia. The least developed economies have been found to experience the highest estimates of soil erosion rates. Human activity and related land use change are the primary cause of soil erosion. Here, the authors show the impacts of 21st century global land use change on soil erosion based on an unprecedentedly high resolution global model that provides insights into the mitigating effects of conservation agriculture.

ACS Style

Pasquale Borrelli; David A. Robinson; Larissa R. Fleischer; Emanuele Lugato; Cristiano Ballabio; Christine Alewell; Katrin Meusburger; Sirio Modugno; Brigitta Schütt; Vito Ferro; Vincenzo Bagarello; Kristof Van Oost; Luca Montanarella; Panos Panagos. An assessment of the global impact of 21st century land use change on soil erosion. Nature Communications 2017, 8, 1 -13.

AMA Style

Pasquale Borrelli, David A. Robinson, Larissa R. Fleischer, Emanuele Lugato, Cristiano Ballabio, Christine Alewell, Katrin Meusburger, Sirio Modugno, Brigitta Schütt, Vito Ferro, Vincenzo Bagarello, Kristof Van Oost, Luca Montanarella, Panos Panagos. An assessment of the global impact of 21st century land use change on soil erosion. Nature Communications. 2017; 8 (1):1-13.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Pasquale Borrelli; David A. Robinson; Larissa R. Fleischer; Emanuele Lugato; Cristiano Ballabio; Christine Alewell; Katrin Meusburger; Sirio Modugno; Brigitta Schütt; Vito Ferro; Vincenzo Bagarello; Kristof Van Oost; Luca Montanarella; Panos Panagos. 2017. "An assessment of the global impact of 21st century land use change on soil erosion." Nature Communications 8, no. 1: 1-13.

Research article
Published: 27 April 2017 in PLOS ONE
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Two objectives of the Common Agricultural Policy post-2013 (CAP, 2014–2020) in the European Union (EU) are the sustainable management of natural resources and climate smart agriculture. To understand the CAP impact on these priorities, the Land Use/Cover statistical Area frame Survey (LUCAS) employs direct field observations and soil sub-sampling across the EU. While a huge amount of information can be retrieved from LUCAS points for monitoring the environmental status of agroecosystems and assessing soil carbon sequestration, a fundamental aspect relating to climate change action is missing, namely nitrous oxide (N2O) soil emissions. To fill this gap, we ran the DayCent biogeochemistry model for more than 11’000 LUCAS sampling points under agricultural use, assessing also the model uncertainty. The results showed that current annual N2O emissions followed a skewed distribution with a mean and median values of 2.27 and 1.71 kg N ha-1 yr-1, respectively. Using a Random Forest regression for upscaling the modelled results to the EU level, we estimated direct soil emissions of N2O in the range of 171–195 Tg yr-1 of CO2eq. Moreover, the direct regional upscaling using modelled N2O emissions in LUCAS points was on average 0.95 Mg yr-1 of CO2eq. per hectare, which was within the range of the meta-model upscaling (0.92–1.05 Mg ha-1 yr-1 of CO2eq). We concluded that, if information on management practices would be made available and model bias further reduced by N2O flux measurement at representative LUCAS points, the combination of the land use/soil survey with a well calibrated biogeochemistry model may become a reference tool to support agricultural, environmental and climate policies.

ACS Style

Emanuele Lugato; Lily Paniagua; Arwyn Jones; Wim de Vries; Adrian Leip. Complementing the topsoil information of the Land Use/Land Cover Area Frame Survey (LUCAS) with modelled N2O emissions. PLOS ONE 2017, 12, e0176111 .

AMA Style

Emanuele Lugato, Lily Paniagua, Arwyn Jones, Wim de Vries, Adrian Leip. Complementing the topsoil information of the Land Use/Land Cover Area Frame Survey (LUCAS) with modelled N2O emissions. PLOS ONE. 2017; 12 (4):e0176111.

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Emanuele Lugato; Lily Paniagua; Arwyn Jones; Wim de Vries; Adrian Leip. 2017. "Complementing the topsoil information of the Land Use/Land Cover Area Frame Survey (LUCAS) with modelled N2O emissions." PLOS ONE 12, no. 4: e0176111.

Journal article
Published: 01 December 2016 in Land Use Policy
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Alexander Gocht; Maria Espinosa; Adrian Leip; Emanuele Lugato; Lilli Aline Schroeder; Benjamin Van Doorslaer; Sergio Gomez Y Paloma. A grassland strategy for farming systems in Europe to mitigate GHG emissions—An integrated spatially differentiated modelling approach. Land Use Policy 2016, 58, 318 -334.

AMA Style

Alexander Gocht, Maria Espinosa, Adrian Leip, Emanuele Lugato, Lilli Aline Schroeder, Benjamin Van Doorslaer, Sergio Gomez Y Paloma. A grassland strategy for farming systems in Europe to mitigate GHG emissions—An integrated spatially differentiated modelling approach. Land Use Policy. 2016; 58 ():318-334.

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Alexander Gocht; Maria Espinosa; Adrian Leip; Emanuele Lugato; Lilli Aline Schroeder; Benjamin Van Doorslaer; Sergio Gomez Y Paloma. 2016. "A grassland strategy for farming systems in Europe to mitigate GHG emissions—An integrated spatially differentiated modelling approach." Land Use Policy 58, no. : 318-334.

Journal article
Published: 01 May 2016 in Environmental Science & Policy
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The new assessment of soil loss by water erosion in Europe (Panagos et al., 2015a) was commented by Evans and Boardman (2016), who raised not only concerns related to the spatial differences outlined by our work compared to their visual semi-qualitative assessment conducted in Britain during the late eighties, but also generally to the suitability, validity and scientific robustness of the applied modelling approach. The objective of the pan-European assessment using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) was not to outcompete any regional- or national-scale modelling, but to harmonize and improve our knowledge and our understanding of current soil erosion rates by water across the European Union. The focus of such a modelling project is on the differences and similarities between regions and countries beyond national borders and nationally adapted models. In order to do so, a state-of-the-art large-scale spatially distributed modelling exercise using harmonized datasets and a unified methodology to suit the pan-European scale was carried out. We reply that the semi-qualitative approach proposed by Evans and Boardman (2016) is not suitable for application at the European scale because of work force and time requirements, input data accessibility issues, accuracy of field-based estimates, subjectivity of soil loss estimates during the aerial and terrestrial photo interpretation, impossibility of upscaling or downscaling, inadequate representation of sheet erosion processes, lack of spatial and temporal representativeness, and lack of detailed description expressing the risk level. As such, their methodology has limited applicability, with today’s financial resources it is not feasible at European or at national scale and, most important, cannot respond to policy requests regarding scenarios of climate and land cover/use change. In contrast to Evans and Boardman (2016), we do know that RUSLE, like probably any other approach, is not able to reproduce “reality”. The latter is actually a misjudgment which has been extensively discussed 20 years ago. Modelling in general and large-scale modelling specifically can per se not aim at an accurate prediction of point measurements, but tests our hypothesis on process understanding, relative spatial and temporal variations, scenario development and controlling factors (Oreskes et al., 1994). As such, our approach can be offered as a helpful tool to policy makers at pan-European scale. We are confident that the simple transparent structure of RUSLE as well as the discussion of the uncertainties of each modelling factor will help to supply objective guidance to policy makers.

ACS Style

Panos Panagos; Pasquale Borrelli; Jean Poesen; Katrin Meusburger; Cristiano Ballabio; Emanuele Lugato; Luca Montanarella; Christine Alewell. Reply to “The new assessment of soil loss by water erosion in Europe. Panagos P. et al., 2015 Environ. Sci. Policy 54, 438–447—A response” by Evans and Boardman [Environ. Sci. Policy 58, 11–15]. Environmental Science & Policy 2016, 59, 53 -57.

AMA Style

Panos Panagos, Pasquale Borrelli, Jean Poesen, Katrin Meusburger, Cristiano Ballabio, Emanuele Lugato, Luca Montanarella, Christine Alewell. Reply to “The new assessment of soil loss by water erosion in Europe. Panagos P. et al., 2015 Environ. Sci. Policy 54, 438–447—A response” by Evans and Boardman [Environ. Sci. Policy 58, 11–15]. Environmental Science & Policy. 2016; 59 ():53-57.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Panos Panagos; Pasquale Borrelli; Jean Poesen; Katrin Meusburger; Cristiano Ballabio; Emanuele Lugato; Luca Montanarella; Christine Alewell. 2016. "Reply to “The new assessment of soil loss by water erosion in Europe. Panagos P. et al., 2015 Environ. Sci. Policy 54, 438–447—A response” by Evans and Boardman [Environ. Sci. Policy 58, 11–15]." Environmental Science & Policy 59, no. : 53-57.

Journal article
Published: 17 March 2016 in Biomass and Bioenergy
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The European Union relies largely on bioenergy to achieve its climate and energy targets for 2020 and beyond. We assess, using Attributional Life Cycle Assessment (A-LCA), the climate change mitigation potential of three bioenergy power plants fuelled by residual biomass compared to a fossil system based on the European power generation mix. We study forest residues, cereal straws and cattle slurry. Our A-LCA methodology includes: i) supply chains and biogenic-CO2 flows; ii) explicit treatment of time of emissions; iii) instantaneous and time-integrated climate metrics. Power generation from cereal straws and cattle slurry can provide significant global warming mitigation by 2100 compared to current European electricity mix in all of the conditions considered. The mitigation potential of forest residues depends on the decay rate considered. Power generation from forest logging residues is an effective mitigation solution compared to the current EU mix only in conditions of decay rates above 5.2% a−1. Even with faster-decomposing feedstocks, bioenergy temporarily causes a STR(i) and STR(c) higher than the fossil system. The mitigation potential of bioenergy technologies is overestimated when biogenic-CO2 flows are excluded. Results based solely on supply-chain emissions can only be interpreted as an estimation of the long-term (>100 years) mitigation potential of bioenergy systems interrupted at the end of the lifetime of the plant and whose carbon stock is allowed to accumulate back. Strategies for bioenergy deployment should take into account possible increases in global warming rate and possible temporary increases in temperature anomaly as well as of cumulative radiative forcing.

ACS Style

J. Giuntoli; A. Agostini; S. Caserini; E. Lugato; D. Baxter; L. Marelli. Climate change impacts of power generation from residual biomass. Biomass and Bioenergy 2016, 89, 146 -158.

AMA Style

J. Giuntoli, A. Agostini, S. Caserini, E. Lugato, D. Baxter, L. Marelli. Climate change impacts of power generation from residual biomass. Biomass and Bioenergy. 2016; 89 ():146-158.

Chicago/Turabian Style

J. Giuntoli; A. Agostini; S. Caserini; E. Lugato; D. Baxter; L. Marelli. 2016. "Climate change impacts of power generation from residual biomass." Biomass and Bioenergy 89, no. : 146-158.