ELEMENTS FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF A NATIONAL SOIL MONITORING NETWORK FOR ENVIRONMENTAL POURPOSES IN ITALY Paolo Giandon APAT

…IT WILL BE NECESSARY TO ENSURE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MORE COMPLETE: -information basis -monitoring -indicators TO: -establish the prevailing soil conditions -evaluate the impact of diverse policies and practices COM 179/2002 p. 8.2

on the identified threats in the relevant areas a number of measurements are carried out in a harmonised and coherent way which results are relevant to and accessible for policy makers monitoring, before all, those substances that can be transferred from soil to food or have potential health implications in any other way. COM 179/2002 p. 8.2 The specifications of a Community information and monitoring system will aim to ensure that:

-Basic information about soils coming from pedological maps -Information about soil use (CLC) -Results of inorganic and organic contamination monitoring on the basis of a regular grid -Results of pressure-impacts relationship monitoring in few specialist sites KNOWLEDGE LEVELS OF THE NSMN

-Knowledge of soil characteristics and properties -Short and long period monitoring in different situations of contaminants concentration in soils -Evaluation of soil characteristics and properties changes as consequence of degradation and contamination processes -Prevision of future evolution; -Development and validation of models calibrated on network sites; -Results diffusion to address choices and policy. OBJECTIVES OF THE NSMN

-Identification of soil types (STU); -Acquisition of land cover information; -Definition of common rules for site selection and positioning, site description, procedures for sampling, samples handling and analysis, quality assurance, data handling and reporting; -Monitoring of a first set of sensible parameters with respect to anthropogenic impacts; -Setting of permanent sites for the monitoring of specific degradation processes (i.e. erosion, compaction, etc.); -Functional integration with other monitoring networks. IMPLEMENTATION STEPS

INTEGRATION LEVELS between regional networks between different degradation processes (threats) with other monitoring networks between typological and systematic approches

SYSTEMATIC APPROACH It needs a regular grid in order to give representative data for statistical elaboration It generally requires a large number of sites and the number of parameters to measure has to be limited due to costs It is more suited for monitoring inorganic and organic pollutant contamination

TYPOLOGICAL APPROACH It is based on stratification of soils according to land use and soil type It is more suited for monitoring soil degradation processes (e.g. erosion, organic carbon losses, nitrates and pesticides leaching, etc.) in sensitive areas It is feasible to be performed only on few representative sites.

SOIL TYPES (STU) PEDOLOGICAL MAPS SOIL USE CORINE LAND COVER NETWORK BASES CONCENTRATION MEASURED AT REPRESENTATIVE SOIL PROFILES I° LEVEL CONTAMINANTS AND BASIC PROPERTIES Typological Approach REGULAR GRID 18x18 o 16X16 KM – NATIONAL NETWORK 6 X 6 o 4 X 4 KM – REGIONAL NETWORK II° LEVELS CONTAMINANTS AND BASIC PROPERTIES Systematic Approach REPRESENTATIVE SOIL SELECTION (SOIL TYPE/SOIL USE COMBINATIONS) AND SITE INDIVIDUATION FOR SPECIFIC MONITORING DEGRADATION PROCESSES: PHYSICAL, BIOLOGICAL DEGRADATION, URBAN SOILS CONTAMINATION PROCESSES

consolidating basic soil properties knowledge through pedological maps (see JRC Manual for Soil Database for Europe at 1: scale) measurement of pollutants concentration in profiles most representative of STU (at least 1/250km 2 ) regular grid sampling, starting from 16x16 (or 18x18) km and coming through more detailed grid (8x8 and 4x4) for analysis of pollutants and basic properties degradation processes monitoring in specific sites located on the basis of representativeness criteria (1/1000 km 2 ) OPERATIVE STEPS AND SITES DENSITY

Management of NSMN will be done by regional EPA (ARPA) under supervision of national EPA (APAT) Operative Management Unit: Region ( km 2 ) Each region could start soil monitoring through progressive steps, starting from basic soil properties knowledge (see JRC Manual for Soil Database for Europe at 1: scale) through regular grid and benchmark sites NSMN MANAGEMENT

Basic parameters: to be monitored at all sites as necessary to soil characterisation; Specific parameters: to be monitored for specific degradation processes Insensible parameters (static properties) to be monitored at the starting point as they do not change rapidly Sensible parameters (dynamic properties) to be monitored at fixed times as they could change rapidly under degradation pressures MONITORING PARAMETERS

non-point source pollution physical degradation biological degradation urban soils NETWORK THEMES

criteria for site selection parameters to be measured at each site sampling procedures analysis procedures data interpretation and reporting ELEMENTS TO BE DEFINED FOR EACH THEME

1) Reduction of monitoring sites number 2) Exhaustive characterisation of a priori representative situations 3) Lower costs 4) Monitoring of local situations more significant for environmental impacts ADVANTAGES Sites choice through representativeness criteria

1) Heterogeneous and not exhaustive geographical covering 2) Scarce attitude to automatic representation 3) Subjectivity in sites designation 4) Risk for loss of sites representativeness DISADVANTAGES Sites choice through representativeness criteria

Monitoring sites representativeness is evaluated on the basis of: Soil types in relation to landscapes and climate Land Cover (Corine) Soil type-land cover combinations Soil degradation processes and risk for contamination

For the definition of soil types: Soils functional behaviour in relation to main degradation processes Taxonomic classification (FAO-USDA) Soil-Landscape and Soil-Climate relationships

APPLICATION OF CRITERIA TO VENETO 1) Soil type Simplified ecopedological map (1: scale) for principal classes (pedoscapes, pedoclimate) 2) Land cover Corine Land Cover classes grouped by predominant type of use (pressures) 3) Soil type-cover combinations

Sites representativeness and soil type Simplification in terms of: Ø Spatial distribution Ø Spatial variability Ø Landscapes description capacity Ø Susceptibility to changes

VENETO PEDOLOGICAL MAP 1: scale

VENETO PEDOLOGICAL MAP SIMPLIFIED LEVEL 3

Seminativi non irrigui Risaie Vigneti Frutteti e oliveti Prati Colture annuali e colture permanenti Sistemi colturali complessi Terreni agrari e vegetazione naturale Territori agroforestali Foreste (latifoglie, conifere, miste) Pascoli naturali vegetazione in evoluzioni Urbano discontinuo Non suolo VENETO CORINE LAND COVER Simplified Level 3

Main Soil Uses Mountain Hill Plan Grassland and pastures Forests Cultivated valley floors Mixed systems (breeding-vineyard-forest) Vineyards Orchards-vineyards Arable land Grassland Urban Areas

VENETO SEMPLIFIED LAND COVER Forests and pastures Grassland Arable land Arable land with orchards Arable land with grassland Arable land with vineyards Vineyards with forests

VENETO SOIL TYPE-COVER COMBINATIONS

Approximate number of key and benchmark sites for each Italian region

ITAS – Buttapietra19 Valle Vecchia13 Ca Tron14 Lessinia Pradon Po di Tramontana IPSA – Trecenta Sasse Rami Legnaro – Univ. Padova Centro meteorologico – ARPAV Ist. Di Genetica – Lonigo Ist. Sper. Tabacco – Bovolone Berici Valpolicella Soave Diana Montecchio Precalcino IPSA di Castelfranco V.to IPSA – Piavon Ist. Sper. Viticoltura – Susegana Ist. Sper. Viticoltura – Spresiano Grappa Asiago Croce dAune Villiago Cordon Auronzo VENETO BENCHMARK SITES (25-30) ON THE BASIS OF TYPE-COVER COMBINATIONS

VENETO KEY SITES (5) ON THE BASIS OF TYPE-USE COMBINATIONS Cordon5 Lessinia4 IPSA Castelfranco V.to3 Legnaro2 Sasse Rami

LAND COVER LANDSCAPE UNITS MAP TYPOLOGICAL APPROACH

SYSTEMATIC APPROACH

CONCLUSIONS Criteria for sites choice must be adjusted to each regional situation It is necessary to define more precisely: - which degradation process have to be monitored - which methodologies have to be used for each degradation process - how monitoring data have to be used