An ecosystem service approach was used to study the water purification service exemplified by impacts of land management scenarios. Nitrogen retention was calculated in two agricultural catchments by the dynamic Integrated Nutrients in Catchments (INCA)-N model. The monetary valuation was based on purification efficiency of artificial wetlands. The set of scenarios were based on existing agricultural water protection measures, and greening of the Common Agricultural Policy proposal. Scenarios were: wintertime crop cover on fields, increase in area of set aside land, decrease in nitrogen fertilization, crop diversification and nutrient recycling in organic farming. Nitrogen retention provided more value in the Yläneenjoki catchment where the main production line was animal husbandry. In the slowly flowing river Lepsämänjoki, the N retention was more effective than in the fast flowing river Yläneenjoki. When comparing measures some proved to have no value or even a negative value. Set aside had a high positive value when calculated per area, but on a catchment scale the value remained low because of the small area of implementation. Nutrient recycling and winter time vegetation cover were the scenarios that reduced N leaching from fields close to targets set in current political decisions. None of the scenarios increased greenhouse gas emissions.
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Research Article|
October 28 2013
Valuation of nitrogen retention as an ecosystem service on a catchment scale
Katri Rankinen;
1Finnish Environment Institute, P.O. Box 140, FIN-00251 Helsinki, Finland
E-mail: [email protected]
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Kirsti Granlund;
Kirsti Granlund
1Finnish Environment Institute, P.O. Box 140, FIN-00251 Helsinki, Finland
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Randall Etheridge;
Randall Etheridge
2North Carolina State University, Campus Box 7625, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
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Pentti Seuri
Pentti Seuri
3MTT Agrifood Research Finland, Lönnrotinkatu 5, FIN-50100 Mikkeli, Finland
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Hydrology Research (2014) 45 (3): 411–424.
Article history
Received:
December 21 2012
Accepted:
September 05 2013
Citation
Katri Rankinen, Kirsti Granlund, Randall Etheridge, Pentti Seuri; Valuation of nitrogen retention as an ecosystem service on a catchment scale. Hydrology Research 1 June 2014; 45 (3): 411–424. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/nh.2013.239
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