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Soil sealing

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Soil sealing or soil surface sealing is the loss of soil resources due to the covering of land for housing, roads or other construction work.[1] Covering or replacing the topsoil with impervious materials like asphalt and cement as a result of urban development and infrastructure construction paired with compaction of the underlying soil layers results in the mostly irreversible loss of relevant soil ecosystem services.[2][3][4] The global rise in population has heightened the need for soil sealing, which in turn leads to the degradation of land.[5] Sealed land is a serious form of land take (use of land specifically for building settlements, roads, and businesses).[6][7] Soil sealing and land take together leads to the complete loss of soil functions, including its biological, physical and chemical properties.[8]

Negative impacts of soil sealing

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Soil's regulating services

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Replacing natural soil with man-made surfaces greatly affects the process of water infiltration. These artificial surfaces don't allow water to seep through as easily as soil does, leading to increased surface runoff.[9] Additionally, sealing the soil for underground construction alters water movement, further diminishing the soil's natural ability to purify water.[9][10] In cities, having lots of heat-absorbing concrete and asphalt but not enough cooling vegetation creates heat islands effect.[9][11]

Soil's provisioning services

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Using human-made materials to cover soil significantly affects its ability to provide essential services like food production.[12] This occurs when fertile agricultural land is converted into buildings and houses.[13] Countries with rapidly growing populations and economies are experiencing notable loss of agricultural land due to development.[9][14]

Soil's supporting services

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Soil sealing affects the soil's function as a natural habitat.[9] By completely covering the uppermost layer of soil with man-made substances, it creates fragmented habitats for local biodiversity. Consequently, this leads to soil biodiversity loss.[9][15][16] Further, these impacts worsen with a decrease in the soil's carbon and nitrogen content, as well as its respiration rate.[17]

Soil's cultural services

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Soil's intangible benefits such as spiritual connection, learning, and feeling like we belong to this place, are at risk because land take and soil sealing for urban projects are removing recreational spaces in city centers.[18][19] The impact on cultural services becomes apparent when people worldwide are willing to invest more money in homes located in areas with natural surroundings.[20][21]

Assessment of soil sealing

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Various methods are employed globally to evaluate soil sealing. Some of the methods are[22][23]

Soil unsealing

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A complete soil unsealing process involves entirely removing any human-made materials like asphalt and cement that obstruct the soil's natural functions, thereby restoring its ability to perform its natural processes.[24] There is very limited research about the process of soil unsealing.[9] Due to mostly irreversible losses, soil unsealing is very difficult. However, by following some steps soil unsealing is feasible.

  • Transforming urban, barren, or previously used dumping soils into spaces for urban parks, green roofs, and gardens. However, it's essential that the soil is thoroughly decontaminated before any such use to ensure the safety of the environment and the health of those who will be using these spaces.[9] This technique aligns with a European research project in urban planning that emphasizes minimizing construction in green areas and reusing existing industrial sites known as brownfields.[25]
  • Removing sealed surfaces or buildings to offset the environmental impact of upcoming new urban projects. This approach is employed in the Walloon Region and Germany, where the "no net land take" principle ensures that urban development plans do not result in a net increase in land usage.[26][27]

References

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  1. ^ "Soil Sealing - European Commission". ESDAC. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
  2. ^ Mills, Jane. "Soil sealing". Home. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
  3. ^ Prokop, Gundula (2011). Overview of best practices for limiting soil sealing or mitigating its effects in EU-27 : final report. Luxembourg: Publications Office. ISBN 978-92-79-20669-6. OCLC 870622049.
  4. ^ Arrouays, D (2008). Environmental assessment of soil for monitoring (PDF). Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. ISBN 978-92-79-09708-9. OCLC 1111244318.
  5. ^ Barbero-Sierra, C.; Marques, M.J.; Ruíz-Pérez, M. (2013). "The case of urban sprawl in Spain as an active and irreversible driving force for desertification". Journal of Arid Environments. 90: 95–102. Bibcode:2013JArEn..90...95B. doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2012.10.014.
  6. ^ European Commission. Directorate General for the Environment. (2011). Overview of best practices for limiting soil sealing or mitigating its effects in EU-27: final report. LU: Publications Office. doi:10.2779/15146. ISBN 978-92-79-20669-6.
  7. ^ European Environment Agency. (2023). Soil monitoring in Europe: indicators and thresholds for soil quality assessments. LU: Publications Office. doi:10.2800/956606. ISBN 978-92-9480-538-6.
  8. ^ Hennig, Ernest I.; Schwick, Christian; Soukup, Tomáš; Orlitová, Erika; Kienast, Felix; Jaeger, Jochen A.G. (2015). "Multi-scale analysis of urban sprawl in Europe: Towards a European de-sprawling strategy". Land Use Policy. 49: 483–498. doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2015.08.001. ISSN 0264-8377.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Tobias, Silvia; Conen, Franz; Duss, Adrian; Wenzel, Leonore M.; Buser, Christine; Alewell, Christine (2018-04-06). "Soil sealing and unsealing: State of the art and examples". Land Degradation & Development. 29 (6): 2015–2024. Bibcode:2018LDeDe..29.2015T. doi:10.1002/ldr.2919. ISSN 1085-3278.
  10. ^ Nakayama, Tadanobu; Watanabe, Masataka; Tanji, Kazunori; Morioka, Tohru (2007). "Effect of underground urban structures on eutrophic coastal environment". Science of the Total Environment. 373 (1): 270–288. Bibcode:2007ScTEn.373..270N. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2006.11.033. PMID 17198724.
  11. ^ Bolund, Per; Hunhammar, Sven (1999). "Ecosystem services in urban areas". Ecological Economics. 29 (2): 293–301. Bibcode:1999EcoEc..29..293B. doi:10.1016/s0921-8009(99)00013-0. ISSN 0921-8009.
  12. ^ Artmann, Martina (2014). "Assessment of Soil Sealing Management Responses, Strategies, and Targets Toward Ecologically Sustainable Urban Land Use Management". Ambio. 43 (4): 530–541. Bibcode:2014Ambio..43..530A. doi:10.1007/s13280-014-0511-1. ISSN 0044-7447. PMC 3989517. PMID 24740623.
  13. ^ Burghardt, Wolfgang (2006). "Soil sealing and soil properties related to sealing". Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 266 (1): 117–124. Bibcode:2006GSLSP.266..117B. doi:10.1144/gsl.sp.2006.266.01.09. ISSN 0305-8719.
  14. ^ Tóth, Gergely (2012). "Impact of land-take on the land resource base for crop production in the European Union". Science of the Total Environment. 435–436: 202–214. Bibcode:2012ScTEn.435..202T. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.06.103. PMID 22854091.
  15. ^ Montanarella, Luca (2007), "Trends in Land Degradation in Europe", Climate and Land Degradation, Environmental Science and Engineering, Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 83–104, doi:10.1007/978-3-540-72438-4_5, ISBN 978-3-540-72437-7, retrieved 2024-04-07
  16. ^ Scalenghe, Riccardo; Marsan, Franco Ajmone (2009). "The anthropogenic sealing of soils in urban areas". Landscape and Urban Planning. 90 (1–2): 1–10. doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2008.10.011.
  17. ^ Piotrowska-Długosz, Anna; Charzyński, Przemysław (2015). "The impact of the soil sealing degree on microbial biomass, enzymatic activity, and physicochemical properties in the Ekranic Technosols of Toruń (Poland)". Journal of Soils and Sediments. 15 (1): 47–59. Bibcode:2015JSoSe..15...47P. doi:10.1007/s11368-014-0963-8. ISSN 1439-0108.
  18. ^ Walley, Fran; Krzic, Maja; Diochon, Amanda; Paré, Maxime C.; Farrell, Rich (2021). "Introduction". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  19. ^ Niemelä, Jari; Saarela, Sanna-Riikka; Söderman, Tarja; Kopperoinen, Leena; Yli-Pelkonen, Vesa; Väre, Seija; Kotze, D. Johan (2010-07-07). "Using the ecosystem services approach for better planning and conservation of urban green spaces: a Finland case study". Biodiversity and Conservation. 19 (11): 3225–3243. Bibcode:2010BiCon..19.3225N. doi:10.1007/s10531-010-9888-8. ISSN 0960-3115.
  20. ^ Tyrväinen, Liisa (1997). "The amenity value of the urban forest: an application of the hedonic pricing method". Landscape and Urban Planning. 37 (3–4): 211–222. doi:10.1016/s0169-2046(97)80005-9. ISSN 0169-2046.
  21. ^ Waltert, Fabian; Schläpfer, Felix (2010). "Landscape amenities and local development: A review of migration, regional economic and hedonic pricing studies". Ecological Economics. 70 (2): 141–152. Bibcode:2010EcoEc..70..141W. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2010.09.031.
  22. ^ Pulido Moncada, Mansonia; Gabriels, Donald; Lobo, Deyanira; De Beuf, Kristof; Figueroa, Rosana; Cornelis, Wim M. (2014). "A comparison of methods to assess susceptibility to soil sealing". Geoderma. 226–227: 397–404. Bibcode:2014Geode.226..397P. doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2014.03.014. ISSN 0016-7061.
  23. ^ García, Pilar; Pérez, Eugenia (2016). "Mapping of soil sealing by vegetation indexes and built-up index: A case study in Madrid (Spain)". Geoderma. 268: 100–107. Bibcode:2016Geode.268..100G. doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2016.01.012.
  24. ^ Pannicke-Prochnow, Nadine; Albrecht, Juliane (2024), Ginzky, Harald; De Andrade Corrêa, Fabiano; Dooley, Elizabeth; Heuser, Irene L. (eds.), "Unsealing: Benefits, Potentials, Legal Provisions and Funding: The German Experience", International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy 2022, vol. 2022, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 83–106, doi:10.1007/978-3-031-40609-6_4, ISBN 978-3-031-40608-9, retrieved 2024-04-08
  25. ^ Ferber, Uwe (2011). "Circular flow land use management". International Conference Virtual City and Territory (7è: 2011: Lisboa). Coimbra: Department of Civil Engineering of the University of Coimbra and e-GEO, Research Center in Geography and Regional Planning of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities of the Nova University of Lisbon. pp. 775–778. doi:10.5821/ctv.7829.
  26. ^ Nicolau, Rita; Condessa, Beatriz (2022-07-01). "Monitoring Net Land Take: Is Mainland Portugal on Track to Meet the 2050 Target?". Land. 11 (7): 1005. doi:10.3390/land11071005. ISSN 2073-445X.
  27. ^ Adobati, Fulvio; Garda, Emanuele (2020). "Soil releasing as key to rethink water spaces in urban planning". City, Territory and Architecture. 7 (1). doi:10.1186/s40410-020-00117-8. hdl:10446/160418. ISSN 2195-2701.

See also

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