Steen Gyldenkærne

Agricultural policies exacerbate honeybee pollination service supply-demand mismatches across Europe

Declines in insect pollinators across Europe have raised concerns about the supply of pollination services to agriculture. Simultaneously, EU agricultural and biofuel policies have encouraged substantial growth in the cultivated area of insect pollinated crops across the continent. Using data from 41 European countries, this study demonstrates that the recommended number of honeybees required to provide crop pollination across Europe has risen 4.9 times as fast as honeybee stocks between 2005 and 2010. Consequently, honeybee stocks were insufficient to supply >90% of demands in 22 countries studied. These findings raise concerns about the capacity of many countries to cope with major losses of wild pollinators and highlight numerous critical gaps in current understanding of pollination service supplies and demands, pointing to a pressing need for further research into this issue.

Footprints on ammonia concentrations from environmental regulations.

Abstract Releases of ammonia (NH3) to the atmosphere contribute significantly to the deposition of nitrogen to both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. This is the background for the national NH3 emission ceilings in Europe. However, in some countries the national legislation aims not only to meet these ceilings but also to reduce the atmospheric nitrogen deposition to local ecosystems. Such measures to reduce the load of nitrogen to local ecosystems were introduced in Denmark in 1994. In this paper we demonstrate that this regulation is reflected in the NH3 concentrations in Denmark. The Danish legislation forces farmers to applying manure to the fields during the crop-growing season. We have analyzed the seasonal variation in local NH3 concentrations over the time period of 1989–2003. During this period the seasonal variation has changed from having moderate spring and autumn concentration peaks to having a single and much more pronounced spring peak. In the analysis we apply an NH3 emission model to demonstrate that these changes in the seasonal variation are a result of the changes in the Danish legislation. The analysis demonstrates the strength of using a high-resolution emission model in the analysis of routine monitoring data.

Monte Carlo (Tier 2) uncertainty analysis of Danish Greenhouse gas emission inventory

The methodology and results of Monte Carlo (Tier 2) uncertainty analysis of the Danish Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventory for base year 1990 and most recent year 2008 are presented. The analysis covers 100% of the total net Danish GHG emissions and removals, excluding LULUCF. Methodological procedures such as random sampling of uncertain parameters and parameter correlation between years are explained. Uncertainties in activity data and emission factors are given for all sectors, Input data are assumed to have log-normal probability distributions, represented by median values and 95% confidence interval uncertainties. The total uncertainty levels for GHG emissions, expressed as 95% confidence intervals, are 4.1 and 5.3% for Tier 1 and Tier 2, respectively. Uncertainties in the trend are 2.4 and 6.9% for Tier 1 and Tier 2, respectively. The most influential sources from the Tier 2 analysis to the total uncertainty are CH4 from solid waste disposal on land (4.4%), N2O from leaching (3.0%), N2O from synthetic fertilizer (2.0%), and N2O and CH4 from manure management, each with 1.6%. Tier 1 and Tier 2 uncertainties in levels and trends are comparable to seven European countries that have performed a Tier 2 uncertainty analysis.

Developing a New Management Tool—a Holistic View on the Nitrogen Cycle

New agricultural technologies can reduce the emissions of ammonia associated with e.g. manure spreading. Reduced emissions to the atmosphere have the potential to limit the negative impacts of reactive nitrogen (Nr) on terrestrial ecosystems and human health. But could the new technologies transfer more Nr to the watershed instead and hence lead to increased eutrophication in the aquatic environment? In order to answer questions like this a holistic approach is necessary. Therefore a new management tools is under development at the Danish Center for Energy and Environment (DCE), Aarhus University, where models describing the fate of Nr in the relevant compartments (atmosphere, watershed and aquatic systems) are linked.

Testing a New Holistic Management Tool for Nitrogen—Environmental Impacts of Using Manure Acidification in the Danish Agricultural Sector

The fate of anthropogenic reactive nitrogen (N) is often described as a cascade of different nitrogen forms and effects throughout the environment. In order to describe the fate in detail, a holistic approach covering the flow between the main environmental compartments is needed. Therefore a new management tools has been setup for an area in Denmark. A holistic approach is attempted by linking models for the main compartments (atmosphere, watershed and aquatic) and including a common emission scenario. The scenario describes a new technique for reducing ammonia emissions and at the same time increase N availability for crops using acidification of liquid manure and use of air cleaners in pig and poultry houses. Here the first results from a pilot study in Northern Jutland, Denmark, will be presented.

Economic Costs of Nitrogen Management in Agriculture

Nitrogen (N) management is one of the measures of Annex IX of the revised Gothenburg Protocol and described in detail in the Guidance Document (Bittman et al., Options for ammonia mitigation: guidance from the UNECE task force on reactive nitrogen. Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Edinburgh, 2014). The measures of Annex IX aim at the abatement of ammonia (NH3) emissions from agricultural sources. This chapter reviews literature dealing with the economic costs of N management, aimed at decreasing the N surplus and increasing N use efficiency (NUE) at farm level.

Verification of the Danish greenhouse gas key categories and annex II indicators

Danish emission values, implied emission factors (IEFs) and activity data (AD) for the national greenhouse gas inventory are assessed according to an updated verification procedure. Focus is on 28 Annex II indicators and 25 identified Key Categories, represented by 29 verification categories covering energy, agriculture, industry and waste. The data are based on the national greenhouse gas inventory for the years 1990 (base year), 2000 and 2010, as reported in 2012, and provided by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the European Union. Inter-country comparison and time trend consistency check of Annex II indicators, covering energy and industry, is made for EU15 countries, excluding Italy and Luxembourg. Inter-country comparison and time trend consistency check of IEFs is made for EU15 countries, excluding Luxemburg and including Norway and Switzerland and for some verification steps also including Australia, Canada, Japan, Russian Federation, USA and aggregated values for EU15 and EU27. National and inter-country verification and time trend consistency check of AD are made with data for energy consumption [(Eurostat. (2013). European commission. Retrieved January 9, 2013], agricultural statistics [Eurostat. (2013). European commission. Retrieved January 9, 2013], industrial processes (UN. (2013). United Nations Statistical Yearbook 2010 – fifty fifth issue. New York: United Nations. Retrieved October 12, 2012, from http://unstats.un.org/unsd/syb/default.htm) and waste disposal (OECD. (1997, 2004). Environmental data, compendium 1997 and 2004. Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). Verification in this approach is a combination of qualitative and quantitative assessments and gives lines of evidence of the correctness of the emission inventory.