Continental-scale assessment of provisioning soil functions in Europe

Introduction: A framework is developed to link major soil functions to ecosystem services assessment. Provisioning soil functions-with primary linkages to ecosystem services-are evaluated on a continental scale in Europe. Methods: We defined major provisioning soil functions combining the approaches proposed by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and the Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection of the European Union. Soil productivity was evaluated by three main land use types (cropland, grassland, forest) using a validated expert model called SoilProd. Models include soil, climate and topographic criteria. Raw material provision capacity of soils was assessed on the basis of (i) organic carbon content and (ii) availability of soil materials for construction. Results: A coherent system of soil function-based ecosystem services was compiled, taking into account major soil functions. We also produced new data on soil-based provisioning ecosystem services, including productivity and raw material availability. The attempts to cover the main human activities requiring materials of soil origin and to map the locations where those materials are available on a continental scale provide new insight to this field of research. Conclusions: Soil-based ecosystem services can be assessed by the evaluation of soil functions which play a role in the production of these services. Quantitative analysis and comparison of the spatial distribution of the investigated soil functions were performed. While crop productivity showed a general trend to increase in a northward and westward direction, local soil quality in most regions-except in the Mediterranean-can compensate for climatic handicaps to a great extent. Comparison of areas with potential for providing ecosystem services by individual soil functions highlights the complexity of decision-making for resource utilization but also the possibilities for optimization and more conscious management. © 2013 Tóth et al.