Periodic Reporting for period 1 - NAPSEA (The effectiveness of nitrogen and phosphorus load reduction measures from source to sea, considering the effects of climate change)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2022-10-01 al 2024-03-31
THE EUTROPHICATION PROBLEM IN THE WADDEN SEA
The Wadden Sea is a UNESCO heritage site of great natural value that is shared by the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. It is a tidal flats system along the coast separated from the North Sea coastal waters by a series of barrier islands. It receives freshwater input from several rivers. The nutrients in these rivers support the diverse food web of the Wadden Sea. The Wadden Sea is an important feeding area for migrating birds and nesting birds, a nursery ground for many species of fish and a habitat for shellfish and marine mammals. Seal populations on the tidal flats are a popular tourist attraction. Overall, the Wadden Sea is an attractive tourist destination and fishing area.
Nutrients support the food web, but the current nutrient loads are also a potential threat to the Wadden Sea ecosystem: the area suffers from an excess of nutrients and does not comply with Water Framework Directive objectives for eutrophication. Efforts to restore seagrass meadows are so far unsuccessful in large parts of the Wadden Sea. Therefore, we need to understand better how nutrient inputs to the Wadden Sea affect ecological conditions and to what extent nutrient reduction measures can improve ecosystem health.
THE NAPSEA APPROACH
NAPSEA will use an integrated approach to address nutrient pollution from source to sea, combining three complementary perspectives: governance, nutrient pathways & measures and ecosystem health, as illustrated in Figure 1:
1. The governance perspective evaluates the consistency and overall effectiveness of the relevant policy frameworks at different geographical scales (local, national, European).
2. The perspective of ecosystem health quantifies safe ecological boundaries of nutrient concentrations that will allow for a healthy ecosystem development.
3. The perspective of pathways and measures quantifies nutrient emission sources and their pathways to the Wadden Sea with models, to assess how nutrient loads are affected by nutrient reduction measures and climate change.
The Wadden Sea is a UNESCO heritage site of great natural value that is shared by the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. It is a tidal flats system along the coast separated from the North Sea coastal waters by a series of barrier islands. It receives freshwater input from several rivers. The nutrients in these rivers support the diverse food web of the Wadden Sea. The Wadden Sea is an important feeding area for migrating birds and nesting birds, a nursery ground for many species of fish and a habitat for shellfish and marine mammals. Seal populations on the tidal flats are a popular tourist attraction. Overall, the Wadden Sea is an attractive tourist destination and fishing area.
Nutrients support the food web, but the current nutrient loads are also a potential threat to the Wadden Sea ecosystem: the area suffers from an excess of nutrients and does not comply with Water Framework Directive objectives for eutrophication. Efforts to restore seagrass meadows are so far unsuccessful in large parts of the Wadden Sea. Therefore, we need to understand better how nutrient inputs to the Wadden Sea affect ecological conditions and to what extent nutrient reduction measures can improve ecosystem health.
THE NAPSEA APPROACH
NAPSEA will use an integrated approach to address nutrient pollution from source to sea, combining three complementary perspectives: governance, nutrient pathways & measures and ecosystem health, as illustrated in Figure 1:
1. The governance perspective evaluates the consistency and overall effectiveness of the relevant policy frameworks at different geographical scales (local, national, European).
2. The perspective of ecosystem health quantifies safe ecological boundaries of nutrient concentrations that will allow for a healthy ecosystem development.
3. The perspective of pathways and measures quantifies nutrient emission sources and their pathways to the Wadden Sea with models, to assess how nutrient loads are affected by nutrient reduction measures and climate change.
NAPSEA activities performed and main achievements.
From a governance and policies point-of-view the following activities and achievements were reached:
- Set up a framework to investigate and evaluate the feasibility of existing strategies and policies to reduce nutrient inputs to the Wadden Sea in the context of the ambition of the zero-pollution strategy to reduce nutrient losses by 50%.
- Started to develope a framework for measuring social acceptance of measures/reduction scenarios in the general public and among farmers, within the case study of the Rhine.
- The overall effectiveness of the current policy frameworks and its implementation in the Wadden Sea and its catchment areas is evaluated by a fitness check of the policies. The fitness check is in progress.
From a measures and pathways point-of-view we managed to:
- Create a dataset and set up a calibrated and validated modelling approach that will be used to test the effectiveness of scenarios.
- Develop and calibrate catchment models for the Rhine and Elbe basins have been developed and calibrated to reproduce historic trends over the last decades of nitrogen and phosphorus concentration and loads. The models quantify terrestrial removal (e.g. denitrification) and retention of N as well as instream retention of N and P from point and diffuse sources. The catchment models will provide input to Wadden Sea models to simulate the source to sea pathways of nutrients.
- Define relevant scenarios of measures that are also acceptable for society focusing mostly on source control and retention management and considering waterborne as well as airborne nutrient input pathways and a fair burden sharing between relevant sectors (agriculture, urban wastewater, industry, shipping).
From an ecological health point-of-view NAPSEA:
- investigated the literature for the currently used indicators, direct and indirect effects and nutrient targets as proposed by OSPAR, WFD and MSFD.
- research by Hereon on the returning potential of seagrass in the Wadden Sea
From a governance and policies point-of-view the following activities and achievements were reached:
- Set up a framework to investigate and evaluate the feasibility of existing strategies and policies to reduce nutrient inputs to the Wadden Sea in the context of the ambition of the zero-pollution strategy to reduce nutrient losses by 50%.
- Started to develope a framework for measuring social acceptance of measures/reduction scenarios in the general public and among farmers, within the case study of the Rhine.
- The overall effectiveness of the current policy frameworks and its implementation in the Wadden Sea and its catchment areas is evaluated by a fitness check of the policies. The fitness check is in progress.
From a measures and pathways point-of-view we managed to:
- Create a dataset and set up a calibrated and validated modelling approach that will be used to test the effectiveness of scenarios.
- Develop and calibrate catchment models for the Rhine and Elbe basins have been developed and calibrated to reproduce historic trends over the last decades of nitrogen and phosphorus concentration and loads. The models quantify terrestrial removal (e.g. denitrification) and retention of N as well as instream retention of N and P from point and diffuse sources. The catchment models will provide input to Wadden Sea models to simulate the source to sea pathways of nutrients.
- Define relevant scenarios of measures that are also acceptable for society focusing mostly on source control and retention management and considering waterborne as well as airborne nutrient input pathways and a fair burden sharing between relevant sectors (agriculture, urban wastewater, industry, shipping).
From an ecological health point-of-view NAPSEA:
- investigated the literature for the currently used indicators, direct and indirect effects and nutrient targets as proposed by OSPAR, WFD and MSFD.
- research by Hereon on the returning potential of seagrass in the Wadden Sea
IMPACT
The NAPSEA project aims to make an impact on healthy & resilient water and subsurface systems, in particular on the path towards zero pollution and healthy environments from source to sea (Figure 2), ultimately leading to cleaner and restored aquatic (eco-)systems within the EU and associated countries.
OUTCOME
- Technical: developing, implementing and monitoring techniques, (nature based) solutions, interventions and strategies
- Regulation: contribute to government's drafting policy and plans by integral systems-approaches to water and subsurface management
- Political: providing the knowledge and information for evidence-based, timely and contextualized political decision-making on environmental management measures and investments
OUTPUT/ACTIVITIES
- Technical:
- Advanced understanding of points source, diffuse sources and various environmental factors influencing the pathway of nutrients from source to sea
- Developed a calibrated catchment model on nutrient transport from source to sea, allowing us to quantify measures to reduce nutrient inputs
- Regulation/political:
- Proposed scenarios (set of potential reduction measures) focusing on nutrient flux elements.
- Drafted an overview of current indicators, primarily chlorophyll levels (comparable across frameworks and borders)
The NAPSEA project aims to make an impact on healthy & resilient water and subsurface systems, in particular on the path towards zero pollution and healthy environments from source to sea (Figure 2), ultimately leading to cleaner and restored aquatic (eco-)systems within the EU and associated countries.
OUTCOME
- Technical: developing, implementing and monitoring techniques, (nature based) solutions, interventions and strategies
- Regulation: contribute to government's drafting policy and plans by integral systems-approaches to water and subsurface management
- Political: providing the knowledge and information for evidence-based, timely and contextualized political decision-making on environmental management measures and investments
OUTPUT/ACTIVITIES
- Technical:
- Advanced understanding of points source, diffuse sources and various environmental factors influencing the pathway of nutrients from source to sea
- Developed a calibrated catchment model on nutrient transport from source to sea, allowing us to quantify measures to reduce nutrient inputs
- Regulation/political:
- Proposed scenarios (set of potential reduction measures) focusing on nutrient flux elements.
- Drafted an overview of current indicators, primarily chlorophyll levels (comparable across frameworks and borders)