Objective
A.BACKGROUND: EUROPEAN ANDOSOLS AS VALUABLE SOIL RESOURCES
Andosols (FAO/Unesco Taxonomy) or Andisols (US Soil Taxonomy) are relatively young soils with very distinctive physical and chemical properties. They usually developed in pyroclastic materials, notably volcanic ash but also tuff, pumice, cinders, lahars, and other volcanic pyroclasts. Andosols have first been recognized in Japan in 1947. It is the reason why this international FAO soil type name (Quantin, 1994) has Japanese roots: an = black and do = soils. The total area of Andosols is estimated at more than 125 million hectares (0,85% of the world land surface).
Andosols are strongly influenced by the climatic conditions under which they have developed, in particular the moisture regime. Andosols are found in a wide range of climates from the cold humid climates of Alaska or Hokkaido to the warm subtropical climates of Kyushu, New Zealand or Hawaii.
In Europe, Andosols are also found in widely different climate regimes in recently volcanic areas: cold humid (Iceland), Mediterranean (Italy, Greece), humid oceanic (Azores and Madeira islands, Portugal), and subtropical semi-arid to humid (Canary islands, Spain). In most of the Mediterranean area, the soils have been intensively cultivated for a long period of time, including in the Greek and Roman era. In contrast, most of the continental European soils have been cultivated only since the Middle Ages.
Because Andosols tend to be among the most productive ones, with a high natural fertility, their continued use is a matter of concern. It is very difficult at present to assess the impact of modern land use practices in the long run. Because of their peculiar chemical and mineralogical composition, Andosols have, in addition to high productivity, a number of inherent problems that are not found in other soils. Such special features are e.g. a very high fixation of phosphate, a very high capacity to bind both inorganic and organic pollutants, a tendency to change strongly upon dessication and a high vulnerability to erosion when their natural position is disturbed by e.g. deep tillage, terracing or road construction.
Environmental impacts on Andosols have a large number of facets. Main determining factors are (1) formation of secondary products, mainly aluminium-rich silicates and organic matter-metal complexes, from the primary rock constituents, (2) interactions of the poorly cristalli mineral phases with organic matter, which determines organic matter dynamics, (3) recrystallisation, after a long-term pedologic evolution, of the amorphous components to crystalline secondary minerals, (4) effect of irreversible drying on chemical and physical properties, (5) effects of rejuvenation by renewed ash addition or erosion, etc.
Many of these facets are influenced by the development of the soil, which may have taken place in several distinct phases.
In Europe, research on Andosols has largely been a very local affair, with many publications reaching only national journals but no overview of European Andosols has been prepared. Few European Andosols have been investigated in detail, because the necessary expertise is divided over a large number of research institutions. The complex properties and dynamics of the system, however, requires a joint effort of many specialists in the field. Such specialists are available in Europe, but they have not been brought together before.
This COST Action will also be an opportunity to study and propose a European chemical and physical methodology that could be applied to andic volcanic soils.
Therefore these often very rich European soil resources need to be better known and understood in order to be preserved.
B.OBJECTIVES AND BENEFITS
The general objectives of this proposal are as follows:
(1)bring together European experts in the field of Andosols;
(2)assess the impact of long-term anthropic effects or/and of modern agricultural practices on andosols under different climatic regimes in Europe, by:
(3)jointly sample and investigate a number of well-defined reference sequences. Soil samples and corresponding analyses should be stored at the International Soil Reference and Information Centre in Wageningen (NL) and be available for both the scientific and land use management communities. In addition, the project would lead to standardization of a number of analytical procedures;
(4)initiate and develop collaboration between European institutes on (i) pedogenesis, (ii) soil aggregation and water binding and (iii) pollutant binding, with emphasis on young scientist exchange programmes;
(5)establish scientific basis for a sustainable land use of soil resources of European volcanic systems.
This new COST Action would also induce the following benefits:
-enhance basic soil science research, often not enough taken into account within environmental research,
-initiate and develop complementary scientist mobility and collaborations between European laboratories in order to have a better multi-disciplinary approach to the study of these fertile soil resources,
-propose a "European" chemical and physical methodology that could be applied to andic volcanic soils,
-develop the existing COST network, with other European institutes working in this area.
C.SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME
The scientific programme of the Action is divided into four parts:
(1)gathering of knowledge and preparation of joint work;
(2)joint sampling;
(3)experimental work;
(4)evaluation and presentation of results from the Action.
Some pluridisciplinary approaches and specific methodologies will be proposed and developed within four Working Groups (WG): (1) pedogenesis, (2) soil aggregation and water binding, (3) pollutant binding and (4) sustainable land use and improvement.
The aims of these Working Groups are (i) to synthetize the expertises of all the partners, (ii) to formulate clearly the problems to be solved and to understand one another and (iii) to initiate and develop multi-disciplinary approaches on each of the four research problematics.
1.Pedogenesis
Behaviour of volcanic soils depends largely on their genesis. Because the impact of agriculture on andosol properties can only be measured with reference to a non-agricultural location of the same development and age, the study of soil genesis is of utmost importance. Soil genetic studies will be carried out on catenas of soils on the similar parent rock material, with differences in age, climate and land use as the variables.
Gathering of the knowledge of the participating institutes will therefore first focus on natural Andosol types (climatic, rock impacts and their spatial variabilities and heterogeneities) and secondly on their cultivated counterparts (anthropic impacts). Historical and ecological approaches will be used in order to synthetize the results. Relationships between soil types, soil mineral, chemical and physical properties and land use capability will be carried out. It is the fundamental information which is needed for the whole project.
The aims of this Working Group will also be to define (1) major problems on Andosol genesis and evolution and (2) well-defined volcanic environments in order to select sites for joint soil sampling and joint studies on (i) pedogenesis, (ii) soil aggregation and water binding, (iii) pollutant binding and (iv) sustainable land use and improvement (use for the future).
2.Soil aggregation and water binding
Aggregation and the resulting water binding properties are of utmost importance to the potential use of a soil. In many volcanic soils, especially those formed under humid climates drying out of the soil - e.g. as a result of deforestation - may change such properties considerably. Aggregation properties influence all other Andosol properties, such as phosphorous bioavailability to plants, exchangeable cation adsorption, water retention capacity erosion behaviour and land-slides (lack of cohesion, thixotropy).
Andosols are remarkable natural models for the study of the impact of their organo-mineral associations, related to their genesis and evolution, on (1) aggregation processes at the aggregate scale (adhesion forces), (2) soil structure, at different observation scales and (3) wettability and water retention properties.
A comparison between natural Andosols under forest and their cultivated counterparts will also be carried out, with special attention to (i) the nature of poorly-ordered aluminosilicates and organic complexes as well as their consequences on physical soil properties, and their dynamics and (ii) the chemical impact of pesticides, fertilizers or soil salinisation by watertable (for Atlantic islands) on interrelated biological activity and structure degradation.
European methodology for physical properties could also be defined from these joint studies on soil aggregation and water binding.
3.Pollutant binding
Short-range order hydroxyaluminous minerals (hydroxyaluminous polymers, allophanes, imogolites) are key Andosol colloids, making them very reactive for adsorption and binding of mineral anions (phosphates, sulfates) and organic polyanions. The strong bonds which are found between mineral and organic phases in these soils suggest that organic pollutants may be bound very strongly, thus preventing decay and removal to groundwater. The impact of such concentration of organic pollutants is unknown.
In addition, Andosols have a high binding capacity for heavy metals which may be naturally accumulated or anthropogenically derived. These metals are bound in mineral structures, on mineral surfaces, and complexed by organic matter. Some trace elements may be so strongly bound that they become unavailable to plants. But in this respect, information is very scarce, but extremely important for improved environmental protection.
One of the aims of this Working Group will be to assess the binding capacity of Andosols for pollutants as a function of Andosol types (mineral, organic and organo-mineral colloids and aggregation states). Another aim of this Working Group will be to assess the sensitivity of Andosols to pollutants derived from organic manures sludges used to improve Andosol structural properties. The use of some microbiological tests as indicators of heavy metals toxicity will be experimented. This information is of vital importance for environmental impact assessment and the development of tolerance levels for toxic substances.
4.Sustainable land use and improvement
It is of utmost importance that the European volcanic soils in heavily populated countries remain productive arable land for future generations. In many areas, however, serious deterioration has been observed under intensive land use. The factors that influence future land use are soil erosion, loss of fertility, accumulation of toxic substances, soil salinity (for Atlantic islands) and water quality. Possible improved land use are e.g. the addition of organic composts to counteract loss of soil aggregate stability and water binding capacity. Study of these factors should lead to advice on proper land use policy for a number of environmental conditions.
Ecological thresholds, changes in biological functionality and reversibility or irreversibility of Andosol degradation will also be assessed.
D.ORGANIZATION AND TIMETABLE
This COST Action is subdivided into four phases over a period of five years.
The Action will start after it has been approved by the CSO meeting and when a minimum of five countries has signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The first Management Committee (MC) will then be arranged. This meeting will be attended with two representatives from each of the countries that have signed the MoU. The agenda for that MC meeting will be the following:
(a)Elect a Chairman for the Action.
(b)Select the study areas. Construct the overall workplan with timetables for the different phases.
(c)Establish the Working Groups (WG) and elect Working Group coordinators.
(d)Divide the responsibilities for the various subthemes (and analyses).
(e)Miscellaneous.
After the first MC meeting, the Action will start on the first phase, which will last 18 months. The real work will start with a combined MC and WG meeting.
To that meeting the MC and a maximum of two representatives per country for each WG can be invited. If required, a limited number of external experts might be invited. These meetings will follow up the work of the first MC meeting with more detailed programs. They also decide how often they should meet and the agendas for the first meetings.
Meetings of smaller groups between scientists working on a common subtheme (pedogenesis, soil aggregation and water binding, pollutant binding and sustainable land use and improvement) will be carried out thereafter.
The first Working Group meeting will be devoted to pedogenesis and andosol characterization. It will follow the general meeting of all the partners. The aims of this meeting will be to gather preliminary knowledge from the different partners of the Action in order to formulate both the problems of Andosol genesis and evolution and the final choice of Andosol sites for joint sampling and studies.
The other three Working Groups will have their first meetings thereafter. The aims of these three meetings will be to gather knowledge about the participating institutes and to discuss different approaches and the ways of coordinating the methods for analysing each of these types of problem.
The first phase will end with a joint MC and WG meeting in order to synthetize the conclusions of the Working Groups. At the same meetings, plans for the second phase will be agreed upon.
The second phase of the Action will last for twelve months and will mainly be devoted to the joint description and sampling of the selected catena's and soils, by a representative selection of the participating scientists.
The third phase of the Action will last for 18 months and will be for experimental work.
The Short Time Scientific Missions will be used as an important tool to get the samples analysed and to train young scientists in institutes other than their own.
Meetings of each of the four Working Groups will also be planned for the second time.
The fourth phase of the Action will last for 12 months. The aim of this last phase will be to synthetize and publish the results of the COST Action within (1) a final conference at the beginning of this last phase and (2) a book which will be written during this last year with an Editor and editorial boards.
E.ECONOMIC DIMENSION
On the basis of national estimates provided by the representatives of the interested countries and taking into account the coordination costs to be covered by the COST budget of the European Commission, the overall cost of the activities to be carried out under the Action has been estimated, at 1996 prices, at roughly ECU 11,3 million.
This amount has been evaluated, as far as national staff are concerned, on the basis of a participation of an average number of four scientific staff and four technical staff per year (two scientists and two PhD students, four technicians and engineers) for each country, corresponding roughly to ECU 220 000 by year and by country (total cost of national staff: ECU 1,54 million per year leading to ECU 7,77 million for the whole Action).
The total laboratory expenses per year will be ECU 0,63 million (ECU 3,15 million for the whole Action). Inter-institute costs per year will in total be ECU 0,07 million (ECU 0,35 million for the whole Action) (budget required for this COST Action).
The total overall cost per year will then be (1,54 + 0,63 + 0,07 =) ECU 2,24 million. For the whole Action it will be (7,77 + 3,15 + 0,35 =) ECU 11,27 million.
This amount of ECU is based on the assumption that seven countries, France, the Netherlands, Iceland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom participate in the Action. This amount will increase proportionally with new COST partners.
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France