Guidelines for mitigating the adverse effects of acid soils in Finland until 2020
maa- ja metsätalousministeriö
18.03.2012
Julkaisusarja:
Publications of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry 2/2012This publication is copyrighted. You may download, display and print it for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-453-741-4Tiivistelmä
Finland has the largest surface area of acid sulphate soils in Europe. Most of these are located along the western and south-western coast between the rivers Temmesjoki and Mynäjoki. For the most part they were created during the Litorina Sea stage of the Baltic Sea. Adverse effects of acid sulphate soils on the environment arise at the onset of acidification, when soil layers containing sulphate rise above the groundwater level. For a long time acid sulphate soils were considered as a problem for agricultural production, in particular. Later it has become evident that they also have significant impacts on fisheries, biodiversity, water supply, forestry, peat mining, and the status of surface waters and groundwater.
Because of the nature of the acidification process, the drainage of lands for agriculture, forestry and certain other purposes is a central factor in creating the acidification problems. Earthmoving and banking in acid sulphate soils may also cause significant damage. This is why it is important to take acid sulphate soils into account in all kind of land use, and to base land use planning on sufficient information on acid sulphate soils and the risks they involve.
This strategy establishes the main objectives and measures to efficiently reduce the adverse effects caused by acid sulphate soils. It is also important to take acid sulphate soils into account better than at present in various national and regional programmes and in guidelines, recommendations and advisory work. The strategy proposes the actions to be taken for developing the legislation, support schemes and their application.
Knowledge and information on the impacts and damages caused by acid sulphate soils should be improved. In the efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of acidification the focus should be on cost-efficient advance prevention, but the development of actions to combat the damages must be continued as well. Systematic mapping of acid sulphate soils is important, as it lays the foundation for the targeting of the actions to reduce the negative impacts as efficiently as possible to areas where the problems are the most severe. Adverse effects of acidification can, however, be efficiently reduced on the grounds of the current knowledge, which means that the actions to mitigate such effects should be intensified even before the more comprehensive mapping work has been completed.
The purpose of the strategy for mitigating the adverse effects of acid sulphate soils is also to contribute to and support the implementation of the River Basin Management Plans adopted by the Finnish Government in December 2009 and their revision in the next planning round. The outlines of the strategy must be comprehensively taken into account in all land use, legislative work, and development of support schemes and steering of actions.
Because of the nature of the acidification process, the drainage of lands for agriculture, forestry and certain other purposes is a central factor in creating the acidification problems. Earthmoving and banking in acid sulphate soils may also cause significant damage. This is why it is important to take acid sulphate soils into account in all kind of land use, and to base land use planning on sufficient information on acid sulphate soils and the risks they involve.
This strategy establishes the main objectives and measures to efficiently reduce the adverse effects caused by acid sulphate soils. It is also important to take acid sulphate soils into account better than at present in various national and regional programmes and in guidelines, recommendations and advisory work. The strategy proposes the actions to be taken for developing the legislation, support schemes and their application.
Knowledge and information on the impacts and damages caused by acid sulphate soils should be improved. In the efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of acidification the focus should be on cost-efficient advance prevention, but the development of actions to combat the damages must be continued as well. Systematic mapping of acid sulphate soils is important, as it lays the foundation for the targeting of the actions to reduce the negative impacts as efficiently as possible to areas where the problems are the most severe. Adverse effects of acidification can, however, be efficiently reduced on the grounds of the current knowledge, which means that the actions to mitigate such effects should be intensified even before the more comprehensive mapping work has been completed.
The purpose of the strategy for mitigating the adverse effects of acid sulphate soils is also to contribute to and support the implementation of the River Basin Management Plans adopted by the Finnish Government in December 2009 and their revision in the next planning round. The outlines of the strategy must be comprehensively taken into account in all land use, legislative work, and development of support schemes and steering of actions.