Abstract

Contaminants in the soil may threaten soil functions (SFs) and, in turn, hinder the delivery of ecosystem services (ES). A framework for ecological risk assessments (ERAs) within the APPLICERA - APPLICable site-specific Environmental Risk Assessment research project promotes assessments that consider other soil quality parameters than only contaminant concentrations. The developed framework is: (i) able to differentiate the effects of contamination on SFs from the effects of other soil qualities essential for soil biota; and (ii) provides a robust basis for improved soil quality management in remediation projects. This study evaluates the socio-economic consequences of remediation alternatives stemming from a Tier 1 ERA that focusses on total contaminant concentrations and soil quality standards and a detailed, site-specific Tier 3 Triad approach that is based on the APPLICERA framework. The present study demonstrates how Tier 1 and Tier 3 ERAs differ in terms of the socioeconomic consequences of their remediation actions, as well as presents a novel method for the semi-quantitative assessment of on-site ES. Although the presented Tier 3 ERA is more expensive and time-consuming than the more traditional Tier 1 ERA approach, it has the potential to lower the costs of remediation actions, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, reduce other environmental impacts, and minimise socio-economic losses. Furthermore, the remediation actions stemming from the Tier 3 ERA were predicted to exert far less negative ES effects than the actions proposed based on the results of the Tier 1 ERA. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords

Contaminated sites; Soil quality; Ecological risk assessment; Remediation; Cost-benefit analysis; Ecosystem services

Published in

Science of the Total Environment
2020, Volume: 707, article number: 135582

SLU Authors

• Berggren Kleja, Dan

  • Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • Swedish Geotechnical Institute (SGI)

• Jones, Christopher

  • Department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Taylor, Astrid

  • Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Viketoft, Maria

  • Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Dahlberg, Anna-Karin

  • Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Weiss, Jana

  • Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Wiberg, Karin

  • Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Sustainable Development Goals

Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable


UKÄ Subject classification

Environmental Sciences


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135582

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/103708