Impacts of changing society and climate on nutrient loading to the Baltic Sea

Sampo Pihlainen, Marianne Zandersen, Kari Hyytiäinen, Hans Estrup Andersen, Alena Bartosova, Bo Gustafsson, Mohamed Jabloun, Michelle McCrackin, H.E. Markus Meier, Jørgen E. Olesen, Sofia Saraiva, Dennis Swaney, Hans Thodsen

Tutkimustuotos: ArtikkelijulkaisuArtikkeliTieteellinenvertaisarvioitu

Abstrakti

This paper studies the relative importance of societal drivers and changing climate on anthropogenic nutrient inputs to the Baltic Sea. Shared Socioeconomic Pathways and Representative Concentration Pathways are extended at temporal and spatial scales relevant for the most contributing sectors. Extended socioeconomic and climate scenarios are then used as inputs for spatially and temporally detailed models for population and land use change, and their subsequent impact on nutrient loading is computed. According to the model simulations, several factors of varying influence may either increase or decrease total nutrient loads. In general, societal drivers outweigh the impacts of changing climate. Food demand is the most impactful driver, strongly affecting land use and nutrient loads from agricultural lands in the long run. In order to reach the good environmental status of the Baltic Sea, additional nutrient abatement efforts should focus on phosphorus rather than nitrogen. Agriculture is the most important sector to be addressed under the conditions of gradually increasing precipitation in the region and increasing global demand for food. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Alkuperäiskielienglanti
Artikkeli138935
LehtiThe Science of the Total Environment
Vuosikerta731
Sivumäärä11
ISSN0048-9697
DOI - pysyväislinkit
TilaJulkaistu - 20 elok. 2020
OKM-julkaisutyyppiA1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä, vertaisarvioitu

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