Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Results
Agri-environmental Zonation (AEnZ)
Definition
The EnZ, OCTOP and Agri-mask data layers are integrated into the AEnZ that
covers the EU27+ at a spatial resolution of 1 × 1 km. The AEnZ is presented
hierarchically with at the first level the Environmental Zones (only 12 classes are
relevant as the Anatolian EnZ is not covered by the EU27+), at the second level the
seven organic carbon classes (OCTOP) and at the third level the three Agri-mask
classes. The resulting spatial land units, i.e. AEnZ land types, are as homogeneous
as possible from an agronomic perspective.
The maximum number of possible combinations of the three data layers is
12 × 7 × 3 is 252, representing 216 AEnZ land types, and 36 units for which the
carbon data are lacking. The actual map overlay resulted in 238 different AEnZ
land types for which 35 units lack carbon data. From those 238 different types
76 land types belong to the mountainous areas (Agri-mask class one) where no
arable agriculture is possible. Eighty land types are strongly handicapped by the
natural conditions (Agri-mask class two). The remaining 82 land types belong to the
Agri-mask class 0 that indicates that there are no or only small constraints to
agriculture. From those 82 types 12 relate to environmental zones for which
information on the organic carbon content was not available (OCTOP class nine).
The number of 70 agri-environmental land types in Agri-mask class zero is only
slightly less than the maximum of 72 possible types (12*6). The following table
(Table
7.1
) gives an overview of AEnZ land types that do not exist in the EU27+.
An overview of land shares per EnZ, OCTOP class and Agri-mask class is presented
in Table
7.2
. The four largest zones (zones EnZ 6, EnZ 2, EnZ 7, and EnZ 12) occupy
52% of EU27+. The remaining eight zones occupy 48%, each of them covering 5.5-7%,
except for the smallest zone EnZ nine which covers only 4%. The OCTOP classes
share more or less equal portions of land in EU27+ (13-16%), with the exception
of OCTOP class two with 20.7% and class nine (no data available) with 5.1%.
Characterization
The characterization of the AEnZ land types is based on land cover and biophysical
variables (mean altitude, mean growing season [number of days with above 5°C],
mean temperature range [temperature August - temperature January], mean summer
drought [sum of rainfall deficit for May, June and July], mean slope, mean available
water holding capacity, rooting depth and medium texture).
As indicated in Table
7.2
, three-quarter (75.8%) of the EU27+ has no or
relatively small constraints to agriculture (Agri-mask class zero), which are large
parts of the Nemoral, Atlantic Central and North, Continental, Pannonian, Lusitanian,
