Introduction to Ecological Risk Assessment - Dealing with Contaminated Sites: From Theory Towards Practical Application - page 574

Contents

13.1 Introduction ........................................... 575

13.1.1 Vital Soil ........................................ 575

13.1.2 Terminology, Ranking and Classification ....................

576

13.1.3 Public Perception ...................................

578

13.2 Soil Biology ........................................... 579

13.2.1 Soil Life ........................................ 579

13.2.2 Classification of Organisms ............................ 579

13.3 Organisms in the Groundwater ...............................

582

13.4 Significance of the Soil Ecosystem ............................. 582

13.4.1 The Value of Soil Biology .............................

582

13.4.2 Biodiversity ...................................... 583

13.4.3 Ecosystem Services ................................. 585

13.4.4 Above-Ground Biology ............................... 591

13.4.5 Agriculture ...................................... 591

13.5 Ecological Risk Assessment .................................

592

13.5.1 Principles ....................................... 592

13.5.2 Risk Characterisation ................................

593

13.5.3 Characteristics of Exposure ............................. 594

13.5.4 Endpoints ....................................... 597

13.5.5 Other Stress Factors ................................. 599

13.5.6 Political Awareness .................................

602

13.6 Ecological Risk Assessment in Practice ..........................

604

13.6.1 Soil Quality Assessment .............................. 604

13.6.2 Soil Quality Standards ................................ 605

13.6.3 Site-Specific Risk Assessment ........................... 606

13.7 A Closer Look into Ecological Risk Assessment .....................

606

13.7.1 Resilience and Recovery ..............................

606

13.7.2 Adaptation ....................................... 607

13.7.3 Land Use ........................................ 608

13.7.4 Secondary Poisoning and Food Web Approach ................. 609

13.7.5 Wildlife Protection ..................................

610

13.7.6 Scale and Contaminant Pattern ........................... 611

13.7.7 Spatial Planning ...................................

612

13.8 Sustainability .......................................... 612

13.8.1 Political Significance ................................ 612

13.8.2 The Benefits of Sustainability ........................... 613

13.8.3 Agriculture ...................................... 614

13.8.4 Improving Sustainability ..............................

615

13.9 Monitoring the Soil Ecosystem Quality ..........................

615

13.9.1 Indicators .......................................

615

13.9.2 Significance of Monitoring the Soil Ecosystem Quality ............ 616

13.9.3 Possibilities for Monitoring ............................. 616

13.9.4 Biological Classification Systems ......................... 617

References ................................................

619