13
categories, with the exception of forests and water bodies. Urbanization and
expanded transport networks are fragmenting habitats, making animal and plant
populations more vulnerable to local extinction due to disrupted migration and fragmentation. These changes in land cover affect ecosystem services (Forman and
Alexander 1998). Soil characteristics play an essential role here, as they affect
water, nutrient, and carbon cycles. Soil organic matter is a major terrestrial carbon
absorber and is therefore important for climate change mitigation. Peat soils are the
highest concentration of organic matter in all soils, followed by extensively managed grasslands and forests: therefore, the conversion of these systems leads to carbon losses in the soil. Loss of these habitats is also associated with reduced water
retention capacity, increased risk of flooding and erosion, and reduced attractiveness
for outdoor recreation (McCarty 2001).
Forests are being exploited intensively: the share of the old constituents is critically low. Forests are essential for biodiversity and the realization of ecosystem
services. They provide natural habitats for flora and fauna, protection against soil
erosion and flooding, carbon sequestration, and climate regulation and have great
recreational and cultural value. The forest is the dominant natural vegetation in
Europe, but the remaining forests in Europe are far from intact. Most of them are
intensively exploited. Exploited forests usually lack large amounts of dead wood
and older trees as habitat for the species and often show a high percentage of nonnative tree species (McKinney 2002).
Agricultural areas are shrinking, but management is intensifying: species-rich
grasslands are in decline. The concept of ecosystem services is probably most obvious to agriculture. The primary purpose is to provide food, but agricultural land also
provides many other ecosystem services. Traditional agricultural landscapes in
Europe are a great cultural treasure, attract tourism, and offer opportunities for outdoor recreation. Agricultural soils play a key role in the circular movement of nutrients and water (McCarty 2001).
Agriculture is characterized by a double trend: great intensification in some
regions and abandonment of land in others. Intensification aims to provide higher
yields and requires investment in machinery, drainage, fertilizers, and pesticides. It
is also often associated with simplified crop rotation. When socioeconomic and biophysical conditions do not allow it, agriculture remains extensive or abandoned.
These movements are driven by a combination of factors, including technological
innovation, political support, and international market movements, as well as climate change, demographic trends, and lifestyle changes. Concentration and
optimization of agricultural production have major consequences for birds and butterflies from agricultural habitats (McCarty 2001).
Inland and freshwater ecosystems are still under pressure despite reduced pollution loads. In addition to the direct effects of land conversion and utilization, human
activities such as agriculture, industry, waste generation, and transport cause indirect and cumulative effects on biodiversity – mainly through air, soil, and water
pollution. A wide range of pollutants, including excess nutrients, pesticides,
microbes, industrial chemicals, metals, and pharmaceuticals, ends up in soil or in
groundwater and surface water. Atmospheric deposition of substances that cause
1 General Aspects of Environmental Degradation vs. Technological Development…
categories, with the exception of forests and water bodies. Urbanization and
expanded transport networks are fragmenting habitats, making animal and plant
populations more vulnerable to local extinction due to disrupted migration and fragmentation. These changes in land cover affect ecosystem services (Forman and
Alexander 1998). Soil characteristics play an essential role here, as they affect
water, nutrient, and carbon cycles. Soil organic matter is a major terrestrial carbon
absorber and is therefore important for climate change mitigation. Peat soils are the
highest concentration of organic matter in all soils, followed by extensively managed grasslands and forests: therefore, the conversion of these systems leads to carbon losses in the soil. Loss of these habitats is also associated with reduced water
retention capacity, increased risk of flooding and erosion, and reduced attractiveness
for outdoor recreation (McCarty 2001).
Forests are being exploited intensively: the share of the old constituents is critically low. Forests are essential for biodiversity and the realization of ecosystem
services. They provide natural habitats for flora and fauna, protection against soil
erosion and flooding, carbon sequestration, and climate regulation and have great
recreational and cultural value. The forest is the dominant natural vegetation in
Europe, but the remaining forests in Europe are far from intact. Most of them are
intensively exploited. Exploited forests usually lack large amounts of dead wood
and older trees as habitat for the species and often show a high percentage of nonnative tree species (McKinney 2002).
Agricultural areas are shrinking, but management is intensifying: species-rich
grasslands are in decline. The concept of ecosystem services is probably most obvious to agriculture. The primary purpose is to provide food, but agricultural land also
provides many other ecosystem services. Traditional agricultural landscapes in
Europe are a great cultural treasure, attract tourism, and offer opportunities for outdoor recreation. Agricultural soils play a key role in the circular movement of nutrients and water (McCarty 2001).
Agriculture is characterized by a double trend: great intensification in some
regions and abandonment of land in others. Intensification aims to provide higher
yields and requires investment in machinery, drainage, fertilizers, and pesticides. It
is also often associated with simplified crop rotation. When socioeconomic and biophysical conditions do not allow it, agriculture remains extensive or abandoned.
These movements are driven by a combination of factors, including technological
innovation, political support, and international market movements, as well as climate change, demographic trends, and lifestyle changes. Concentration and
optimization of agricultural production have major consequences for birds and butterflies from agricultural habitats (McCarty 2001).
Inland and freshwater ecosystems are still under pressure despite reduced pollution loads. In addition to the direct effects of land conversion and utilization, human
activities such as agriculture, industry, waste generation, and transport cause indirect and cumulative effects on biodiversity – mainly through air, soil, and water
pollution. A wide range of pollutants, including excess nutrients, pesticides,
microbes, industrial chemicals, metals, and pharmaceuticals, ends up in soil or in
groundwater and surface water. Atmospheric deposition of substances that cause
1 General Aspects of Environmental Degradation vs. Technological Development…