The CCE impact assessment
Objective
To quantify the sensitivity of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, particularly of Natura2000 areas, towards excess deposition of acid and nitrogen deposition and eleveated levels of ground-level ozone.
Model characteristics
The CCE Environmental Impact Assessment methodology (CCE-EIA) yields protection levels for nature in Europe against adverse effects of acidifying and eutrophying pollutants in particular. These protection levels are called “critical loads”. Within EC4MACS, critical loads are used to identify maximum allowable levels of deposition of sulphur and nitrogen compounds. Adverse effects occur when critical loads are exceeded by deposition (exceedance). Currently the focus is on the effects of nitrogen deposition on biodiversity (e.g. plant species richness). Response of nature to a change of exceedance can take several decades. This is true both for the delay of damage (in case of persistent exceedance) and of recovery (in case of an exceedance becoming smaller or equal to zero). The CCE-EIA also includes the use of dynamic (soil) models to compute the number of years needed for damage or recovery to occur. See for more detailed information and (downloadable) CCE publications also www.mnp.nl/cce.
Typical features and results
- Site-specific assessment of critical loads for more than 1.6 million ecosystems in Europe
Data sources
- Estimates of critical loads provided by national focal centers of all Member States
- European soil data bases
Input from other EC4MACS models
- Fields of deposition and ozone concentrations (from the EMEP model)
Output to other EC4MACS models
- Databases with critical loads and levels (to the GAINS model)