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An interdisciplinary modelling approach assessing the cost-effectiveness of agri-environmental measures on reducing nutrient concentration to WFD thresholds under climate change: the case of the Louros catchment

Operational Research volume 14, pages 205–224 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

The application of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in the European Union (EU) targets certain threshold levels for the concentration of various nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorous being the most important. In the EU, agri-environmental measures constitute a significant component of Pillar 2—Rural Development Policies in both financial and regulatory terms. Environmental measures also are linked to Pillar 1 payments through cross-compliance and the greening proposals. This paper drawing from work carried out in the REFRESH FP7 project aims to show how an INtegrated CAtchment model of plant/soil system dynamics and instream biogeochemical and hydrological dynamics can be used to assess the cost-effectiveness of agri-environmental measures in relation to nutrient concentration targets set by the WFD, especially in the presence of important habitats. We present the procedures (methodological steps, challenges and problems) for assessing the cost-effectiveness of agri-environmental measures at the baseline situation, and climate and land use change scenarios. Furthermore, we present results of an application of this methodology to the Louros watershed in Greece and discuss the likely uses and future extensions of the modelling approach. Finally, we attempt to reveal the importance of this methodology for designing and incorporating alternative environmental practices in Pillar 1 and 2 measures.

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Acknowledgments

This work was carried out as part of the REFRESH FP7 Project: Adaptive Strategies to Mitigate the Impacts of Climate Change on European Freshwater Ecosystems, funded by EU Seventh Framework Program (Grant Agreement 244121): www.refresh.ucl.ac.uk.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, University of Patras, University Campus, 26504, Rio, Greece

    Dimitris Skuras, Demetrios Psaltopoulos & Alexandra Kontolainou

  2. Department of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 227, Reading, RG6 6AB, UK

    Andrew Wade & Martin Erlandsson

  3. School of Geography and the Environment, OUCE, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK

    Paul Whitehead

Authors
  1. Dimitris Skuras
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  2. Andrew Wade
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  3. Demetrios Psaltopoulos
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  4. Paul Whitehead
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  5. Alexandra Kontolainou
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  6. Martin Erlandsson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Demetrios Psaltopoulos.

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Skuras, D., Wade, A., Psaltopoulos, D. et al. An interdisciplinary modelling approach assessing the cost-effectiveness of agri-environmental measures on reducing nutrient concentration to WFD thresholds under climate change: the case of the Louros catchment. Oper Res Int J 14, 205–224 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12351-014-0158-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12351-014-0158-5

Keywords

  • Cost-effectiveness
  • Agri-environmental measures
  • Integrated modelling
  • Water Framework Directive
  • Climate change
  • Mitigation