Dynamics of soil acidification: an economic analysis

Abstract

This paper studies the dynamic aspects related to the problem of acidification. It shows how accumulation of acidification in ecosystems can be studied in economic modelling by incorporating dynamic aspects of soil acidification. In contrast to the often applied critical loads approach which only focuses on the final state of a soil, the dynamic approach applied in this study gives information about the temporal development of the quality of a soil. Using an economic optimal control model containing these dynamic aspects the paper compares abatement policies based on static critical loads to abatement policies based on a dynamic analysis. It shows that soil dynamics play an essential role in identifying optimal policies. Based on numerical simulations cost-effective abatement strategies for combined reduction of sulphur dioxide (SO 2) and nitrogen oxides (NO x ) are determined. It is also shown that abatement cost savings may be realised when intertemporal cost efficiency is taken into account. The results indicate that current European policies which are based on a critical loads approach instead of dynamic analysis of soil quality, are non-optimal from both an ecological and an economic point of view.