Agriculture and environment Contents 1. Agriculture and INPUT USE .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 5 Farming intensity ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 5 Livestock density ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 6 Energy use in agriculture ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 7 Energy use in the food industry .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 8 Production of renewable energy ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 9 Fertilizer consumption .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 10 Pesticides consumption ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 11 2. Agriculture and SOIL ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Soil quality ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 12 Average Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) stock in agricultural soils ......................................................................................................................................................... 13 Soil erosion by water ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 14 Soil erosion by wind ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 17 Soil sealing ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 18 Potential threats to soil biodiversity in croplands and grasslands ............................................................................................................................................................. 19 3. Agriculture and CLIMATE/AIR........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20 Emissions from agriculture ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20 Air pollutant emissions ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20 NH3 emissions per total agricultural area (UAA) ................................................................................................................................................................................. 26 NH3 emissions per amount of protein produced (emission intensity)................................................................................................................................................... 26 GHG emissions ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 28 1 Extreme weather events ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 32 Risk of forest fires ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 33 4. Agriculture and WATER ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 34 Water abstraction ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 34 Water exploitation and water stress .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 35 Water quality ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 36 Nitrogen water pollution ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 36 Nitrates in fresh and ground water ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 38 Phosphorus water pollution ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 41 5. Agriculture and BIODIVERSITY .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 43 Number of agriculture-related habitats protected under the Habitats Directive .................................................................................................................................... 43 Conservation status of protected agriculture-related habitats ................................................................................................................................................................... 44 Farmland birds index ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 45 Grassland butterfly index.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 46 Protected forest ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 47 6. Agriculture and LANDSCAPE ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 48 Presence of linear elements ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 48 Farmland Heterogeneity Index ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 49 Useful links ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................