Climate change and the potential effects on runoff and nitrogen losses in the Nordic-Baltic region

Climatic changes will influence the possibilities for agricultural production (e.g. longer growing season), agricultural management practices (e.g. changes in tillage, fertilization, increased use of fungicides) and runoff conditions, and thereby the losses of nutrients from agricultural fields to the environment. Nitrogen (N) is of particular interest in the Baltic Sea region because of its adverse effects on water quality. This paper gives an overview of the expected climatic changes in the Nordic-Baltic region, and the possible effects of these changes on runoff and N losses. Downscaled climate scenarios are used as a basis for evaluating the potential effects of climate change on hydrology, runoff and N losses. Examples from selected catchments in Nordic-Baltic water quality monitoring programmes, including data from extreme events, are presented and used for an assessment of the required adaptations. The analysis shows that there is a strong relationship between annual precipitation and runoff, and between runoff and N loss. The seasonality of precipitation, runoff and N loss indicate high losses outside the growing season. With climate change, increased precipitation is expected to occur mainly outside the growing season - in September-March - and result in increased runoff and thereby increased N losses. Existing data show that extreme events of precipitation have occurred in all seasons during the monitoring period, and have caused high runoff and high losses of N. With the expected increases in N losses, there is an urgent need for efficient measures to reduce N losses in order to fulfil the requirements of e.g. the EU Water Framework Directive (EU-WFD) and the Nitrates Directive and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from agriculture. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.