Dynamics of soil acidification: an economic analysis

This paper studies the dynamic aspects related to the problem of acidificat ion. It shows how accumulation of acidification in ecosystems can be studie d in economic modelling by incorporating dynamic aspects of soil acidificat ion. In contrast to the often applied critical loads approach which only fo cuses on the final state of a soil, the dynamic approach applied in this st udy gives information about the temporal development of the quality of a so il. Using an economic optimal control model containing these dynamic aspect s the paper compares abatement policies based on static critical loads to a batement 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 s ulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) are determined. It is also s hown that abatement cost savings may be realised when intertemporal cost ef ficiency is taken into account. The results indicate that current European policies which are based on a critical loads approach instead of dynamic an alysis of soil quality, are non-optimal from both an ecological and an econ omic point of view. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.