Europaudvalget 2018
KOM (2018) 0257
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EUROPEAN
COMMISSION
Brussels, 4.5.2018
SWD(2018) 246 final
PART 7/9
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT
Accompanying the document
Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament
on the implementation of Council Directive 91/676/EEC concerning the protection of
waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources based on Member
State reports for the period 2012-2015
{COM(2018) 257 final}
EN
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SECTION VI
METHODS
Processing water quality data
Data delivery
Member States delivered water quality data for the reporting period 2012-2015 through
EOINET (http://rod.eionet.europa.eu/obligations/106/deliveries). The essential data that
are processed for the reporting exercise are summarized below for groundwater (GW)
and surface water (SW).
Station information (GW_STAT and SW_STAT)
- Stationcode
- Stationtype
- Longitude
- Latitude
Annual nitrate measurements (GW_ANNCONC and SW_ANNCONC)
- Stationcode
- Stationtype
- Year
- Number of samples
- Annual average nitrate
Aggregated nitrate measurements (GW_CONC and SW_CONC)
- Stationcode
- Stationtype
- Period
- Number of samples
- Maximum nitrate
- Trend in annual average nitrate
- Winter average nitrate (SW only)
- Trend in winter average nitrate (SW only)
Eutrophication status (SW_EUTROSTATE)
- Stationcode
- Stationtype
- Period
- Number of samples
- Eutrophication status
Additionally, Member States deliver geo-referenced information about Nitrate
Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) through GIS shapefiles and/or boundary files.
Data quality checks
The water quality data and NVZ information follow the specific EIONET dataset
definition (http://dd.eionet.europa.eu/datasets/latest/NiD). The data go through an
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automated EIONET check on the presence of mandatory elements, validity and
correctness of codes and format of data types. An additional check is carried out on
quality, completeness and coherence.
The additional check is executed using FME Workbenches. In these workbenches there is
a check on the availability of a value for each of the mandatory attributes and a check on
the validity of the given values. The validity check looks for example at the datatype,
minimum and maximum values, use of valid codes and the number of characters as
defined in the dataset definition.
The additional check also contains a check on the coordinates of the monitoring stations
in GW_Stat and SW_Stat. The shapefile NUTS_2013_01M from Eurostat
(http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/gisco/geodata/reference-data/administrative-units-
statistical-units/nuts)
is used to check if the monitoring stations are within (or close to, as
the boundaries of this dataset do not have a high positional accuracy) the Member State.
To be able to join the different tables with each other, the combination of CountryCode,
ND_NatStatCode and ND_StationType should be unique and therefore a check on this
uniqueness is included. For the tables GW_AnnConc and SW_AnnConc the combination
of CountryCode, ND_NatStatCode, ND_StationType and ND_Year should be unique.
For each unique combination it is checked whether there is a record in the other table(s).
So, GW_Stat records are matched to records GW_AnnConc and GW_Conc and vice
versa. SW_Stat records are matched to records in SW_AnnConc, SW_Conc,
SW_EutroMeas and SW_EutroState.
The checked and completed water quality data and NVZ shapefiles are loaded into a
GeoDatabase.
Data processing
Monitoring network
The Member States summary sheets and the Staff Working Document (SWD) present
tables and figures of the number of stations in the monitoring networks and the sampling
density and frequency. These data are based on the number of monitoring stations for
which average annual nitrate measurements are reported.
Nitrates concentration
Annual nitrates average concentration presented in all figures, tables and maps of the
SWD and Member States Summary Sheets are weighted averages. Nitrate concentrations
in water are very variable in time. As the sampling programmes are not always balanced
in time due to a varying number of samples per year, the four-year average nitrate
concentrations may be affected by incidental extreme variations in nitrate concentrations.
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Therefore the four-year average is calculated as the weighted average in which each
annual value is weighted according to the number of underlying samples.
Four-year weighted average nitrate concentration = Ʃ(n
i
* AnnualConc
i
) / Ʃ(n
i
)
n
i
= number of samples in year i
AnnualConc
i
= Annual average nitrate concentration
Figure 1 in the Member States summary sheets presents the percentage of groundwater
stations with average values equal to or exceeding 25, 40 or 50 mg nitrate per L during
the current and previous reporting periods. Results are presented for all groundwater
stations with measurements at different depths for each of the reporting periods (i.e.
2004-2007, 2008-2011 and 2012-2015) irrespective of possible changes in the Member
States monitoring network over time.
Figure 3 in the Member States summary sheets presents the percentage of fresh surface
water stations with average values equal to or exceeding 25, 40 or 50 mg nitrate per L
during the current and previous reporting periods. Results are presented for all river and
lake monitoring stations with measurements for each of the reporting periods (i.e. 2004-
2007, 2008-2011 and 2012-2015) irrespective of possible changes in the Member States
monitoring network over time.
Stations
Station type
The distinguished station types are presented in Table A1.
Table A1. Groundwater and surface water station types
Code
Ground
water
0
Type
Phreatic groundwater
(shallow):0-5m
Phreatic groundwater (deep)
Phreatic groundwater (deep) 5-15
m
Phreatic groundwater (deep) 15-
30 m
Phreatic groundwater (deep) > 30
m
Captive groundwater
Aggregation
1
1a
1b
1c
2
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3
9
Karstic groundwater
Other stationtype
Surface
water
4
Rivers
Fresh surface
waters
5
6
7
8
Lakes
Coastal waters
Transitional waters
Marine waters
Saline surface
waters
Ground water station type
Station density
The station density is calculated as the number of monitoring stations with annual
average nitrate measurements per 1000 km
2
of land. The land area was derived from
Eurostat total landcover in the year 2012. The station density was calculated for
groundwater and fresh surface water stations.
Monitoring frequency
Member States submit an annual average nitrate concentration and the number of
samples on which the annual average is based. The monitoring frequency is calculated as
the sum of all samples taken during the reporting period divided by the total number of
monitoring stations. The monitoring frequency was calculated for groundwater, fresh
surface water and saline surface water stations.
Trends
Trends are calculated and submitted by Member States. Trends are calculated as the
difference in the four-year average nitrate concentration between two consecutive
reporting periods, for common monitoring stations of both reporting periods.
Trends are presented for all those stations, and additionally trends are broken down over
the annual average nitrate classes of the current reporting period.
Figure 2 in the Member States summary sheets presents for groundwater the trends of all
stations common to the two periods ("All stations" pie chart).
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Figure 4 in the Member States summary sheets presents for fresh surface water (rivers
and lakes) the trends of all stations common two the two periods ("All stations" pie
chart).
Classification
Water quality data are classified into different categories in order to be presented in
tables, figures and maps. The categories used to classify groundwater and surface water
are presented in the following tables.
Table A2. Groundwater categories for average and maximum nitrate concentrations
Classification
< 25
≥25 and <40
≥40 and <50
≥ 25
≥ 40
≥ 50
Legend in MS Summary
sheets and the SWD
< 25
25-40
40-50
≥ 25
≥ 40
≥ 50
Change between current and previous reporting period
Changes in an indicator (e.g. animal number or nutrient use) between the current and
previous reporting period are calculated as follows:
[(average 2012–2015) – (average 2008–2011)]/[(average 2008–2011)] x 100%
Table A3. Surface water categories for average and maximum nitrate concentration
Classification
<2
≥2 and <10
≥10 and <25
≥25 and <40
≥40 and <50
Legend in MS Summary
sheets and the SWD
<2
2-10
10-25
25-40
40-50
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≥25
≥40
≥ 50
≥ 25
≥ 40
≥ 50
Table A4. Groundwater and surface water categories for trends in nitrate concentration
Classification
Legend in MS
Summary sheets and
the SWD
< -5
-5 to -1
-1 to 1
1 to 5
≥5
Category
Aggregated
category
< -5
>=-5 and <-1
>=-1 and <1
>=1 and <5
≥5
Strong decrease
Decreasing
Light decrease
Stable
Light increase
Increasing
Strong increase
Stable
Regional aggregation
Data from Flanders and Wallonia are aggregated to Belgium, and data from England,
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are aggregated to United Kingdom.
Nitrate Vulnerable Zones
The information is based on the NVZ-shapefiles delivered by Member States.
Eutrophication
Member States submit the ND eutrophication status of surface waters. Valid values are
Ultra-oligotrophic, Oligotrophic, Mesotrophic, Eutrophic and Hypertrophic. Only if this
set of values were reported, the eutrophication data was used for standardised processing
of figures and maps in MS summary sheets and the SWD report. The standard processing
includes the pie diagrams (figures 5 and 6) in the MS summary sheets and the frequency
diagrams and maps in the SWD report.
In some cases other classifications were used (Non Eutrophic, Non-eutrophic, No
eutrophication, Unpolluted, Intermediate, May become eutrophic, Potential Eutrophic
and Potentially Eutrophic). These data were only used for non-standard tables in the MS
summary sheets.
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Some Member States did not submit eutrophication status at all.
The water quality parameters to assess the eutrophication status show a large variation
between Member States. For fresh waters (rivers and lakes), the most used parameters
(nearly 50% of Member States) are total phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. Other parameters
that are used regularly (between 10 and 40% of Member States) are ortho-phosphate,
total nitrogen, nitrate, plankton, phytobenthos and macrophytes. Parameters used
occasionally (less than 10% of Member States) are ammonium, oxygen, organic matter,
nitrite and transparency. For saline waters (mainly transitional and coastal waters), the
most used parameters (10 to 25%) are total phosphorus, total nitrogen, nitrate, oxygen
and chlorophyll-a. Parameters used occasionally (less than 10% of Member States) are
ammonium, nitrite and macroalgae.
Eutrophication status
MS
ND trophic state
AT
v
BE-F
v
BE-W
v
BG
v
CY
v
CZ
v
EL
v
ES
v
FI
v
HR
v
IE
v
IT
v
LT
v
LU
v
LV
v
MT
v
PL
v
PT
v
RO
v
SE
v
SI
v
SK
v
UK-NI
v
Other classification
v
v
v
v
v
Rivers
Lakes
Transitional
Coastal
Marine
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
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EE
HU
NL
IE
No data
DE
DK
FR
UK-EN
UK-WA
UK-SC
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
Country codes of Member States
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Germany
Denmark
Estonia
Greece
Spain
Finland
France
Croatia
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Latvia
Malta
Netherlands
AT
BE
BG
CY
CZ
DE
DK
EE
EL
ES
FI
FR
HR
HU
IE
IT
LT
LU
LV
MT
NL
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Poland
Portugal
Romania
Sweden
Slovenia
Slovakia
United Kingdom
Eurostat glossary
Animal categories
PL
PT
RO
SE
SI
SK
UK
The livestock unit, abbreviated as LSU (or sometimes as LU), is a reference unit which
facilitates the aggregation of livestock from various species and age as per convention,
via the use of specific coefficients established initially on the basis of the nutritional or
feed requirement of each type of animal (see table below for an overview of the most
commonly used coefficients). The reference unit used for the calculation of livestock
units (=1 LSU) is the grazing equivalent of one adult dairy cow producing 3,000 kg of
milk annually, without additional concentrated foodstuffs.
Cattle refers to domestic animals of the species Bos taurus (cattle and water buffalo
Bubalus bubalis together are called bovines). A distinction can be made by the age of the
animal (less than one year old, aged between one and two years, and two years and over),
with a further division between male and female cattle. Female cattle aged two years and
over is divided into heifers (that have not yet calved) and cows. The latter are further
divided into dairy cows and others.
A dairy cow is a cow kept exclusively or principally for the production of milk for
human consumption and/or other dairy produce, including cows for slaughter (whether
fattened or not between last lactation and slaughter).
A pig is a domesticated animal of the species Sus. A distinction is made between pigs,
piglets, fattening pigs and breeding pigs.
Poultry, in the context of European Union (EU) statistics, refers to domestic birds of the
species: Gallus gallus (hens and chickens); Meleagris spp. (turkeys); Anas spp. and
Cairina moschata (ducks); Anser anser dom. (geese); Coturnix spp. (quails); Phasianus
spp. (pheasants); Numida meleagris dom. (guineafowl); Columbinae spp. (pigeons);
Struthio camelus (ostriches). It excludes, however, birds raised in confinement for
hunting purposes and not for meat production.
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Sheep are domesticated animals of the species Ovis aries kept in flocks mainly for their
wool or meat. Sheep (of all ages) are divided into: Breeding females – which are female
sheep (called ewes) and other sheep - all sheep other than breeding females.
Area
Agricultural area, abbreviated as AA, (or utilised agricultural area abbreviated as UAA)
describes the area used for farming. It includes the land categories: arable land;
permanent grassland; permanent crops; other agricultural land such as kitchen gardens
(even if they only represent small areas of total UAA). The term does not include unused
agricultural land, woodland and land occupied by buildings, farmyards, tracks, ponds,
etc.
Land cover refers to the observed (bio)physical cover of the Earth's surface.
Nitrogen balance
The gross nitrogen balance is an
agri-environmental indicator
(AEI) calculated from the
total inputs minus total outputs to the soil. The gross nitrogen balance per ha is derived
by dividing the total gross nitrogen balance by the reference area. The reference area is
the sum of
arable land
(L0001),
permanent grassland
(L0002) and
land under permanent
crops
(L0003). Data on these areas can be found in Eurobase (apro_cpp_luse))
The inputs of the gross nitrogen balance are:
Fertilisers:
-
inorganic fertilisers;
- other
organic fertilisers
(not including manure).
Gross manure input:
- manure production: animal excretion;
- manure withdrawals: manure export, manure processed as industrial waste, non-
agricultural use of manure, other withdrawals;
- change in manure stocks;
- manure import.
Other inputs:
- seeds and planting material;
- biological nitrogen fixation by leguminous crops (like clover, soya beans etc) and free
living organisms;
- atmospheric nitrogen deposition.
The outputs of the gross nitrogen balance are:
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total removal of nitrogen with the harvest of crops (cereals, dried pulses, root
crops, industrial crops, vegetables, fruit, ornamental plants, other harvested
crops);
total removal of nitrogen with the harvest and grazing of fodder (fodder from
arable land, permanent and temporary pasture consumption);
crop residuals removed from the field.
The Net Nitrogen Balance is the Gross Nitrogen Balance minus Total nitrogen emissions
Gross phosphorus balance
The gross phosphorus balance is an
agri-environmental indicator
(AEI) calculated from
the total inputs minus total outputs to the soil. The gross phosphorus balance per ha is
derived by dividing the total gross phosphorus balance by the reference area. The
reference area is the sum of
arable land
(L0001),
permanent grassland
(L0002) and
land
under permanent crops
(L0003). Data on these areas can be found in Eurobase
(apro_cpp_luse)).
The inputs of the gross phosphorus balance are:
Fertilisers:
-
inorganic fertilisers;
- other
organic fertilisers
(not including manure).
Gross manure input:
- manure production: animal excretion;
- manure withdrawals: manure export, manure processed as industrial waste, non-
agricultural use of manure, other withdrawals;
- change in manure stocks;
- manure import.
Other inputs:
- seeds and planting material;
- atmospheric phosphorus deposition.
The outputs of the gross phosphorus balance are:
total removal of phosphorus with the harvest of crops (cereals, dried pulses, root
crops, industrial crops, vegetables, fruit, ornamental plants, other harvested
crops);
total removal of phosphorus with the harvest and grazing of fodder (fodder from
arable land, permanent and temporary pasture consumption);
crop residuals removed from the field.
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