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Scenarios of nitrogen and phosphorus loads to the sea (v. mar.2019)

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Spatial dataset consisting of nutrient loads and source apportionments estimated at the outlets of freshwater river basins with model GREEN (Grizzetti et al., 2012; version March 2019) according to four European nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) management scenarios:

1. Reference – REF: historical conditions (year 2012).

2. Business as Usual – BAU: implementation of current level of investments in water protection foreseen under Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD) and the Rural Development Program.

3. Nutrient Scenario – NUTR: includes a full or enhanced implementation of two EU Directives, the UWWTD for collecting and treating wastewater from urban agglomerations, and the Nitrates Directive to protect freshwater from agricultural pollution.

4. High Technically Feasible Reduction – MTFR: assumes all wastewaters in the EU are treated at the maximum level of nutrient reduction currently possible, while mineral fertilisers are applied to an optimal level.

Sources of nutrients comprise agriculture (mineral and organic fertilization), nitrogen atmospheric deposition, phosphorus releases from natural areas, scattered dwellings, and point sources (domestic and industrial discharges). Nutrients are reduced by attenuation processes in land and freshwater reaches.

The river basin hydrological data model is based on Catchment Characterisation and Modelling (Vogt et al., 2007; https://data.jrc.ec.europa.eu/dataset/fe1878e8-7541-4c66-8453-afdae7469221)

Contributors

Ad De Roo; Adrian Leip; Alberto Aloe; Alberto Pistocchi; Angel Udias Moinelo; Bruna Grizzetti; Carlos Benitez Sanz; Chiara Dorati; Faycal Bouraoui; Maria Bielza; Michela Zanni; Olga Vigiak; Rene Friedland

How to cite

Grizzetti, Bruna; Vigiak, Olga; Udias Moinelo, Angel; Aloe, Alberto; Zanni, Michela; Bouraoui, Faycal; Pistocchi, Alberto; Dorati, Chiara; Friedland, Rene; De Roo, Ad; Benitez Sanz, Carlos; Leip, Adrian; Bielza, Maria (2026): Scenarios of nitrogen and phosphorus loads to the sea (v. mar.2019). European Commission, Joint Research Centre [Dataset] doi: 10.2905/JRC.JZG4DW8 PID: http://data.europa.eu/89h/2ad4a18e-d953-423d-87f7-3ffdcef9bc16

Keywords

agricultureenvironmental policynitrogenphosphoruswastewater

Data access

Scenarios of nitrogen and phosphorus loads to the sea (v. mar.2019) - File geodatabase
Esri File Geodatabase

GDB is an Esri's file-based geodatabase format, stored as folders in a file system. It shall be used for Esri file geodatabases. The file is a zip archive that contains the gdb directory.
Downloadable file

A downloadable file for the dataset.

Use conditions
European Commission reuse notice

According to the European Commission reuse notice, reuse is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged. The reuse policy of the European Commission is implemented by the Decision of 12 December 2011. The general principle of reuse can be subject to conditions which may be specified in individual copyright notices. Therefore users are advised to refer to the copyright notices of the individual websites maintained under Europa and of the individual documents. Reuse is not applicable to documents subject to intellectual property rights of third parties.

Access conditions
No limitations

Anybody can directly and anonymously access the data, without being required to register or authenticate.

  • File geodatabase distribution containing the following classes:

    1. Main table class greenBasinLoadScenarios_vrsMar2019 containing load/source apportionment data

    2. Feature class SEAOUTLETS containing a subset of CCM 2.1 river basin geometries to be linked to previous table class via primary/foreign key WSO_ID.

    Refer to item specific geodatabase metadata (also available in pdf format inside download package)

Publications

Publication
How EU policies could reduce nutrient pollution in European inland and coastal waters
Grizzetti, B., Vigiak, O., Udias, A., Aloe, A., Zanni, M., Bouraoui, F., Pistocchi, A., Dorati, C., Friedland, R., De Roo, A., Benitez Sanz, C., Leip, A., Bielza, M., 2021. How EU policies could reduce nutrient pollution in European inland and coastal waters. Global Environmental Change 69, 10228

Spatial coverage

Temporal coverage

From date To date
2012-01-01 2012-12-31

Additional information

Published by
European Commission, Joint Research Centre
Contact email
EU-HUB-WATER-AGRICULTURE (at) ec.europa.eu
Update frequency
irregular

The event occurs at uneven intervals.

Language(s)
English

English is a member of the West Germanic group of the Germanic languages. It is an official language of almost 60 sovereign states and is now a global lingua franca.It is the third-most-common native language in the world and it is widely learned as a second language.

Data theme(s)
Agriculture, fisheries, forestry and food

dataset theme covering the domains of agriculture which involves the cultivation of plants and livestock; fisheries which focuses on the harvesting of fish from wild or farmed sources; forestry which relates to the management and conservation of forests and woodlands; and food which includes substances that provide nutritional support to organisms
Environment

dataset theme covering the domain of environment, defined as the interaction of all living species, climate, weather, and natural resources that impact human survival and economic activity

Issued date
2020-10-12
Created date
12 Oct 2020 09:12
Modified date
17 Feb 2026 15:58
Dataset identifier
http://data.europa.eu/89h/2ad4a18e-d953-423d-87f7-3ffdcef9bc16
Other identifiers
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