33 Components of the FDES and the Basic Set of Environment Statistics 33 Table 3.1.1.3 Statistics and related information for Topic 1.1.3 Component 1: Environmental Conditions and Quality Subcomponent 1.1: Physical Conditions Topic 1.1.3: Geological and geographical information Statistics and related information Category of measurement Potential aggregations and scales Methodological guidance (Bold text—Core Set/Tier 1; regular text—Tier 2; italicized text—Tier 3) a. Geological, geographical and geomorphological conditions of terrestrial areas and islands •• National •• UNSD: Demographic Yearbook •• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) •• Center for International Earth Science Informa tion Network (CIESIN)
- Length of border Length
- Area of country or region Area, location
- Number of islands Number •• By location •• National
- Area of islands Area
- Main geomorphological characteristics of islands Description
- Spatial distribution of land relief Description, location
- Characteristics of landforms (e.g., plains, hills, plateaus, dunes, volcanoes, mountains, seamounts) Description, area, height
- Area by rock types Area
- Length of fault lines Length b. Coastal waters (including area of coral reefs and mangroves) Area, description c. Length of marine coastline Length d. Coastal area Area Topic 1.1.4: Soil characteristics 3.17. Soil is a multifunctional part of the environment. It provides the physical base to sup port the production and cycling of biological resources, provides the foundation for buildings and infrastructure, constitutes the source of nutrients and water for agriculture and forestry systems, provides a habitat for diverse organisms, plays an essential role in carbon sequestra tion and fulfils a complex buffering role against environmental variability, ranging from damp ening diurnal and seasonal change in temperature and water supply to the storage and binding of a range of chemical and biological agents. The main environmental concerns about soil pertain to its degradation through soil erosion or nutrient depletion, among other processes. 3.18. Statistics on soil characteristics are an important tool for policymakers, particularly in countries that rely heavily on agriculture and forestry to sustain livelihoods, and for which the quality and amount of soil resources are very relevant. 3.19. Soil characteristics can be measured by the area by soil types. Various soil types can be defined using information on different combinations of soil components and properties. Soil typologies can be found at the global level (from FAO 25 or the Harmonised World Soil Data base).26 Many countries have also produced a classification of their own soil types for national purposes.27 Most soil classifications combine the physical properties (e.g., texture, structure, density, porosity, consistency, temperature and colour) and the type of organic matter (e.g., plant material, fungi, bacteria, protozoa, arthropods and earthworms) sheltered by the soil that may be alive or at different stages of decomposition. 3.20. Information on soil degradation and nutrient content for specific types of soil or spe cific locations should also be included in this topic. Statistics on degradation include measures of erosion, desertification, salinization, waterlogging, acidification and compaction of specific soil types in particular parts of the country. The nutrient content of soil is typically assessed using data on levels of nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), potas sium (K) and zinc (Zn). Data for soil degradation types and extent, as well as nutrient content, are usually produced from scientific research and monitoring programmes. They can also come from estimation and modelling by research institutions and agricultural authorities. 25 FAO has described 30 soil groups: acrisols, albeluvisols, alisols, andosols, anthrosols, arenosols, calcisols, cambisols, chernozems, cryosols, durisols, ferralsols, fluvisols, gleysols, gypsisols, histosols, kastanozems, leptosols, lixisols, luvisols, nitisols, phaeozems, planosols, plinthosols, podzols, regosols, solonchaks, solonetz, umbrisols and vertisols. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (1998). “World Reference Base for Soil Resources”, available from www .fao.org/docrep/W8594E /w8594e03.htm#elements (accessed 4 August 2017). 26 Harmonised World Soil Database, Version 1.2, February 2012, describes 28 major soil groupings that can be used to categorize and map soils at a broad global scale, available from http://webarchive.iiasa .ac.at/Research/LUC/External -World-soil-database /HWSD_Documentation.pdf (accessed 4 August 2017).
Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES 2013) 34 3.21. Soil characteristics are measured through a series of inventory processes, known col lectively as a soil survey. Typically, a soil survey produces data and maps by soil types, soil suitability for various purposes, hazard and degradation potential and, in some cases, maps of specific soil properties. Data and maps on soil typologies covering the national territory are produced primarily by scientific research institutions and by geological, geographical and, sometimes, agricultural authorities. 3.22. Soil pollution statistics are included under Topic 1.3.4: Soil pollution. 27 For example, the United States Department of Agriculture soil taxonomy includes 12 soil orders: alfisol, andisols, aridisols, entisols, gelisols, histosols, inceptisols, mollisols, oxisols, spodosols, ultisols and vertisols, available from www.nrcs.usda .gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS /nrcs142p2_051232.pdf (accessed 4 August 2017). Table 3.1.1.4 Statistics and related information for Topic 1.1.4 Component 1: Environmental Conditions and Quality Subcomponent 1.1: Physical Conditions Topic 1.1.4: Soil characteristics Statistics and related information Category of measurement Potential aggregations and scales Methodological guidance (Bold text—Core Set/Tier 1; regular text—Tier 2; italicized text—Tier 3) a. Soil characterization •• By location •• By soil type •• National •• Subnational •• FAO and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) Harmonized World Soil Database •• International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC) World Data Centre for Soils •• United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) •• FAO Global Assessment of Human-induced Soil Degradation (GLASOD)
- Area by soil types Area b. Soil degradation
- Area affected by soil erosion Area
- Area affected by desertification Area
- Area affected by salinization Area
- Area affected by waterlogging Area
- Area affected by acidification Area
- Area affected by compaction Area c. Nutrient content of soil, measured in levels of: •• By soil type •• By nutrient •• National •• Subnational
- Nitrogen (N) Concentration
- Phosphorous (P) Concentration
- Calcium (Ca) Concentration
- Magnesium (Mg) Concentration
- Potassium (K) Concentration
- Zinc (Zn) Concentration
- Other Concentration Subcomponent 1.2: Land Cover, Ecosystems and Biodiversity 3.23. This subcomponent organizes environment statistics on land cover, ecosystems and biodiversity, as well as their recordable changes over time and across locations. Land cover is defined by FAO as “the observed (bio) physical cover on the earth’s surface.”28 Changes in land cover are the result of natural processes and changes in land use. Ecosystems can be broadly defined as a community of organisms, together with their physical environment, viewed as a system of interacting and interdependent relationships. Biodiversity is the vari ability among living organisms from all sources including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part, including diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.29 It is also a measure of ecosystem health. Biodi versity is a fundamental characteristic of ecosystems, while variability among ecosystems is a fundamental driver of biodiversity. 3.24. Protected areas and species are included in this subcomponent because of their inher ent role in maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem health. The main purpose of designating protected areas and species is to sustain valuable ecosystems and the biodiversity and survival of threatened or key species that exist in certain zones. 28 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2005). Land Cover Classification System, available from www.fao.org/docrep/008 /y7220e/y7220e00.htm (accessed 4 August 2017). 29 United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, Rio de Janeiro, 5 June 1992, available from http://treaties.un.org/doc /Treaties/1992/06/19920605%20 08-44%20PM/Ch_XXVII_08p.pdf (accessed 4 August 2017).
35 Components of the FDES and the Basic Set of Environment Statistics 35 3.25. Land cover statistics can be used to systematically record the biophysical characteristics of land. They include the land area and also the area under inland water (e.g., rivers, lakes and ponds), coastal water bodies and inter-tidal areas, but not marine water. 3.26. Statistics related to ecosystems and biodiversity are critical given the increasing under standing of the role ecosystems play in human well-being and evidence of biodiversity loss across the planet. Maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem health is necessary to preserve the genetic and ecosystem inheritance of a country, as well as its ecological productivity. This also protects, subsequently, the productivity of ecosystems for the use of the economy and society, which depend heavily on the diversity of ecological systems for human livelihoods (e.g., pro duction, distribution and consumption). 3.27. Because of the importance of forests worldwide, the most important aspects and sta tistics required to describe them are organized under a separate topic, Topic 1.2.3: Forests. As forests constitute particular ecosystem and land cover categories, their characteristics are also included within the other topics of this subcomponent. Presenting forests as a separate topic depends on their significance in a given country or area. Similarly, other land cover or ecosys tem categories may be presented as separate topics depending on national priorities. 3.28. Statistics on biological resources (such as timber and fish) and their harvesting are contained in Component 2: Environmental Resources and their Use. Topic 1.2.1: Land cover 3.29. This topic includes statistics on the extent, and the physical and spatial characteristics of land cover. The main source of land cover information is remote sensing data that maps the different categories of land cover. 3.30. The LCCS was developed by FAO.30 The many combinations of land cover features that can be created using the LCCS approach apply to any type of land cover. An interim classifica tion composed of 14 classes was developed in the SEEA-CF (included in Annex D)31 following a comprehensive global consultation process. These 14 classes were generated using the LCCS approach and thus provide a comprehensive set of land cover types, all of which are mutually exclusive and unambiguous, with clear boundaries and systematic definitions. Furthermore, the identified classes are defined to be used as the basis for developing ecosystem statistics. The aim of the classification is to provide a common framework to compile and aggregate land cover information available at the national level and enabling its comparability at the interna tional level, and to provide a structure to guide data collection and the creation of land cover databases for countries that are developing land cover statistics. 30 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2000). Land Cover Classification System, available from www.fao.org /docrep/003/x0596e/x0596e00 .htm (accessed 4 August 2017). 31 United Nations, European Union, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the World Bank (2014). System of Environmental- Economic Accounting 2012— Central Framework, available from http://unstats.un.org /unsd/envaccounting/seeaRev /SEEA_CF_Final_en.pdf (accessed 4 August 2017).
Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES 2013) 36 Table 3.1.2.1 Statistics and related information for Topic 1.2.1 Component 1: Environmental Conditions and Quality Subcomponent 1.2: Land Cover, Ecosystems and Biodiversity Topic 1.2.1: Land cover Statistics and related information Category of measurement Potential aggregations and scales Methodological guidance (Bold text—Core Set/Tier 1; regular text—Tier 2; italicized text—Tier 3) a. Area under land cover categories Area •• By location •• By type of land cover (e.g., artificial surfaces, including urban and associated areas; herbaceous crops; woody crops; multiple or layered crops; grassland; tree-covered areas; mangroves; shrub-covered areas; shrubs and/or herbaceous vegetation, aquatic or regularly flooded; sparsely natural vegetated areas; terrestrial barren land; permanent snow and glaciers; inland water bodies; and coastal water bodies and inter-tidal areas)a •• National •• Subnational •• FAO Land Cover Classification System •• System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) Central Framework (2012) land cover categories •• European Environment Agency (EEA) a SEEA land cover categories, based on FAO Land Cover Classification System (http://unstats.un.org/unsd/envaccounting/seeaRev/SEEA_CF_Final_en.pdf) Topic 1.2.2: Ecosystems and biodiversity 3.31. This topic covers physical quantitative as well as qualitative information and statistics about a country’s main ecosystems, including the extent, chemical and physical characteristics, and biological components (biodiversity) of the ecosystems. The extent and conditions of the ecosystems determine their capacity to produce ecosystem services. 3.32. In order to characterize the ecosystems of a country, in the absence of an internation ally agreed ecosystem classification, national classifications may be used and fully described for statistical purposes. Alternatively, the country may follow and adapt other ecosystem catego ries used internationally, such as the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment reporting categories. The broadest reporting categories used in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 32 are forest, cultivated, dryland, coastal, marine, urban, polar, inland water, island and mountain. As recog nized by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, these ecosystem reporting categories can and do overlap, so countries may wish to decide as to the exact composition, inclusions and exclu sions of the main ecosystems in accordance with national or existing international definitions. 3.33. Ecosystem categories are complicated to describe because of considerations of scale. Ecosystems may be grouped alternatively into biomes, biogeographical regions, habitats or river basins/sub-basins. A biome is a distinct community of plants, animals or fungi that occupy a distinct region. It is often referred to as an ecosystem. Depending on the country, ecosystems may be subdivided into small homogenous units (in practice, land cover units which are homogenous in terms of provisioning ecosystem services) and broader spatial and statistical units reflecting socioecological systems. 3.34. Sets of statistics and indicators may be produced for each ecosystem category to capture baselines and trends over time and space. These may be organized into the following categories: i. Statistics on extent (location and size) and pattern, which describe the spatial area of ecosystems and how they intermingle across the landscape (e.g., area of wet lands, rivers and streams, the proximity of croplands to residences and habitat fragmentation); ii. Statistics on chemical and physical characteristics, which report on nutrients, car bon, oxygen, contaminants and key physical trends (e.g., the amount of nitrogen 32 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005). Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Synthesis, Washington, D.C., Island Press, available from www .millenniumassessment.org /documents/document.356.aspx. pdf (accessed 4 August 2017).