E
cosystem
servicesdelivered
Provisioning
Regulation & maintenance
Cultural
Abiotic
C
ontribution
topolicyobjectives
Water Framework Directive
Floods Directive
Birds & Habitats Directive
2020 Biodiversity Strategy
P
otential
biophysicaleffects
Runoff
Reducing pollution
Soil conservation
Habitat
Climate Change
High
Low
Medium
None
The main contribution of CTF to policy objectives concerns flood risks reduction. CTF reduces the area of permanent traffic lanes, thus
limitating compaction
. This results in
enhanced infiltration (between 84 and 400% according to literature), and increased hydraulic resistance, which slows runoff. Compaction mitigation permitted by CTF can thereby
decrease the risk of flooding; it also contributes to erosion and sediment control.
Compaction enhances nutrient losses through inhibiting uptake by crops and facilitating leaching and denitrification. By enabling improved soil structure, increased infiltration and
water storage, CTF
enhances the uptake
of nutrients by crops thus decreases nutrient losses (between 1.5 and 15.55 kg/ha for N, 0.42 to 4.20 kg/ha for P). Through this
mechanism and by decreasing erosion, CTF contributes to preventing surface water deterioration.
Soil conservation helps maintaining good conditions for further agriculture; thus it helps to make agriculture more sustainable.
Yields
under CTF appear to increase by about 4% (+8% on non trafficked beds and decrease on traffic lanes).
