Ittner, S., Gerdes, H., Kiresiewa, Z. (2022). 

BonaRes Series. DOI: bonares-wvc6-yj14

Agricultural practices, including subsoil management, can contribute to positive or negative changes in ecosystem performance. This study assessed the societal costs and benefits of two subsoil management measures (mechanical and biological amelioration), which are determined by an increase or decrease in the provision of soil-related ecosystem services. To estimate the monetary value of the considered soil ecosystem services, a Benefit Transfer exercise was applied, in which existing valuation studies were used to transfer and apply individual ecosystem service values to the management context of this study. The results show that ecosystem service delivery can be enhanced by 54% through mechanical soil management and by 23% through biological subsoil management. Even though the results should be considered as a rough estimate, they can help to increase awareness of the effects of alternative agriculture management practices, informing policy makers and help establishing policy instruments for the support of sustainable soil management measures in Germany.

Further reading: https://tools.bonares.de/doi/doc/38/