Toward ecological sustainability in Europe (climate, water resources, soils and biota)

In this report an assessment of the nature of European environmental issues, their scientific basis, and the data needed to define and quantitatively model their implications is made. The areas of the study are natural and anthropogenic changes in climate and atmospheric chemistry, and the resulting responses of renewable resource characteristic of soils, vegetation, and water. The assessments concentrated on issues selected for their relevance to sustainability questions, and were derived from data and hypotheses concerning presently-perceptible trends in climatic, pedogenic, hydrologic, and biotic aspects of the present European landscape. The work led to recommendations for additional data collections and analyses designed to resolve or clarify the issues.