Annexe 28 - Etude nationale Slovaquie

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EVALUATION DES MESURES AGRO-ENVIRONNEMENTALES AGRI/ G4/ 2004 ANNEXE 29 : ETUDE NATIONALE SLOVAQUIE Novembre 2005 Evaluation of agri-environmental measures - Slovakia TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. STATE OF THE AGRICULTURE AND AGRICULTURAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE COUNTRY 1 1.1 Brief description of the agriculture in the country............................................................ 1 1.2 Brief description of the environment in agriculture ......................................................... 6 1.3 Brief presentation of the AE system in the country .......................................................... 9 1.3.1 Description of the historic of implementation of AEM ................................................................... 9 1.3.2 Description of the portfolio of AEM in the country (main objectives of the AEM, possible zoning of intervention, etc.)...................................................................................................................................... 9 1.3.3 – List of the AEM .......................................................................................................................... 11 1.3.4 Organisation of the implementation at national and regional level ............................................... 12 1.3.5 Level of development of the good agricultural practice documentation........................................ 15 1.4 The level of ...

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• Publié par: Repuv
• Nombre de lectures: 14
• Langue: English

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                EVALUATION DES MESURES AGRO-ENVIRONNEMENTALES     AGRI/ G4/ 2004               A NNEXE 29   :   E TUDE NATIONALE S LOVAQUIE    

Novembre 2005    

Evaluation of agri-environmental measures - Slovakia

T ABLE OF CONTENTS  

  1.   S THE AGRICULTURE AND AGRICULTURAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE COUNTRYTATE OF  1   1.1   Brief description of the agriculture in the country............................................................ 1   1.2   Brief description of the environment in agriculture ......................................................... 6   1.3   Brief presentation of the AE system in the country .......................................................... 9   1.3.1   Description of the historic of implementation of AEM ................................................................... 9   1.3.2   portfolio of AEM in the country (main objectives of the AEM, possible zoningDescription of the of intervention, etc.) ...................................................................................................................................... 9   1.3.3    List of the AEM .......................................................................................................................... 11   1.3.4   at national and regional level ............................................... 12Organisation of the implementation   1.3.5   of the good agricultural practice documentation........................................ 15Level of development   1.4   The level of implementation of the measures................................................................... 15   2.   A NSWER TO EVALUATION QUESTIONS .................................................................. 17   2.1.1   Q 9: To what extent can the existing or planned institutional structures and working methods in the new Member States facilitate or hinder the construction of programmes and good quality agro- environmental measures ? .......................................................................................................................... 17   2.1.2   Q 10: to what extent is funding of the programme adequate as regards the EU contribution, Member State budget, regional budget? ..................................................................................................... 23   2.1.3   Q 11: To what extent are the monitoring, evaluation and supervision of the agro-environmental measures in place in the Member States fit for the purpose? ...................................................................... 23   2.1.4   Q 12: To what extent have the degree of application been influenced (or should be influenced) by other implementation factors or other relevant factors (such as the attitude towards the agro-environment, knowledge of the agro-environment at all levels within the Member State, the extent of GAPs, other CAP /EU measures, 5-year minimum contracts, limitation of beneficiaries to farmers only etc.) ............. 26   3.   C ONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................... 28   A PPENDICES .......................................................................................................... 29   Annex 1: List of people met ........................................................................................................... 29   Annex 2: Main bibliography identified in relation with the study including reports made prior to the EU membership ......................................................................................................... 30         T ABLE OF TABLES     Table 1.   Area of utilised agricultural land in Slovakia (in hectares). ........................................................ 1   Table 2.   of arable land utilisation in Slovakia (in %). ............................................................... 2Structure   Table 3.   price level (SKK million) in Slovakia.............................. 3Gross agricultural output at the 2000   Table 4.   Foreign trade figures in SKK million in Slovakia. 3 ......................................................................   Table 5.   Soils according to the degree of resistance (%)........................................................................... 9   Table 6.   Most important environmental problems in Slovakia................................................................ 10   Table 7.   Submitted and approved projects in Slovakia. .......................................................................... 16    

Ev aluation of agri-environmental measures - Slovakia  

T ABLE OF FIGURES     Figure 1.   Production of selected crops in Slovakia..................................................................................... 2   Figure 2.   Foreign trade in agricultural and food commodities.................................................................... 4   Figure 3.   Balance of NPK at agricultural land in 2003 in kg/ha................................................................. 6   Figure 4.    ............................................Deficit of NPK at land where fertilizers were used in SR in kg/ha. 7   Figure 5.    7Use of chemicals for protection of crops in tons in Slovakia. .....................................................   Figure 6.   Number of submitted and approved projects............................................................................. 16           APA CEFTA CWD DG AGRI E EAGGF EC EEC EIA EK ERDF EU FIFG GAO GAP GDP GFP IFOAM IACS IPPC ISPA kg LFA LU MoA SR MoE SR NATURA2000 NDP NUTS PHARE RDP SAPARD SF SKK SORO/IBMA SR SSO SWOT ZMOS ZPD a OS SR  

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G LOSSARY   Agricultural Paying Agency Central European Free Trade Agreement Commission Working Document The European Commissions Agriculture Directorate-General Areas with environmental restrictions European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund European Community European Economic Community Environmental Impact Assessment European Commission European Regional Development Fund European Union Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance Gross Agricultural Output Good Agricultural Practise Gross Domestic Product Good Farming Practise International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements Integrated administration and control system Integrated Prevention and Pollution Control Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession Kilogram Less favoured areas Livestock unit Ministry of Agriculture of the Slovak Republic Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic a coherent European network of protected areas National Development Plan Nomenclature des Unites Territorial Statistique Technical Assistance to Public Administration Reform in the Slovak Rep. The Rural Development Plan Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development Structural Funds Slovak crown (currency) Intermediate body under Managing Authority Slovak Republic Slovak Statistical Office Analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats Association of towns and municipalities of the Slovakia Union of agricultural cooperatives and trade corporations of the SR

 

Evaluation of agri-environmental measures - Slovakia 1.   STATE OF THE AGRICULTURE AND AGRICULTURAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE COUNTRY 1.1   Brief description of the agriculture in the country The total acreage of SR is 4,903 thousand hectares. The agricultural land fund make a half of this acreage (49.8 %) whereas the acreage features 2,439,408 ha of which 59.4 % is arable land. In 500 m altitude the proportion of 29% of the agricultural land fund can be found and over the altitude of 700 m above sea level a 14.4% of the fund. The farming is done in altitudes higher than 1,400 meters (17,584 ha of agricultural land) although in a limited volume. The total of 0.44 ha of agricultural land and 0.28 ha of arable land falls on 1 resident. The average forest land acreage is 0.37 ha. Altogether as much as 0.83 ha of land fall on one resident.   In 2003 the area of utilised agricultural land was relatively stable, with a moderate decline (by 388 hectares) against 2002. The total area of arable land increased by 1,897 ha, permanent cover by 445 ha and other lands including domestic gardens by 1,205 ha. The area of permanent meadows and pastures shrank by 3,895 ha. The proportion of tilled agricultural land reached 61.69 %. Table 1.   Area of utilised agricultural land in Slovakia (in hectares). Indicator Area (ha) Index (%)  2001 2002 2003 2003/2002 Utilised agricultural land 2,254,801 2,236,424 2,236,036 99,98 of which:   arable land 1,409,222 1,377,482 1,379,379 100.14  tilled land 62.50 61.59 61.69 -   permanent cover 28,934 27,795 28,240 101.60   other lands including domestic gardens 32,740 32,479 33,684 103.71   permanent meadows and pastures 783,905 798,668 794,773 99.51 Source: Slovak Statistical Office   In terms of arable land utilisation structure, cereals had the highest proportion despite a decline by 1.48 pts on the year. The proportion increased with arable fodders (0.41 pts), industrial crops (0.68 p. b.) and legumes grown for grain (0.23 pts). Balanced trend was reported with other crops. The area of land lying fallow increased by 0.10 pts.   In the course of transformation process the decrease of share of agrarian sector in national economy coefficients quickened. In comparison with year 1989 the contribution of agriculture on gross domestic product declined from 9.3 % to 4.9 %. The gross agricultural production decreased in the given period by 44.8 %, of which the plant production by 50.1 % and animal production by 40 %. An impediment to better utilization of production potential of the sector is in particular the decrease in consumption of foodstuffs per one resident of SR, as well as problems with placements of agricultural products on the foreign markets in consequence of limited opportunities of export support. 1

Ev aluation of agri-environmental measures - Slovakia   Table 2.   arable land utilisation in Slovakia (in %).Structure of Indicator 2001 2002 2003 Cereals 60.36 59.53 58.05 legumes for grain 1.14 0.98 1.21 root crops 4.19 4.27 4.31 industrial crops 13.16 15.09 15.77 Vegetables 1.00 1.03 1.05 arable fodders 19.54 18.52 18.93 other arable crops 0.22 0.11 0.10 flowers and ornamental plants 0.04 0.00 0.01 seeds - planting stocks 0.10 0.20 0.21 fallow land 0.25 0.26 0.36 Total 100,00 100,00 100,00 Source: Slovak Statistical Office     Figure 1.   Production of selected crops in Slovakia Production of selected crops in Slovakia 4000 3500 ins 3000 gra sugar beet 2500 2000 potatoes 1500 tomatoes 1000 vegetables 500 fruit 0 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 years Source: Slovak Statistical Office       The production structure is gradually accommodating the market demand. The amounts of cereals, oil-producing plants and vegetables increases and the areas covered with fodder crop, potatoes, corn and leguminous plants are on decrease on arable land. Permanently grassed areas increase and the percentage of hop-gardens, vineyards and orchards is decreasing.   Profitability of plant production raised compared to the year 1990 (with and without subsidies) whereas the animal production was in the loss for the whole period, being especially deep during 1991  1993.    

Ev aluation of agri-environmental measures - Slovakia   In the cattle breeding the period of years 1990  2003 is characteristic by permanent decrease of number of animals bred accompanied by change in breed structure by increasing of part of milky stock types in breed, by increase of milk utility of animals and decreasing of dairy cattle? The most notable technological change in animal production is becoming to be the transfer to free stabling of animals. In swine breeding, the production is after initial rampant drop stagnating and does not even cover the domestic needs. Poultry breeding development has a positive tendency. In the animal production there are short comings in nutrition, feeding technique and animal care persisting, which is a cause of non-utilization of their utility and reproduction abilities. Table 3.   Gross agricultural output at the 2000 price level (SKK million) in Slovakia.   2002 2003 (%) Index Share 2003/2002 2002  2003 GAO 58,927 56,274 95.49 100.00 100.00 of which: Gross plant production 26,831 23,609 87.99 45.53 41.95  Gross animal production 32,096 32,665 101.77 54.47 58.05 Source: Slovak Statistical Office   The 2003 foreign-trade turnover dropped by 1%, when imports shrank and exports rose by 5%, respectively. This has reduced the agro-food deficit by considerable 19 %, i.e. SKK 3.48 billion years-on-year. Table 4.   Foreign trade figures in SKK million in Slovakia.  2002 2003 Index 2003/2002 Foreign trade Export 652,018 803,037 1.23 Slovak Republic, total Import 747,975 826,625 1.11 HS 01  99 Turnover 1,399,993 1,629,662 1.16  Balance - 95,957 - 23,588 0.25 of which: Agra-food sector Export 24,162 25,417 1.05 Slovak Republic, total Import 42,644 40,416 0.95 HS 01  24 Turnover 66,806 65,833 0.99  Balance - 18,482 - 14,999 0.81 of which: Foreign trade Export 10,052 10,561 1.05 in agric-food commodities with the Czech Import 15,032 13,832 0.92 Rep. HS 01  24 Turnover 25,084 24,393 0.97  Balance - 4,979 - 3,271 0.66 Source: Customs Statistics of the Slovak Republic   The position of the Slovak agricultural and food sector in the overall foreign trade of the Slovak Republic deteriorated in comparison with the previous year when its contribution to the overall foreign trade deficit inflated from 19.2% in 2002 to 63.6% in 2003.  

Ev aluation of agri-environmental measures - Slovakia  

Figure 2. Foreign trade in agricultural and food commodities. Foreign trade in agricultural and food commodities 50000 40000 30000 20000 10000 0 -10000 -20000 -30000 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Import Export Balance Source: Slovak Statistical Office   The considerable year-on-year decline in the value of agricultural and food imports (by SKK 2,210 mil., i.e. 5.2 %) was mainly influenced by shrinking imports of animal feeds  cake after extraction of soya oil (down SKK 450 million) and preparations used for animal feeding (by SKK 309 million), pork (by SKK 407 million), fruit juices (147 million) and bananas (SKK 146 million).   On the other hand, imports rose in the case of poultry meat and offal (up SKK 164 million), barley (122 million), miscellaneous nuts (99 million), bakery products (85 million) and wheat (85 million).   In term of the territorial structure of Slovak foreign trade, the existing customs union with the Czech Republic, Slovakias associated membership of the European Union, and the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) remained as priorities in the sector.   The Ministry of Agriculture of the Slovak Republic is the central body of state administration for agriculture, food industry, forestry and hunting. Institutions both within and outside the jurisdiction of the Ministry were, in 2003, responsible for market organisation, administration of support to agriculture and food industry, state supervision over the market, food quality inspection, training and other activities. Powers in the field of water management and fisheries, with the exception of commercial fishing, were transferred from the Ministry of Agriculture to the Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic on the basis of a delimination protocol. The Hydromeliorácie state-owned company was established within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Slovak Republic in connection with this change. The development of agriculture and food industry was supported from the budget of the Ministry of Agriculture, as well as extra-budgetary funds. The support policy was implemented in 2003 within the meaning of Act No. 240/1998 on Agriculture and its implementing regulations (ordinances of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Slovak Republic), which entered into force as of 1 February 2003.Ordinance of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Slovak Republic No. 148/2003-100 of 21 January 2003 specified the level of support for farming in agriculturally less favoured areas, and Ordinance of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Slovak Republic No. 148/2/2003-100 of 21 January 2003 governed support to agricultural business. The latter mentioned ordinance was amended by Ordinance of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Slovak Republic No. 969/2/2003-100, of 8 April 2003 and Ordinance No. 3803/2/2003-100 of 9 December 2003.  

 

Ev aluation of agri-environmental measures - Slovakia  

The subsidies were allocated in accordance with the valid ordinances of the Ministry of Agriculture  through 36 regional boards and the Sectoral Board for Subsidies, whose activities and competences were regulated by the statutes of the respective regional offices of the MA SR and the statutes of the Sectoral Board for Subsidies at the Ministry of Agriculture. The subsidies were paid through the Agricultural Paying Agency section of the MA SR, while the Financial Control Administration of the Ministry of Finance checked the correctness of payments and eligibility of claims.   In 2003, the main sources of IAA revenues comprised interest loan repayments, repayments of loans provided to farmers as well as proceeds from the sale of intervention stock. IAA SR sold and bought cereals via the Internet.   Through appropriate market-guidance instruments, the IAA regulated the following agricultural and food commodities: slaughter bulls, beef and pork meat, potatoes, sugar beet, sugar and isoglucose, common wheat and fodder cereals, malt, tomato purée, frozen peas and sweet corn. The markets of these commodities were regulated through quantity quotas, minimum and guaranteed prices, sale of fodder cereals for stocks, price interventions in the processing of agricultural products, and export subsidies. In addition, the IAA provided loans to finance the storage of cereals in public warehouses.   The Slovak Agricultural Marketing Organisation (SAMO), which supports the promotion and marketing of some types of agricultural products, was a part of the Intervention Agricultural Agency. The Intervention Agricultural Agency of the Slovak Republic was dissolved as of 1 January 2004 by Act No. 473/2004 Coll. on Agricultural Paying Agency, Support to Agricultural Business and Amendment to Certain Other Laws. The new Agricultural Paying Agency is the legal successor to the dissolved intervention agency.   The existence of an accredited Paying Agency and the functional administrative and control system represents a prerequisite for the use of EC funds. These reasons led the MA SR to establish the Agricultural Paying Agency in line with the Proposed Steps and the Organisational and Technical Measures to be taken towards Establishing and Building the Agricultural Paying Agency, with 72 tasks to be fulfilled by the end of 2003. Act No. 473/2003 Coll. on Agricultural Paying Agency, Support to Agricultural Business and on Amendments to Certain Other Laws was adopted At the end of 2003.In accordance with this Act, the APA was established as of 1 December 2003.The Intervention Agricultural Agency, together with the SAPARD agency and the Agricultural Paying Agency Section of the MA SR, were incorporated into the Agricultural Paying Agency. In terms of organisation, APA consists of five sections and four departments under the direct control of the APA Director-General:   -   Internal Administration Section incorporates the Operation Department, Legal Department and IT Department, -   Section incorporates a separate Methodology and Control Planning Department,Controlling Direct Subsidies and Market Organisation Department and Project Support Department, -   Project Support Section incorporates the Payment Authorisation Department, Monitoring Department and Implementation Department, -   Direct Subsidies and Market Organisation Section incorporates the Direct Subsidies Department, Business Mechanisms Department, Agricultural Commodity Market Regulation Department, Animal Commodity Market Regulation Department, ATIS Department and a separate ISO Department. -   the Domestic Subsidies Department, a separate AdministrationPayment Section incorporates and State Budget Department, EAGGF Guidance Section, FIFG and SAPARD Department and the EAGGF Guarantee Section Department. -   The employees of the former 36 regional departments of the MA SR were transferred on a permanent basis to the APA (upon request). Total transfers to agriculture and food industry

 

Ev aluation of agri-environmental measures - Slovakia  

1.2 Brief description of the environment in agriculture Besides the impact of weather conditions, the plant production was significantly affected by the declining level of intensification, as characterised by the development of consumption of the most important intensification inputs.   The consumption of industrial fertilisers declined by 5.8% and reached 55.2 kg of pure nutrients per hectare of agricultural land, which places Slovakia among the bottom dwellers in the nutrition level chart.   Figure 3.   Balance of NPK at agricultural land in 2003 in kg/ha. Balance of NPK at agricultural land in 2003 in kg/ha 300 200 100 0 -100 BA TT NR TN ZA BB KE PO SR Odberč.. NPK z pôdy   180,8201,3 164,6 172,6 208,2 133,8 148,9 144,2 162,9 Úhradač.. NPK do pôdy hnojivami  114,7 128,3 124,8 112,8 108,4 94,1 114,5 98,0 125,2 Deficitč  -76,2 -50,0 -44,4 -83,5 -21,0 -40,6 -50,0 -48,4 .. NPK v pôde  -82,9

  Remark: Odberč. . NPK z pôdy (NPK from soil), Úhradač.. NPK do pôdy hnojivami (NPK in fertilizers), Deficitč.. NPK v pôde (deficit of NPK in soil) Source: Slovak Statistical Office     In 2003, industrial fertilisers were applied on 70.9 % of arable land on average; nevertheless, the level of nutrients in soil remained largely insufficient. The balance of pure NPK nutrients in individual regions indicates that, except for the Banská Bystrica and Koice regions, also nitrogen was in deficit in 2003. Industrial fertilisers were spread only on 84.2 % of grain fields where the 2003 deficit of pure nutrients reached 19.3-90.6 kg/ha. The long-term deficit of nutrients in fertilised soil continued to deteriorate  with the exception of rape, potatoes, poppy, silage maize and vegetables, whose soils had a surplus of nutrients.

 

Ev aluation of agri-environmental measures - Slovakia  

Figure 4. where fertilizers were used in SR in kg/ha.Deficit of NPK at land Deficit of NPK at land where fertilizers were used in SR in kg/ha 100 0 -100 -200 -300 -400

oz.penica jar. jačmeňkukurica repka slne oz.čnica 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

  Remark: oz. penica (winter wheat), jar. Jačmeň(barley), kurkurica (maize), repka oz. (rapeseed), slnečnica (sunflower) Source: Slovak Statistical Office   The consumption of chemical preparations also declined in 2003 (12.5 %). On the whole, farmers applied 3,496 tonnes of plant protection preparations, including 202.3 tonnes of insecticides, 2,130 tonnes of herbicides, 600.3 tonnes of fungicides and 563,4 tonnes of other preparations. Figure 5.   Use of chemicals for protection of crops in tons in Slovakia. Use of chemicals for protection of crops in tons in Slovakia

4 500 4 000 3 500 3 000 2 500 2 000 1 500 1 000 500 0 Pesticídy spolu Insekticídy Herbicídy Fungicídy Ostatné pripravky 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003   Remark: Pesticídy spolu (pesticides total), insekticídy (insecticides), herbicídy (herbicides), fungicídy (fungicides), ostatné prípravky (other) Source: Slovak Statistical Office   In the cost of acquisition of irrigation tangible property 13 mld. Sk the drainage equipment, small water reservoirs, trained small watercourses and other structures are included. Acquisition costs of irrigation systems are 6,236 mld. Sk. Irrigation systems are built on an area covering 314 943 ha, of which amount only 284 520 ha are functional irrigation in an operational capability for the year 2000. The year 1999 might be assessed negatively from the operation and utilization of irrigation point of view. In the history of irrigation operation the lowest amount of water was both supplied and drained, only 9 712 thous. m3 and 28 500 ha of land was irrigated, i.e. 9,6 % out of utilizable irrigation capacity. Decreased utilization of functional irrigation compared to the planned one was caused largely by increased precipitation during the vegetation period, by insufficient equipment of irrigation users,  

Ev aluation of agri-environmental measures - Slovakia  

irrigation detail, that is worn down, outdated and the agricultural firms in present economic situation are not able to provide for a renovation. The subsidiary system to support utilization of irrigation is rather difficult and it does not offer any guarantee of providing financial resources to the operators and it even brings users into uncertainty in providing for subsidies either on water or electric energy. These reasons got reflected also in the decreased water intake.   Agricultural production is the source of greenhouse gases, especially methane, nitric oxide and, to a smaller degree, also carbon dioxide, halogen hydrocarbons and ammonia. Animal husbandry (large cattle and pig farms, in particular) is one of the biggest producers of methane.   The contribution of agriculture to the total methane production has been continuously falling since 1996, when it accounted for 35% (109,000 tons), particularly due the shrinking number of farm animals, to the todays level of 62,500 tons of methane. Over the past ten years, the contribution of agriculture to the emissions of greenhouse gases has been decreasing as well, and now represents approximately 8 %.   Water, both on the surface and under the ground, is another element of the environment adversely affected by agricultural production. This is mainly due to nitrates, pesticides and leaks from silage sorrel. Nitrates can cause eutrophication of waters, contaminate ground water and impair the quality of drinking. Nitrates get to the environment from mineral fertilisers, leakages from the cattle breeding and, above all, from animal excrements. The consistently low consumption of mineral fertilisers and pesticides and the shrinking number of farm animals have eased the negative impacts of farming upon the quality of water.   The total volume of wastewater discharged from agriculture had been slightly declining in the period from 1994 until 1999. However, this positive trend was interrupted in 2000 when the total volume of (treated and untreated) wastewater effluents soared (by 180% compared to 1999) and the trend continued also in 2003.   Agricultural activities trigger processes that result in chemical and physical degradation of soil. Soil erosion and compacting, as well as soil swamping caused by ground water, are the main manifestations of the physical degradation of soils. Chemical degradation comes with the increase of hazardous elements above threshold values, which penetrate into soil from ambient pollution and, in a number of locations, result from natural endogenous geochemical anomalies. Slovakia identified 12 risk areas with soils contaminated by hazardous elements (iarska valley-Pohronie, Lower Orava, Mid Spi, North East Gemer, Central Gemer, tiavnické hills, Koická valley, Bratislava, Lower Váh, Upper Nitra, Central Zemplín, Kysuce  Upper Orava  Tatry).   From the persistent organic pollutants present in soil, the monitoring focused mostly on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon  PAU, whose highest levels were identified especially in fluvial soils, flats of bigger rivers, mucks, locally also in fluvial soils and cambium soils and in the vicinity of industrial centres. The most frequently occurring soil contaminant in Slovakia is cadmium, followed by lead and, to a lesser degree, also Ni and As. The levels are extremely high also in the case of Hg, Cu, Cd and Pb, and locally also of As, F and Cr.   The degree of contamination in soils exposed to pollution is determined by the complex of soil properties. The ability of soil to resist degradation is called resistance or soil endurance.