Glossary of nitrogen and nature protection

Not everyone deals with the legal ins and outs of nature conservation and nitrogen and the associated jargon on a daily basis. Therefore, we explain the most important terms for you below.

• ADC key
  If the appropriate assessment shows that the conservation objectives of the Natura 2000 site are endangered and the negative impacts cannot otherwise be prevented or reduced, a Wnb permit can only be granted if the project meets the three conditions of the ADC test:
  1. There are no alternatives to the project.
  2. There is an overriding public interest.
  3. Sufficient compensatory measures will be taken.

• AERIUS(calculator).
  Program to calculate nitrogen emissions and deposition on Natura 2000 sites due to economic activities.
• Autonomous development.
  The change in nitrogen deposition due to general developments independent of the obligations to limit nitrogen deposition arising from the Habitats Directive, such as growth in nitrogen deposition due to economic growth and decrease in nitrogen deposition due to technical developments.
• Management plan
  Plan prepared for each Natura 2000 site to translate the conservation objectives for the site in space and time.
• Compensatory measures (as part of the ADC test)
  Compensating the harmful effects of a plan or project on a certain habitat type, such as a loss of area and quality of that habitat type, by developing the same habitat type elsewhere with at least the same size.
• Imperative reasons of overriding public interest (under ADC test)
  A public interest, such as human health, public safety and the environment, but also employment, housing and the economy, which in the long term outweighs the interest of protecting nature (conservation objectives). The greater the violation of the conservation objectives, the higher will also be the bar for whether there are compelling reasons of major public interest.
• Ecological system analysis
  Study of the factors that determine the favorable conservation status of a species or habitat type. If it turns out that not nitrogen, but another factor determines the conservation objective, this may lead to the conclusion that an increase in nitrogen deposition does not lead to a (significant) worsening effect on that conservation objective.
• External netting.
  A mitigation measure in which nitrogen rights from another company are used to enable one's own activities. This requires comparing the nitrogen deposition in the new situation with the nitrogen deposition allowed on the basis of the old, licensed situation (the reference situation).
• Favorable conservation status (of a species or habitat type).
  The ultimate goal of Natura 2000, whereby the species or habitat type is doing well enough to ensure its long-term survival in the Netherlands.
• Habitats Directive
  European Union directive aimed at ensuring biological diversity in member states by protecting habitat types and species of European importance. The obligations of the Habitat Directive have been incorporated into the Nature Protection Act (Wnb).
• Habitat type
  Ecosystem type on land or water with characteristic features, including plants and animals.
• Hexagon
  All Natura 2000 sites are divided into these hexagons with an area of 1 hectare. Nitrogen deposition is determined per hexagon.
• Conservation objectives
  Objective for the various species and habitat types present in a Natura 2000 site, such as their expansion, increase or improvement.
• Internal netting
  Adjustment of the (intended) activity within a project or establishment that causes the nitrogen deposition to decrease or remain the same. For example, the increase in nitrogen deposition due to the expansion of a commercial building can be undone by making that entire building gasless (if it had not already been built gasless).
• Critical Deposition Value (KDW).
  A limit on the amount of nitrogen deposition above which there is a risk that the quality of a habitat type will be significantly affected by acidification and/or eutrophication. This limit value is not absolute. In fact, the favorable conservation status of nitrogen-sensitive habitat types depends on the extent and duration of the exceedance of the critical deposition value.
• Environmental impact assessment (MER).
  Comprehensive study of the various environmental consequences of an activity and possible alternatives to it, so that those environmental consequences are given a full place in considerations of how to undertake the activity.
• Mitigation / mitigation measure.
  Measures that reduce or eliminate the negative effects of a project on the natural characteristics of a Natura 2000 site at the location where an impairment occurs. An example is external netting.
• Natura 2000 areas
  Collective name for natural areas to be protected under European regulations (Birds and/or Habitats Directive).
• Appropriate assessment
  Further research into the effects of nitrogen deposition on the species and habitat types of a Natura 2000 area in relation to, among other things, the conservation objectives. An appropriate assessment takes place in the context of an application for a Wnb permit, namely if the preliminary assessment shows that significant effects on Natura 2000 areas cannot be excluded in advance.
• Priority (habitat type or species).
  Species or habitat types at risk of extinction for which a significant part of their total range lies within the European Union.
• Programmatic Approach to Nitrogen (PAS).
  System introduced to protect natural areas from nitrogen deposition on the one hand and, on the other, to allow activities that actually cause nitrogen deposition. The intention was to use national measures to save more nitrogen emissions than the activities allowed under the PAS. The Council of State has ruled that the PAS does not meet the requirements of the Habitat Directive.
• STACKS-D
  Program to calculate nitrogen emissions and deposition on Natura 2000 sites due to economic activities.
• Nitrogen
  Chemical element (N) that affects nature mainly in the form of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and ammonia (NH3) through fertilization and acidification.
• Nitrogen deposition
  The deposition of nitrogen on soil, expressed in moles per hectare per year (mol/ha/year).
• Nitrogen-sensitive habitat type.
  A habitat type with a critical deposition value lower than 2,400 moles per hectare per year (approximately 34 kg of nitrogen per hectare per year).
• Fertilization
  Increase in the nutrient richness of the soil resulting in a strong growth and multiplication of certain animal and plant species. This is at the expense of other species, resulting in a sharp decline in biodiversity.
• Acidification
  Increase in acidifying substances in soil, affecting ecosystems.
• Preliminary assessment
  Research into the possible effects of activities on protected natural areas in order to assess whether significant effects for a Natura 2000 area can be ruled out, so that no Wnb permit is required. In this context, the question is whether there is nitrogen deposition on Natura 2000 areas.
• Nature Protection Act (Wnb) / Wnb permit
  Act stipulating that it is prohibited to carry out activities without a (Wnb) permit that may have a deteriorating or disruptive effect on species and habitat types in Natura 2000 areas.