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non-EU countries. Data on population distribution and crop production are taken
from the EUROSTAT REGIO database and, in some few cases, have been updated
using information from national statistics. The material inventories are quantified in
terms of the exposed material area from estimates of representative buildings. Critical
load maps for nitrogen deposition are available for nine classes of different ecosys-
tems, ranging from Mediterranean scrub over alpine meadows to tundra areas. To
simplify access to the receptor data, an interface presents all data according to
administrative units (e.g., country, state) following the EUROSTAT NUTS classifi-
cation scheme. Meteorological data (precipitation, wind speed and wind direction)
and a European-wide emission inventory for SO , NOx and NH from EMEP
3
2
(Sandnes and Styve, 1992), transferred to the EUROGRID-format, are also included
for the long-range pollutant transport model.

4.8.3 DOSE–RESPONSE AND EXPOSURE–RESPONSE FUNCTIONS
Using an interactive interface, the user can define any exposure effect model as a
mathematical equation. The user-defined function is stored as a string in the
database, which is interpreted by the respective impact assessment module at
runtime. All dose–response and exposure–response functions compiled by the
various experts of the ExternE project are stored in the database. Examples are
given in Section 4.6.

4.8.4 MONETARY VALUES

The database provides monetary values for most of the impact categories following
the recommendations of the ExternE economic valuation task group according to
guidelines from the European Commission, explained in Chapter 3.

4.8.5 IMPACT ASSESSMENT MODULES
The impact assessment modules calculate the physical impacts and, as far as possible,
the resulting damage costs by applying the dose–response and exposure–response
functions selected by the user to each individual grid cell, taking into account the
information on receptor distribution and concentration levels of air pollutants from
the reference environment database. The assessment modules support the detailed
step-by-step analysis for a single end point as well as a more automated analysis
including a range of prespecified impact categories.

4.8.6 PRESENTATION OF RESULTS

Input data as well as intermediate results can be presented on several steps of the
IPA in numerical or graphical format. Geographical information like population
distribution or concentration of pollutants can be presented as maps. EcoSense
generates a formatted report with a detailed documentation of the final results that
can be imported into a spreadsheet program.

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