Climate change is expected to increase annual and especially winter runoff, shorten the snow cover period and
therefore increase both nutrient leaching from agricultural areas and natural background leaching in the Baltic
Sea catchment.We estimated the effects of climate change and possible future scenarios of agricultural changes
on the phosphorus and nitrogen loading to the Baltic Sea from Finnish catchments. In the agricultural scenarios
we assumed that the prices of agricultural products are among the primary drivers in the adaptation to climate
change, as they affect the level of fertilization and the production intensity and volume and, hence, themodeled
changes in gross nutrient loading from agricultural land. Optimal adaptation may increase production while
supporting appropriate use of fertilization, resulting in lownutrient balance in the fields. However, a less optimal
adaptation may result in higher nutrient balance and increased leaching. The changes in nutrient loading to the
Baltic Seawere predicted by taking into account the agricultural scenarios in a nutrient loadingmodel for Finnish
catchments (VEMALA), which simulates runoff, nutrient processes, leaching and transport on land, in rivers and
in lakes. Wethus integrated the effects of climate change in the agricultural sector, nutrient loading in fields, natural
background loading, hydrology and nutrient transport and retention processes.