2443-7662

EEA SIGNALS 2019

Land and soil in Europe

Why we need to use these vital and
finite resources sustainably
 Cover design: Formato Verde
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Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2019

ISBN: 978-92-9480-095-4
ISSN: 2443-7662
doi: 10.2800/779710

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2
Contents

Editorial — Land and soil: towards the sustainable 04

use and management of these vital resources

Land and soil in Europe — Ever-sprawling 13

urban concrete?

Soil, land and climate change 21

Interview — Soil: the living treasure under 26

our feet

Copernicus — Monitoring Earth from space 33

and the ground

Changing menus, changing landscapes — 37

Agriculture and food in Europe

Interview — Soil contamination: the unsettling 44

legacy of industrialisation

Governance — Acting together for sustainable 49

land management

Key sources 56

© EEA 3
 Editorial

Hans Bruyninckx
EEA Executive Director

4 © Leyla Emektar, Sustainably Yours /EEA

Land and soil: towards the
sustainable use and management
of these vital resources
We cannot live without healthy land and soil. It is on land that we produce most of our
food and we build our homes. For all species — animals and plants living on land or water
— land is vital. Soil — one of the essential components of land — is a very complex and
often undervalued element, teeming with life. Unfortunately, the way we currently use
land and soil in Europe and in the world1 is not sustainable. This has significant impacts
on life on land2.

Throughout history, landscapes have always Rain on sealed surfaces runs off rather than
been subject to change, as a result of forces seeping into the soil where it can be filtered
of nature and human activities. Mountains and can replenish the groundwater. Roads,
rise and sink, rocks erode, rivers dry up or railways, canals and cities fragment the
change their course, floodplains appear landscape, confining species to increasingly
and disappear. Humankind has flattened smaller areas and thus harming biodiversity.
hills, landfilled coastlines, dried wetlands, The way we use land in Europe is one of
removed mountain tops for mining, created the reasons why the EU is not on track to
artificial lakes and dams, cut forests to achieve its target of halting biodiversity loss.
create fields and grazing land, and created
new landscapes. An increasing share of Europe is also not on track to achieve
our planet’s landscapes and land cover its policy target of ‘no net land take by
has in some way been modified by human 2050’. Farmland and semi-natural land
activities. Today, around 80 % of Europe’s continue to be taken by cities and by
surface area is shaped by cities, agriculture commercial and industrial sites. Many
and forestry. sectors — industry, agriculture, households
and even waste water treatment — also
Pressures on land and soil release pollutants to land and soil.
are growing These pollutants can accumulate in soil
and then enter groundwater, rivers and
Europe’s urban areas are growing, often seas. Even pollutants initially released into
at the expense of fertile agricultural land. the atmosphere can later be deposited on
Concrete and asphalt surfaces seal the soil, land surfaces. Today, traces of different
preventing it from performing its functions contaminants are found even in the most
such as storing water, producing food remote parts of our continent.
and biomass, regulating climate, buffering
harmful chemicals and providing habitats.

5
 Land and soil terms at a glance In recent decades, Europe has decreased
‘Land’ commonly refers to the planet’s surface the total area used for agriculture while
not covered by seas, lakes or rivers. It includes increasing yields. Intensification of
the total land mass including continents and agriculture has enabled us to produce
islands. In more daily use and legal texts, ‘land’ food for a growing population. Intensive
often refers to a designated piece of land. agriculture, which relies mainly on
It consists of rocks, stones, soil, vegetation, synthetic fertilisers and plant protection
animals, ponds, buildings, etc. measures, is also putting pressure on
the very resource that sustains it: healthy
Land can be covered by different types of and productive soil. At the same time,
vegetation (e.g. natural or managed grassland, we also see some agricultural land being
cropland and wetlands) and artificial surfaces abandoned in remote regions. Land
(e.g. roads and buildings). abandonment affects, in particular, rural
communities where local economies rely
Soil is one of the essential components of land. mainly on small farm holdings with limited
It consists of particles of rock, sand and clay as economic prospects and low productivity,
well as organic material such as plant residues, with younger generations tending to move
soil-dwelling animals and organisms such as to urban areas.
bacteria and fungi, along with the air and water
in soil pores. Soil properties (e.g. texture, colour Global consumption and global
and carbon content) can vary from one area impacts require global action
to another as well as across layers at the same
site. Soil plays a crucial role in nature’s cycles, Land use has a global dimension. Many
particularly the water cycle and the nutrient of the activities linked to land and its
cycles (carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus). resources, in particular food production
and resource extraction, are subject to
Topsoil is the layer closest to the surface global market forces. For example, global
(usually the densely rooted zone or plough demand for fodder, food and bioenergy
layer, down to 20-30 cm). It contains the highest affect local agricultural production in
amount of organic carbon and, given this, it many parts of the world, including Europe.
is the most productive layer. One centimetre Droughts and production shortages in
of topsoil can take from a few hundred to exporting countries affect the global
thousands of years to form. Given this, it is prices of, for instance, rice — a staple
considered a non-renewable resource. food for billions of people. Multinational
companies can buy productive agricultural
Deeper layers in the crust can contain other land in Africa and South America with a
natural resources, including groundwater, view to selling their products throughout
minerals and fossil fuels. the world.

6
 The way we use land and soil is also directly
linked to climate change. Soil contains
significant amounts of carbon and nitrogen,
which can be released into the atmosphere
depending on how we use the land.
Clearing tropical forests for cattle grazing or
planting forests in Europe can tilt the global
greenhouse gas emission balance one way
or the other. The melting of permafrost due
to rising average global temperatures can
release significant amounts of greenhouse
gases, methane in particular, and accelerate
temperature rise. Climate change can also
substantially alter what European farmers3
can produce and where.

Given this, many global policy frameworks,

including the United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals, directly and indirectly
address land and soil. European policies
aim to tackle land take, reduce landscape
fragmentation, pollutant emissions and
greenhouse gas emissions, and protect
biodiversity and soil. However, in some
of these policy domains, protecting the
condition of soil in particular, European and
global policies fall short of setting targets
and commitments — let alone binding
ones. In other areas, where targets do exist,
including those related to protecting nature
and biodiversity, we are not achieving our
policy goals.

© Ramazan Cirakoglu, Sustainably Yours /EEA 7

 Knowledge is needed for action The way we build and connect cities
on the ground should not entail covering surrounding
areas with concrete and asphalt but
One of the challenges in setting and should be based on reusing and
meeting targets is overcoming knowledge re‑purposing land already taken. In fact,
gaps. Monitoring progress towards a a report by IPBES5 (Intergovernmental
specific target needs to be backed by Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity
knowledge, agreed methods and tools. and Ecosystem Services) asserts that
Thanks to Copernicus — the EU’s Earth
4
it is cheaper to preserve land and soil
observation programme — we now have resources than to restore or remediate
a much more accurate and detailed them (e.g. by cleaning contaminated land
picture of Europe’s land cover and how at old industrial facilities). Moreover,
it is changing. For example, we can add compact cities with well-connected
different information layers to this picture mobility options often provide the highest
to assess the potential impacts of climate quality of urban life with fewer direct
change on soil moisture and hence environmental impacts. The EU’s cohesion
agricultural productivity. This enhanced and regional policies aim to support not
knowledge offers us new opportunities to only economic and social cohesion but
take more targeted action on the ground. also territorial cohesion6, which aims to
contribute to the balanced development
At the same time, there are many of the EU as a whole.
aspects of land and soil that we need to
understand better to address specific We also need to step up our efforts to
problems, in particular with regard to protect land ecosystems better. We
biodiversity. To be effective, actions will can connect natural areas and create
also need to take into account information corridors for wildlife by investing in green
on, for instance, the composition of the infrastructure. Healthy and resilient
soil and how much carbon and nutrients soil ecosystems are also essential to help
the soil contains in a given area. This mitigate and adapt to climate change.
kind of information requires a better
monitoring system. To achieve the sustainable management of
our land resources, we need to significantly
Steps towards sustainable reduce pressure from economic
land management activities, especially agriculture. To ensure
sustainable and productive agriculture,
The way forward is clear: we urgently we must tackle pollution and find new
need to change the way we use and solutions for using land efficiently. We will
manage land and the resources it also need to take into account livelihoods
provides. This will require looking at the and the quality of life of rural communities.
landscape as a whole, with all its activities We need to rely on and work with
and elements. farmers to take care of the land and rural

8
biodiversity. Sustainable agriculture cannot
be achieved without significant changes
in diets and reductions in food waste in
Europe and globally.

Land governance is complex but we all

benefit from the services that healthy land
and soil provide — be it nutritious food or
clean water, protection against diseases
or construction materials. To ensure that
future generations continue to benefit from
these services, we need to take decisive
action today. The responsibility to protect
these vital resources lies with us all — from
consumers to farmers, and from local to
European and global policymakers. This can
only be achieved by acting together today
towards a common goal.

Hans Bruyninckx
EEA Executive Director

© EEA 9
 Towards sustainable management of land and soil
Europe's land and soil face a number of pressures, including urban expansion, contamination from
agriculture and industry, soil sealing, landscape fragmentation, low crop diversity, soil erosion and
extreme weather events linked to climate change.

PRESSURES

CARBON DIOXIDE
CLIMATE CHANGE
IMPACTS

AIR POLLUTANTS

URBAN SPRAWL
METHANE

SEALING

CONTAMINATION LANDSCAPE
FRAGMENTATION

FLOODING
CLIMATE CHANGE
CONTAMINATION IMPACTS

COMPACTION

Source: EEA Signals 2019.

10
 Greener cities with cleaner energy and transport systems, a green infrastructure connecting green areas,
less intensive sustainable agricultural practices can help make Europe's land use more sustainable and
soils healthier.

RESPONSES

CLEAN ENERGY

CLEAN INDUSTRY

CLEAN TRANSPORT

DIVERSIFICATION
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE LAND RECYCLING

GREENER CITIES

11
12 © Susanne Kuijpers, Environment & Me /EEA
Land and soil in Europe —
Ever‑sprawling urban concrete?
Europe’s landscape is changing. Cities and their infrastructures are expanding into
productive agricultural land, cutting the landscape into smaller patches, affecting wildlife
and ecosystems. In addition to landscape fragmentation, soil and land face a number
of other threats: contamination, erosion, compaction, sealing, degradation and even
abandonment. What if we could recycle the land already taken by cities and urban
infrastructure instead of taking agricultural land?

In 2018, the EU’s Earth observation the total forest area remained stable. The
programme, Copernicus, completed another area of cropland, pastureland and natural
round of a Europe-wide mapping exercise, grasslands lost was similar in size to the
which formed the basis of a detailed analysis increase in area of artificial surfaces. And,
by the EEA of land cover and, partly, land use as most of Europe’s cities were built on
in EEA member and cooperating countries7. and surrounded by fertile land, it is often
According to these Corine (Coordination of productive agricultural land that gets taken
information on the environment) monitoring and covered by artificial surfaces. Fortunately,
results , Europe’s land cover has remained
8
the loss of agricultural land appears to have
relatively stable since 2000, with about 25 % slowed down significantly and came close to
covered by arable land and permanent halting in the period 2012-2018.
crops, 17 % by pastures and 34 % by forests.
However, on closer inspection of recent land Urban population and cities
cover changes, two noteworthy trends emerge. continue to grow

First, cities and concrete infrastructures Today, almost three quarters of Europeans
continue to expand. Although artificial live in urban areas. Europe’s urban
surfaces cover less than 5 % of the wider EEA population is expected to continue to grow
territory, a sizeable area — slightly smaller than by up to 30 million additional people9 by
Slovenia — still became sealed (covered by 2050. Additional housing and infrastructure
concrete or asphalt) between 2000 and 2018. (e.g. roads, schools, water treatment
The good news is that the rate of increase in networks and waste facilities) will need to be
artificial surface areas has slowed down, from built to accommodate Europe’s growing total
1 086 km2 per year between 2000 and 2006 to population as well as its urban population.
711 km per year between 2012 and 2018.
2

Population growth is not the only driver

Second, the largest losses were observed behind urban expansion and the land
in agricultural land, due mainly to urban take and soil degradation associated with
expansion and farming withdrawal, while it. Rising income levels also play a role, as

13
 they often translate into bigger houses, to 202011 aimed at halting the decline in
more holiday homes and resorts along the biodiversity. On the ground, this strategy is
coast, and more commercial and industrial supported by tangible measures, such as
facilities to meet rising consumer demand. establishing a green infrastructure12 — a
In many ways, the expansion of urban strategically planned network of natural
areas and their infrastructure extensions go and semi‑natural areas to help species
hand in hand with the increasing number move and spread across the landscape.
of socio‑economic benefits that many In this context, many European countries
Europeans have been able to enjoy in recent are building wildlife crossings — tunnels or
decades. But some of these lifestyle changes bridges enabling species to move across
have long-lasting negative impacts not only motorways and canals. Depending on the
on the countryside and natural landscapes location of the crossing and the species
but also on urban landscapes. in the area, these crossings can make a
real difference locally. Hedges and rows
Increasingly fragmented of trees in open landscapes also promote
landscapes habitat connectivity, while reducing other
threats such as soil erosion by wind.
Despite slowing down between 2012 and 2015,
landscape fragmentation is still increasing10 Landscape fragmentation occurs even in
across the 39 EEA countries, affecting rural and protected areas. However, compared
sparsely populated areas in particular. with unprotected areas, the increase in
fragmentation appears to be noticeably
Roads and railways connect people, and lower in protected areas that are part of
urban and rural areas, but they often the EU’s Natura 2000 network, indicating
constitute real barriers for wildlife and plant that well-implemented nature protection
dispersal. As urban areas and their supporting measures have positive impacts.
infrastructures expand across the landscape,
they fragment habitats into smaller patches. When farmland is abandoned
Species living in these increasingly smaller
areas may be forced to live with fewer Like many other environmental policy
resources and a more limited gene pool. When questions, landscape fragmentation
the size of an animal population falls below a presents a dilemma. On the one hand,
critical level, species can become extinct in that the expansion of transport networks
particular area. This is why many species are fragments the landscape and introduces
found only in rural or protected areas. Many additional pressures on ecosystems,
wild animals are also injured or killed trying to including pollution. On the other hand,
cross barriers such as motorways. transport networks also bring economic
opportunities (e.g. jobs in tourism, industry
Landscape fragmentation is addressed or the bioeconomy) to rural communities,
by a number of EU policies, including often heavily dependent on agriculture
the overarching EU biodiversity strategy and affected by land abandonment.

14
 For some rural communities, land
abandonment is a pertinent concern,
especially in remote regions where the local
economy relies heavily on the agricultural
activities of often small-scale farms with
low agricultural productivity. In such
communities, younger generations also tend
to move to cities and small-scale farming
struggles to compete economically with
a more structured, intensive agricultural
market. In the next 20 to 30 years, significant
areas of agricultural land are expected to be
abandoned13 in parts of Europe.

When left uncultivated, vegetation —

including forests — will grow and take
over the abandoned area. However, after
centuries of extensive land management,
such as grazing by sheep or goats, natural
revegetation often results in ecosystems
with fewer species. To preserve EU habitats
and species, it is often better, therefore,
to support farmers to practise extensive,
high‑nature-value agriculture. New
incentives, such as diversification of income
sources (e.g. tourism) or premium prices for
high‑quality food products, can help change
these trends.

Intensive land use affects soil

and its functions

Urbanisation, a growing population and

a growing economy on the one hand and
land abandonment on the other have
resulted in more people living and relying
on a smaller area in Europe. While some
areas face depopulation and a decline in
agricultural and economic activities, other
areas — urban and agricultural alike — are
subject to increasingly intensive use.

© Joscha Beninde, Environment & Me /EEA 15

 Soil represents an almost invisible
interaction between a huge diversity of
soil-dwelling organisms, organic matter
from plants and roots, and material from
weathered rock and sediments. This
sensitive biomineral layer on top of the
Earth’s crust can be viewed as an ecosystem
of its own. Intensive use of land can affect
soil and its functions significantly and in
several ways, including through soil sealing,
erosion, compaction and contamination.

When sealed — covered by buildings,

asphalt or concrete — soil loses, among
others, its ability to absorb and retain water
or to produce food. Use of heavy machinery
can change soil structure and make it more
compact, reducing air and water in the
parts of the soil where plant roots take up
water and nutrients and where soil animals
and microorganisms decompose organic
material. Sealed or heavily compacted
soil absorbs less rain water, which in turn
increases surface run-off, soil erosion and
the risk of flooding.

Higher productivity often relies on synthetic

fertilisers and crop protection products, as
well as certain agricultural practices, which
may lead to erosion and contamination.
For example, maize monocropping tends
to increase erosion. The erosion of topsoil
reduces yields and, hence, can affect
farmers’ incomes. Erosion can also affect
biodiversity as top soils tend to shelter
the highest diversity and density of soil
organisms. According to some estimates14,
the current mean soil erosion rate by water
is 1.6 times higher than the average rate of
soil formation in the EU. Wind and harvest
losses are also major sources of soil erosion.

16 © EEA
Similarly, the excessive use of mineral Preserve and connect natural
fertilisers can contaminate the soil with areas, reuse and recycle
cadmium (see Interview — Soil contamination: urban areas
the unsettling legacy of industrialisation) and
affect the way soil ecosystems function (see With resources as valuable and limited
Interview — Soil: the living treasure under as land and soil, the only viable option
our feet). Through soil erosion or flooding, is to prevent their degradation and use
pollutants can enter water streams, leach them sustainably.
into groundwater and spread farther. Or,
waste management practices — such as The EU aims to achieve ‘no net land take
landfilling or spreading waste water on land by 2050’ in line with the global Sustainable
— can introduce contaminants, including Development Goals. One clear way of
microplastics, to soil. In Europe, pollution from limiting urban expansion is to make better
industry is regulated by EU legislation and as a use of the existing urban space. Today,
result has been declining significantly. Despite land recycling and densification (e.g. using
this, industrial facilities also release some an old industrial site for infrastructure or
of their pollutant emissions to land. For the urban expansion) account for only a fraction
30 000 facilities and 91 pollutants included, — 13 % — of new developments (see EEA
all information on how much and what indicator16 and land recycling viewer17), and
pollutants each facility releases is made public land take continues to be a problem (see the
through a web portal (European Pollutant land take data viewer18). Europe’s spatial,
Release and Transfer Register ) managed by
15
especially urban, planners will need to play
the EEA and the European Commission. In a key role in limiting urban expansion by
addition to known and regulated pollutants, designing compact but green cities, with
in recent years there has been a growing key amenities within walkable distances or
concern of new pollutants, such as persistent mobility systems designed to reduce travel
organic chemicals used in plant protection, distances and times, or an extensive green
contaminating in Europe’s soils. Depending infrastructure network that connects all
on their potential impacts, new measures natural areas across the continent.
are very likely to be needed to protect the
environment and human health. To turn such plans into reality, a wide
range of stakeholders needs to be involved
Contamination is not always linked to and key governance questions need to
local sources of pollution. Wind and rain be addressed (see Governance — Acting
can transport and deposit air pollutants together for sustainable land management).
even in the most inaccessible parts of the
world. Similar to what happens in lakes
and oceans, once they enter soil, pollutants
can accumulate over time and affect
these ecosystems.

17
 State of play
Europe’s land cover has remained relatively stable since 2000, with about 25 % covered by arable land
and permanent crops, 17 % by pastures and 34 % by forests. At the same time, cities and concrete
infrastructures continue to expand and the total area used for agriculture decreased.

Land cover in Europe (1)

17 % 3%
Pastures & mosaic farmland Water bodies

8% 3%
Wetlands Natural grassland, heathland,
sclerophylous vegetation

34 % 25 %
Forests and transitional
Arable land &
woodland shrub
permanent crops

4% 6%
Artificial surfaces Open space with little or
(buildings, roads, etc.) no vegetation

Soil contamination

Local contamination

Polluting activities (2)

Industrial production and commercial services
Power plants
Storage of polluting substances
Municipal waste treatment and disposal
Industrial waste treatment and disposal
Oil industry
...
Other, including transport spills, mining and military

Diffuse contamination

Agriculture Transport Industry

Note: (1) According to Copernicus Corine Land Cover classification; (2) Based on 2.8 million potentially contaminated sites in
EU-28. Sizes of boxes are proportionate to the importance of local sources. (Estimated by Eionet National Reference Centres
18 Soil, 2006); (3) Land take indicators monitor how much land is taken for urban and other artificial development from
agricultural, forest and other natural land use.
 Although artificial surfaces cover less than 5 % of the wider EEA territory, a sizeable area still became
sealed (covered by concrete or asphalt) between 2000 and 2018. The good news is that the rate of
increase in artificial surface areas has slowed down in recent years.

-30° Land
-20° take
-10° 0° 10° 20° 30° 40° 50° 60° 70°

60°

50°

40°

0 500 1 000 1 500 km

0° 10° 20° 30° 40°

Spatial pattern of net land take (3) in EEA39 between 2000-2018 (km2)

<0 0 0.0001-0.5 0.5-2 >2 Outside coverage

Source: EEA Signals 2019; EEA land take data viewer.

19
20 © EEA
Soil, land and climate change
Climate change has a major impact on soil, and changes in land use and soil can either
accelerate or slow down climate change. Without healthier soils and a sustainable
land and soil management, we cannot tackle the climate crisis, produce enough food
and adapt to a changing climate. The answer might lie in preserving and restoring key
ecosystems and letting nature capture carbon from the atmosphere.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of dramatic impacts on food production. A total
the United Nations (FAO) recently released of 13 EU Member States have declared that
a map19 showing that the top 30 cm of the they are affected by desertification. Despite
world’s soil contains about twice as much this acknowledgement, a recent report21 by
carbon as the entire atmosphere. After the European Court of Auditors concluded
oceans, soil is the second largest natural that Europe does not have a clear picture of
carbon sink, surpassing forests and other the challenges linked to desertification and
vegetation in its capacity to capture carbon land degradation and that the steps taken to
dioxide from air. These facts remind us combat desertification lack coherence.
how important healthy soils are, not just
for our food production but also for our Changes in seasonal temperatures can also
efforts to prevent the worst effects of shift the annual cycles of plants and animals,
climate change. resulting in lower yields. For example, spring
can arrive earlier and trees can blossom
Climate change affects soil before their pollinators have hatched. With
the expected population growth, world food
Researchers can already see the effects of production needs to increase rather than
climate change globally and in European soil. decrease. This hinges largely on maintaining
For example, according to the EEA’s most healthy soil and managing agricultural
recent report on climate change, impacts and areas sustainably. At the same time, there
vulnerability in Europe20, soil moisture has is a growing demand for biofuels and other
significantly decreased in the Mediterranean plant-based products, driven by the urgent
region and increased in parts of northern need to replace fossil fuels and prevent
Europe since the 1950s. The report projects greenhouse gas emissions.
similar effects for the coming decades, as the
rise in average temperatures continues and The EEA report on impacts and
rainfall patterns change. vulnerability also highlights other impacts
on soil related to climate change, including
Continuing declines in soil moisture erosion, which can be accelerated by
can increase the need for irrigation in extreme climate events, such as intense
agriculture and lead to smaller yields rain, drought, heat waves and storms. In
and even desertification, with potentially addition to causing the loss of areas of

21
 land, rising sea levels may change soil
in coastal areas or bring contaminants,
including salt, from the sea. In relation
to land use, climate change may make
some agricultural areas, mainly in the
south, unusable or less productive while
possibly opening up new possibilities
further north. In forestry, the decline in
economically valuable tree species might
cut the value of forest land in Europe
by between 14 and 50 % by 2100. A
recent EEA report22 on climate change
adaptation and agriculture highlights
that the overall impacts of climate
change could produce a significant loss
for the European agricultural sector: up
to 16 % loss in EU agriculture income by
2050, with large regional variations.

Yet perhaps the biggest climate

concern linked to soil is the carbon
dioxide and methane stored in
permafrost in boreal regions, mainly
in Siberia. As the global temperatures
increase, the permafrost melts.
This thawing causes the organic
material trapped in the frozen soil
to disintegrate, which can lead to
the release of massive amounts of
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere,
which could hence lead to the
accelerating of global warming far
beyond people’s control.

Tackling the climate crisis

with soil

In April 2019, a group of highly influential

scientists and activists23 called for
‘defending, restoring and re-establishing
forests, peatlands, mangroves, salt

22 © EEA
marshes, natural seabeds and other crucial be a very cost-efficient measure in terms of
ecosystems’ to let nature remove carbon climate action with a triple impact. First,
dioxide from the atmosphere and store it. growing plants remove carbon dioxide from
Restoring ecosystems would also support the atmosphere. According to the FAO27,
biodiversity and enhance a wide range restoring currently degraded soils could
of ecosystem services, including cleaning remove up to 63 billion tonnes of carbon,
air and water, and providing people with which would offset a small but important
enjoyable spaces for recreation. share of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Second, healthy soils keep the carbon
According to a review of the existing underground. Third, many natural and
information on the interrelations between semi-natural areas act as powerful defences
soil and climate change (Climsoil report24), against the impacts of climate change.
around 75 billion tonnes of organic carbon
is stored in EU soil. About half of these The examples of benefits are many. For
soil stocks rest in Sweden, Finland and the example, areas next to rivers (riparian
United Kingdom, as these countries have zones) and green spaces in cities can act as
more forest soils, and in particular wet cost-effective protection against floods
organic soils such as peat, than the others. and heat waves. Healthy land and soil can
To put this in some perspective, according absorb and store excess water and alleviate
to the EEA’s most recent estimates25, the floods. Parks and other natural areas in
EU’s total CO2 emissions in 2017 were cities can also help with cooling down during
about 4.5 billion tonnes. heat waves, partly because of the water
present in their soil. During dry seasons,
The amount of organic carbon in EU soils healthy ecosystems can slowly release
may be slowly increasing but estimates on the water they have stored underground,
the pace of this change are highly uncertain. mitigating the worst impacts of droughts.
To make matters more complicated, the
organic carbon stock is also constantly Capturing the carbon in the air
changing, as plants capture carbon dioxide
from the air before decomposing and There are also various methods for
releasing the gases back to the atmosphere. increasing land’s capacity to capture
A report26 by Intergovernmental Panel carbon dioxide from air. A recent European
on Climate Change (IPCC) confirms that research project (Caprese study28) found that
greenhouse gas emissions from all sectors the conversion of arable land to grassland is
— including land and food — need to be the most rapid way of increasing the amount
reduced in order to achieve the target of carbon in soil. For arable land, the use of
of keeping global warming to well below cover crops — plants such as clover grown in
2 degrees Celsius. between harvest and sowing the next crop
mainly to increase soil fertility and avoid
Despite the uncertainties, restoring erosion — was the most effective way of
ecosystems and improving soil quality could increasing carbon stocks in soil.

23
 In contrast, decisions to use land differently that Member States, at the minimum,
can also change areas, making them sources fully offset the sector’s greenhouse gas
of emissions. Notable examples of this are emissions from 2021 to 2030.
draining peatlands, burning peat from bogs
for heating, ploughing up grassland and The implementation of the new regulation
cropland, which releases previously stored requires reporting and monitoring,
carbon. For forests, the dynamic is the same which the EEA will support. The EEA also
but with a different timescale. Like soil, continues to develop knowledge about
forests are both carbon stocks and carbon the environmental issues associated with
sinks, meaning that they both store carbon land use and forestry and related land
and capture it from the air. In many cases, management practices, including by using
young, growing forests capture carbon more Earth observation data from the Copernicus
rapidly than old forests but harvesting old Land Monitoring Service32. Many of the
forests removes the carbon stock from the EEA’s assessments, indicators and data on
forest. Depending on how the wood is used, soil, land, ecosystems, agriculture, forestry,
the carbon may be released sooner, such green infrastructure and other topics also
as when the wood is burned for heating, have strong links to climate change.
or much later, when the wood is used for
building houses, for example. A lot remains unknown, but the better we
understand the dynamics between soil,
Healthier soils and land ecosystems could land and the climate, the better are our
capture and store more carbon dioxide from chances of designing and implementing
the atmosphere than they currently do. Green sustainable solutions.
spaces and natural areas could also help
people and nature to adapt to the inevitable
changes in our climate. Soil alone cannot fix
climate change but it needs to be factored in
and could be a powerful partner in our efforts.

EU action and EEA work on soil

and climate change

The EU thematic strategy for soil protection

and its implementation report29 emphasise
the importance of healthy soil in both
climate change mitigation and adaptation.
The Paris Agreement30 highlights the critical
role of the land use sector in climate action.

Following suit, a new EU regulation31 on land

use, land use change and forestry requires

24
Soil, land and climate change
Soil contains significant amounts of carbon and nitrogen, which can be released into the atmosphere
depending on how we use the land. Clearing or planting forests, the melting of permafrost can tilt the
greenhouse gas emission balance one way or the other. Climate change can also substantially alter what
farmers can produce and where.

SEVERE STORMS GREENHOUSE

GAS EMISSIONS

MELTING OF PERMAFROST
AND GLACIERS

DESERTIFICATION

DEFORESTATION

METHANE

BIOFUEL CROPS

FLOODING

CHANGES IN
YIELDS OR CROPS

FLOODING

LOSS OF
ORGANIC CARBON
SOIL EROSION
REDUCED SOIL
MOISTURE

Source: EEA Signals 2019.

25
 Interview

David Russell
Senckenberg Museum of
Natural History,
Görlitz, Germany*

© EEA
26 (*) Photo by Senckenberg, Jaqueline Gitschmann
Soil: the living treasure
under our feet
Soil is much more than inanimate sand and silt. It is full of life, from microscopic
organisms to larger mammals, all interacting in an equally rich number of microhabitats.
Their interactions provide us with food and fibre, clean water, clean air and industrial
processes free of synthetic chemicals, and can even provide a cure for many diseases. We
talked to Dr David Russell of Senckenberg Museum of Natural History, Germany, about
soil biodiversity and what it means for our planet.

What is soil? What happens in a soil ecosystem?

Soil is a complex, dynamic and living body, Soil ecosystems vary substantially, especially
which can be seen as the living skin of at the microhabitat level. The same block
Earth. It is composed of mineral and organic of soil contains very diverse habitats — soil
components, as well as air and water. In surface, below ground bulk soil and pore
very broad terms, mineral components space — each home to different organisms.
consist of particles such as sand, silt and clay For example, most organisms living in soil
composed of different chemical components, are very dependent on and live in soil pores.
while organic components derive from living These can be filled with air or water, with
organisms, including plants, bacteria, fungi, different groups of organisms living in each.
fauna and their residues.
There are other ways of looking at soil
Soils are important reservoirs of habitats. For example, there are microscopic
biodiversity. Around a quarter to a third of boundary layers between soil particles as
all organisms occur in soil. The biodiversity well as biological hotspots, including the
of soil can include organisms ranging rhizosphere where plant roots are or the
from microscopically small bacteria and drilosphere around earthworm burrows.
nematodes, to springtails, mites, millipedes, Spatial scale is also very important.
earthworms, moles and mice. Each of
these groups is species rich. For example, Yet, all these species in all these
in Germany alone, there are 50 different microhabitats live together and interact in
earthworm species that we know of. In fact, what we call the soil biome. For example,
the diversity of soil life is often significantly they can feed on each other or the faecal
higher than above the ground in the same pellets of one provide nutrients for others.
site. A commonly cited number is that one These interactions in the soil biome are
cubic metre of forest soil can contain up to essential for soil functions, which in turn
2 000 invertebrate species. provide ecosystem services.

27
 What kind of services does soil provide? quite complex multi-step process, one after
another, different organisms degrade what
Soil structure and soil organic matter used to be dead leaves or branches and
are two of the best-known examples turn them into inorganic compounds that
important for ecosystem services. Soil are suitable to be taken up/used by plants.
structure33 is defined by how different About 90 % of forest leaf litter is processed
particles are assembled in the soil by millipedes, earthworms and woodlice.
matrix. Soil includes a combination of Without these organisms, we would be
bigger and smaller aggregates of soil suffocating in leaf litter.
particles, air‑ and water‑filled pores, etc.
Soil species can work directly on the soil There are soil bacteria that convert
structure. For example, earthworms atmospheric nitrogen into mineral nitrogen,
through their burrowing activities move which is essential for plant growth. Fungi
things around and thus change the soil transport nutrients through the soil from
structure. Some of these changes can one location to another. All these microbial
consist of making new pores and closing processes are regulated by the grazing of larger
others, making some parts denser animals feeding on these microbes. We need
or bringing new food sources for soil to see these rich and complex interactions
organisms. Earthworms are considered as the essence of a well‑functioning system,
ecosystem engineers, as they can really which then provides us with the ecosystem
churn up the soil. services mentioned above.

The structure of the soil is also a key In fact, healthy soils provide us with a wide
factor in the water cycle. It plays a role range of benefits. For example, the nutrient
in determining how much water soil can cycle is key to food and fibre production. There
take up and retain, how it purifies it and are also clear links with the water cycle. When
how this water can feed plants and so the soil structure is altered or destroyed, the
on. Imagine if soil could not retain or ability of soil to purify, take up and hold water
purify water, what that would mean for is affected. Compaction or soil sealing, for
agriculture, flooding or our health. example, can lead to more flooding.

The other example is the nutrient cycle Soil microbial enzymes are being isolated
involving how much soil organic matter in laboratories to see how they can be
— i.e. carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus used for industry. For example, these
— is taken up and stored in soil. Carbon enzymes can replace chemicals in, for
inputs to soil are all organic and are example, the paper industry. Similarly, the
the basis of the soil food web. Organic pharmaceutical industry uses soil bacteria in
compounds, such as leaves and root developing medicines, including penicillin34
tips, have to be broken down to simpler and streptomycin35.
compounds by organisms living in soil
before they can be used by plants. In a

28
© Zvonimir Tanocki, Sustainably Yours /EEA 29
 Do we know enough about soil biodiversity? interactions at a given site, but also on, for
instance, the impacts of human activities
Soil biology is a fairly young field of research. and climate change at that site.
Moreover, soil is a cryptic environment,
difficult to observe. Despite this, we tend to What are the main threats soil biodiversity
underestimate what we know. In Europe, faces today?
we have a good general understanding of
which groups of organisms occur in and There are many threats, including
which are the main constituent species contamination linked to our land use
of soil. We have a fair understanding of practices. For example, pesticides, herbicides
what drives biodiversity as well as a basic and other chemicals linked to agricultural
understanding of how human soil use will intensification impact species distribution
affect soil biodiversity. There are many and harm soil biodiversity. Other threats
sources of information on soil, including the include physical changes such as compaction
European Atlas of Soil Biodiversity by the
36
and soil sealing — covering the soil with
Joint Research Centre and the French Atlas artificial surfaces such as concrete or
of Soil Bacteria .
37
asphalt. Compaction reduces pore space,
affecting the species living in pores, while
However, to monitor change over time, we soil sealing cuts off carbon and water input
need time series for soil biodiversity. The into soil and also reduces the dispersal
time series we have are often for protected of species.
natural sites, and there we can see that
soil biodiversity is usually maintained and Because of its small scale and because it
preserved. Furthermore, most of the soil is a relatively slow process, soil species’
monitoring done at the moment looks dispersal is often ignored. Over longer
only at chemical compounds. Along with time-frames, there is actually very active
contaminants, we also need to monitor dispersal across the landscape, enabling
other parameters and understand how high levels of soil biodiversity. By reducing
climate change or different agricultural landscape-level biodiversity above the
methods affect soil biodiversity and the ground through monocultures and
various soil functions they drive. There landscape homogenisation, we also risk
have been many studies across Europe, losing biodiversity in soil.
but knowledge has not been compiled in a
way that enables us to establish baselines Climate change impacts, such as significant
across Europe. changes in precipitation (drought or floods),
could also affect soil biodiversity. 2018 was
Soil in general and soil biodiversity in so warm and dry that we observed a 90-95 %
particular are very site specific. Effective reduction in soil invertebrates at some of
measures often need more detailed and our field sites. If we consistently reduce
site‑specific information, not only on species diversity, all these soil activities can
biodiversity and species distribution and be impacted.

30
 What is being done to protect soil
in Europe?

There are global and European efforts

and initiatives aimed at protecting soil,
such as the Global Soil Partnership38, as
well as EU policies and directives — at
least 18 directives by my own estimate,
including the common agricultural policy.
They address a wide range of areas
from reducing pollutant emissions and
sustainable land use to awareness raising.
The better implementation of these
policies and directives would certainly also
be a good way forward for soil biodiversity.
On the ground, there are many actions
that can be taken, such as reducing
fertiliser and pesticide use and adopting
precision farming for agricultural soil.

Nearly half of the Sustainable

Development Goals (SDGs) are linked
to soil — from clean water and climate
change mitigation to zero hunger —
without healthy soil these SGDs will not be
achieved.

David Russell
Department of Soil Zoology,
Section Mesofauna
Senckenberg Museum of Natural History,
Görlitz, Germany

© Esengül Yavuz, Sustainably Yours /EEA 31

32 © European Image mosaic for 2018, Copernicus Land Monitoring Service
Copernicus — Monitoring Earth
from space and the ground
Known as Europe’s eyes on Earth, the EU’s Earth observation and monitoring programme,
Copernicus, is revolutionising the way we understand and plan for the more sustainable
use of our valuable land and soil resources. From urban planning, transport routes and
green spaces to precision farming and forest management, Copernicus provides detailed
and timely land monitoring information to support decision-making.

Europe is one of the most intensively used the mid-1980s to coordinate tracking
land masses in the world, with the highest and monitoring of land cover and use
share of landscape fragmentation due across borders.
to settlements and infrastructure, such
as highways and railways. The way we In 1985, EU Member States initiated the
use land has substantial impacts on the Corine39 (Coordination of information on the
environment — species, ecosystems and environment) programme, which saw the
habitats. Europe’s land resources are also first joint effort by EU Member States to map
facing increased pressure due to the impacts land cover across Europe. In these initial
of climate change, including more frequent days, land management experts relied on
extreme weather events, forest fires, a mix of ground measurements and aerial
droughts and flooding. photos, complemented by often expensive,
low-resolution imagery from only a handful
From patchy aerial photographs of satellites. As the data were fragmented,
to high-resolution imagery it was difficult to get a comparable Europe-
wide picture of the threats to Europe’s land
European national authorities have collected resources. The first mapping took 10 years
information on land cover and use at local, to complete.
regional or national level for a long time.
As the demand and competition for land High in the sky and down on
resources grew during the second half of the ground
the 20th century, it became clear that a
better and broader understanding of the The idea behind the Copernicus programme40
links between land use and its impacts was developed in the late 1990s (i) and its
was essential to better protect land and first satellite was put into orbit in 2014.
soil resources. To this end, the EU decided, The programme is run by the European
together with national authorities, in Commission in close collaboration with the

(i) The Copernicus programme started in 2014. It was called GMES (Global Monitoring of Environment and Security)
before 2014.

33
 European Space Agency and is supported increasingly essential knowledge tool for
by Member States and various European national environment agencies, city planners
organisations and agencies. Copernicus and others involved in managing the use
operates in six thematic areas: the and preservation of land resources, from the
atmosphere, marine, climate change, security, European to the local level.
emergency management and land.
The EEA uses Copernicus data to assess
Today, two out of the seven Copernicus some aspects of the health of Europe’s
satellites in orbit — Sentinels 2A and ecosystems and how land is used. The results
2B — are specifically tasked with land are presented in various EEA assessments,
monitoring. They provide high‑spatial‑ and including state of the environment reports,
high‑temporal‑resolution imagery every and key indicators. A first indicator — on land
5 days with a wall-to-wall coverage of the take41 — looks at how much land is taken
entire EEA-39 region ( ) and beyond, and
ii
for urban and other artificial development
support the monitoring of agriculture, from agricultural, forest and other natural
forestry, land use and land cover change, land use (see the land take data viewer42).
and coastal and inland waters. They even The second EEA indicator assesses the level
provide biophysical data, such as on the of soil sealing and imperviousness43 across
level of chlorophyll in and the water content Europe, monitoring the extent to which soil
of leaves. is covered by buildings, concrete, roads or
other constructions (see the imperviousness
These two satellites are supported by data data viewer44).
gathered from more than 100 contributing
missions, both commercial and public, plus The EEA and other institutions can use
data from a large number of existing ground these findings and data in a wide range
and air monitoring stations and sensors. of thematic or systemic assessments. For
Now, thanks to Copernicus, it takes only instance, based on Copernicus data and
about a year to complete fully detailed and products, land managers can identify
accurate mapping of Europe’s land resources. areas where urban sprawl, agriculture,
highways and construction are splitting up
Copernicus land monitoring key habitats and propose location-specific
solutions. Similarly, Copernicus imagery
The EEA manages the Copernicus Land helps to monitor habitat change and
Monitoring Service’s pan-European and changes in land cover in the EU’s Natura
local components. In practice, the EEA 200045 network of protected sites, which
makes sure that the imagery and data sets covers over 18 % of the EU’s land area and
derived are easily accessible by the public 7 % of its marine territory (see the Natura
and free to use. This service is becoming an 2000 data viewer46).

(ii) The 28 EU Member States plus Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Kosovo (under UN Security Resolution 1244/99),
Lichtenstein, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland and Turkey.

34
The geospatial data collected by Copernicus Similarly, monitoring urban heat islands
also form the basis of what is known as and access to green spaces, including parks,
Urban Atlas . Experts can study and compare
47
gardens and forests, for city dwellers can
the detailed make-up of almost 800 urban help city planners in improving well-being
areas across Europe with more than 50 000 and making sure cities are better prepared
inhabitants. Detailed layers of information for climate change.
show where industrial, commercial and
residential areas and parks are located. A recent EEA report on natural capital
Data also include information on population accounting in support of policymaking49
density, building height and transport discusses how to build better knowledge
corridors, and pastures, wetlands and forests on using our natural resources, including
located in or near these urban areas. land and soil, sustainably. The Copernicus
satellite data will play an important role
Towards more knowledge and in this regard, in combination with direct
more sustainable choices monitoring of biodiversity and ecosystems
through other programmes.
Supported by a dedicated set of satellites
and advances in technology, land monitoring
data and knowledge on Europe’s landscape
are set to improve further in the years ahead.
With expected improvements in resolution,
including millimetre precise ground movement,
and thematic details, such as vegetation
phenology and productivity, the potential uses
of the imagery offer numerous opportunities.
Ongoing plans for Copernicus envisage the
placing of almost 20 more satellites in orbit
before 2030, further expanding the level and
detail of information collected.

Data taken from Copernicus and the EU’s

satellite navigation programme, Galileo48,
are already helping farmers to introduce
precision farming techniques when growing
crops, reducing the amount of irrigation and
pesticides needed during growing seasons.
City planners are also tapping into the
increasing sets of data available on urban
landscapes, to monitor housing dynamics,
which can, for example, help in managing
and improving access to public transport.

35
36 © Antonio Atanasio Rincón, Sustainably Yours /EEA
Changing menus, changing
landscapes — Agriculture and
food in Europe
Most of the food we eat is produced on land and in soil. What we eat and how we produce
it have changed significantly in the last century along with the European landscape and
society. The intensification of agriculture has enabled Europe to produce more food and
at more affordable prices but at the expense of the environment and traditional farming.
It is now time to rethink our relationship with the food we put on our plates and with the
land and communities that produce it.

Agriculture has always been more than specialised in cultivating a few types of
food production. Over centuries, farming crops or livestock in larger areas with
shaped the European landscape, local secured access to markets across the globe.
communities, economy and cultures. European agriculture was no exception.
A hundred years ago, the countryside
was dotted with small farms, and many Agriculture in Europe: a focus on
houses in urban areas had small vegetable producing more
gardens. Markets offered local, seasonal
produce, and meat was a special treat Just like air and water, food is a basic
for most Europeans. In the last 70 years, human need. Whether it is due to natural
however, agricultural food production has disaster or bad policies, not having
increasingly evolved from a local activity access to enough food could result in the
to a global industry aimed at feeding starvation of entire communities. Given
growing populations with globalised tastes this, food production has always been
in Europe and around the world. Today, seen not only as an activity carried out by
Europeans can enjoy lamb from New individual farmers but also as a national
Zealand next to rice from India, along with policy and security issue, including an
Californian wine and Brazilian coffee. Fresh economic security issue. In the 1800s,
tomatoes cultivated in Dutch or Spanish the majority of Europeans worked in
greenhouses can be bought all year round. agriculture; however, the share of the
workforce accounted for by farmers has
In an increasingly urbanised and globalised been declining since, mainly because of
world, farmers need to be able to produce the increased use of agricultural machinery
ever-increasing amounts of food. Growing and better incomes from urban jobs.
competition called for economies of
scale — intensive agricultural production It was in this context that the EU Member
— favouring larger corporations, often States agreed on a common agricultural

37
 policy50 initially aimed at ensuring that outputs. Many farming communities,
there was enough food at affordable prices especially in areas with lower agricultural
in Europe. This also implied that enough productivity, face land abandonment, and
farmers would have to stay on and cultivate shrinking and ageing populations, putting
their land. Global competition can drive additional pressure on smallholdings.
prices down and only a small fraction of
the final sale price ever reaches the farmer. Europe’s agricultural landscapes are
Over time, the common agricultural policy increasingly characterised by low crop
integrated measures to help the rural diversity with vast areas and increasingly
economy in general and to reduce the larger fields where only a few crops such
environmental impacts of agriculture and as wheat or maize are grown. In such
protect soils51. intensive-agriculture landscapes, biodiversity
is significantly reduced compared with
In recent decades, the land area used for landscapes characterised by smaller fields of
agriculture in Europe has decreased in different crops, separated by lines of shrubs
size due to expanding urban areas and, and small woodlands.
to a lesser extent, expanding forests and
woodlands. Today, over 40 % of Europe’s Intensive agriculture: higher
land area is used for agricultural activities. outputs but higher impacts
In 2016, there were more than 10 million
farms52 (agricultural holdings) in the EU and Higher productivity was also achieved partly
about 3 % of these used more than half of thanks to the increased use of synthetic
the agricultural land . In fact, about two
53
chemicals, such as fertilisers and pesticides.
thirds of Europe’s farms are smaller than Throughout history, farmers have used
5 hectares (50 000 m , roughly equivalent
2
manure or minerals to fertilise soil and
to seven football pitches) and they largely increase productivity. Fertilisers work by
consist of hobby and subsistence farms, adding nutrients to soil, which are essential
which consume more than half of their for plant growth.

Nitrogen: the key to plant growth

A plant is made mainly of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen. Plants can easily obtain carbon,
hydrogen and oxygen from water and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but this is not the case for
nitrogen. Soil can be depleted of its nitrogen after a couple of harvests.

Nitrogen makes up more than 70 % of our atmosphere, but plants cannot use the nitrogen in the form
it is found in the atmosphere. Only some free-living and plant symbiotic bacteria (notably legume
symbionts) can transform atmospheric nitrogen into a form that plants can use. To allow the soil to
replenish its nitrogen stocks, traditional farming practices let land go fallow or plant legumes between
harvest and sowing the next crop.

38
Synthetic fertilisers were invented in the products. At the same time, cattle raising
early 1900s and widely commercialised from produces methane54 and nitrous oxide, both
the 1950s onwards to solve the problem very powerful greenhouse gases. Livestock
of ‘nitrogen depletion in soil’ and thus is estimated to contribute to more than 10 %
increase productivity. Synthetic fertilisers of total greenhouse gas emissions.
contain mainly nitrogen, phosphorus and
potassium, followed to a lesser extent by Unsustainable use harms soil and
other elements such as calcium, magnesium, land productivity
sulphur, copper and iron. Farming also
relies on plant protection products — a wide The long-term agricultural productivity of soil
range of mostly chemical substances aimed depends on its overall health. Unfortunately,
at eliminating unwanted weeds, insects if we continue using this resource as we
and fungi that harm plants and restrain currently do, we will also reduce soil’s ability,
plant growth. among others, to produce enough feed and
food fit for human consumption.
On the one hand, synthetic fertilisers and
pesticides secured a higher amount of There are many pressures that intensive
harvests from a given field, enabling the agriculture exerts on land and soil, including
growing populations both in Europe and in contamination, erosion and compaction
the world to be fed. Growth in output has due to heavy agricultural machinery. An
also made food more affordable. increasing number of studies highlight how
widespread the residues of chemicals55
On the other hand, not all the nitrogen used in pesticides and fertilisers are across
applied is taken up by plants. The excessive Europe (iii). For some chemicals, such as
use of synthetic chemicals can contaminate copper and cadmium, soil samples from
the land, rivers, lakes and groundwater some areas indicate critically high levels.
in a wider area, and they even enter the Excess nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus)
atmosphere as nitrous oxide — one of have altered life in lakes, rivers and seas, and
the main greenhouse gases after carbon recent EEA recent assessments (iv) on water
dioxide and methane. Some pesticides call for urgent reductions in nutrients to
harm pollinators, including bees. Without prevent further harm to these ecosystems.
pollinators, we simply cannot produce
enough food. In addition to affecting land resources
and soil biodiversity, this increased food
European countries produce significantly production has also influenced our diets in
more meat than in the 1960s. And meat, unplanned ways.
beef in particular, requires significantly
more land and water than plant-based food

(iii) See SOER 2020, Chapter on Soil and land use

(iv) EEA Reports No 7/2018, 11/2018, 18/2018, 23/2018; see Key EEA sources.

39
 Changes in eating habits come
with new problems

Five of the seven biggest health risk factors

today (high blood pressure, high cholesterol
levels, obesity, alcohol abuse and insufficient
consumption of fruit and vegetables)
causing premature death are linked to
what we eat and drink. More than half of
Europe’s adult population56 is classified
as overweight, including over 20 % that is
classified as obese. Child obesity is also a
growing concern.

Compared with 50 years ago, Europeans

consume more food per person. The intake
of animal proteins, mainly meat and dairy
products, has doubled in this period and is
currently double the global average. Every
year, on average, European adults eat,
for instance, 101 kg of cereal and 64 kg of
meat per person — which has been slightly
declining in recent years but is still well
above the global average. We also consume
more sugar and sugar products (13 kg) than
fish and seafood (10 kg).

At the same time, 88 million tonnes of

food are wasted57 in Europe every year,
corresponding to 178 kg per person. Food
waste means that all the resources used
to produce food — water, soil and energy
— are also wasted. And, the pollutants
and greenhouse gases released during
production, transport and marketing
contribute to environmental degradation
and climate change.

However, there are millions of people

across the world who do not have enough
nutritious food to eat. According to the

40 © EEA
United Nations Food and Agriculture deforestation in tropical forests, which are
Organization, more than 820 million people58 often converted to pastureland for cattle or
in the world were undernourished in 2017. palm plantations.
According to Eurostat, 12 % of Europeans
were unable to afford59 a good-quality meal But land is not only cultivated to produce
every second day in 2017. food or animal feed. An increasing share of
Europe’s agricultural land is used to grow
It is clear that increased food production crops, such as rapeseed, sugar beet and
does not always mean better nutrition maize, for biofuel production. Competing
for everyone. This is a widely recognised demands exert additional pressure on
problem and there are European and global land in general and on agricultural land
measures aimed at addressing food waste60 in particular when it comes to cultivating
and malnutrition, including Sustainable biofuel crops. Biofuels are seen as a tool to
Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger61 and reduce greenhouse gases but this depends
Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and on the way they are produced and what
Production62. Healthier diets, and minimising plant material they use. Various biofuels
food waste, including through a more have unintended negative consequences
even distribution of healthy and nutritious for the environment. To prevent such
food across society and the world, could outcomes, the EU adopted a number of
reduce some of the impacts on health, the sustainability criteria64 to limit biofuels’
environment and the climate linked to food harmful impact on the environment,
produced on land. including land resources.

Competing demands for The EU’s environmental impact on land

agricultural land and soil resources is not limited to the EU
territory. Europeans consume agricultural
The EU common agricultural policy and the products imported from the rest of the
single market make food products produced world. Land and soil, along with other
across the EU in accordance with high safety resources such as water and energy, in the
standards a common feature of our daily countries exporting to the EU are affected
lives. Along with this intra-EU trade in food by Europe’s high consumption levels. To
products, the EU imports and exports63 ensure a regular supply, multinational
agricultural products from and to the rest corporations might also opt to buy large
of the world, which accounted for 7 % of swathes of land in third countries to cater to
all extra-EU trade in 2018. The EU is a large European consumers.
importer of fresh fruits and vegetables, while
exporting beverages and spirits and meat. According to a recent report65 by the
Indirectly, food trade means that the EU Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform
imports and exports land resources. Along on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services,
with palm oil production, growing global the productivity of about one quarter of
meat consumption is one of the drivers of the global land surface has been reduced

41
 because of land degradation. Declining food and to prevent further deforestation,
pollinator populations can result in crop intensive production in some areas will
losses worth up to EUR 500 billion every year. need to continue but we must stop the
contamination that comes with it. For
What the future holds sustainable food production, depopulation
will also need to be addressed in certain
According to United Nations projections , 66
areas by encouraging more people
in the next 30 years, the global population to remain to take care of the land,
will increase by 2 billion to reach 9.7 billion protect local biodiversity and produce
in 2050. This increase in itself means that we high‑quality products.
must change the way we grow, produce and
consume food. Food production will need to
increase, while factoring in climate change.

Yet, the way we currently produce food on

land is already exerting too much pressure
on this finite resource. At the same time,
reducing the amount of food produced in
Europe and meeting the domestic demand
by increasing imports more can have severe
impacts on global food markets, increase
food prices and put vulnerable populations
at risk of further undernourishment.

The urgency of this situation calls for an

overhaul of our relationship with food —
both what we eat and how we produce it.
Most likely, this will entail eating less meat
and dairy products and more seasonal fruits
and vegetables. Plant-based ‘meats’ and
‘milks’ or other food products with similar
nutritional values but with significantly lower
inputs (including land, water and energy)
are being developed and marketed. The
question is whether these alternatives will
become the norm in our shopping baskets,
rather than the exception.

It will also require food waste to be

minimised in the field, in the market and in
homes. To meet the growing demand for

42
 Nature's nutrient cycle
Soil plays a crucial role in nature’s cycles, including the nutrient cycle, which involves how much soil organic
matter — i.e. carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus — is taken up and stored in soil. Organic compounds, such
as leaves and root tips, are broken down to simpler compounds by organisms living in soil before they can
be used by plants. Some soil bacteria convert atmospheric nitrogen into mineral nitrogen, which is essential
for plant growth. Fertilisers introduce nitrogen and phosphates to induce plant growth but not all amounts
are taken up by plants. The excess can enter rivers and lakes and affect life in these water ecosystems.

PHOSPHORUS FROM
WEATHERING ROCK
CARBON DIOXIDE
CAPTURED
METHANE (CH4) CARBON DIOXIDE
RELEASED

CARBON RELEASED
BY TILLAGE
FERTILISERS CONTAINING
NITROGEN AND
PHOSPHORUS

CARBON RELEASED

EXCESS NITROGEN
AND PHOSPHORUS

NITROGEN
NO2- & NO3-
PHOSPHORUS
NO2- & NO3-

EUTROPHICATION

SOIL ORGANIC
CARBON

Carbon Nitrogen Phosphorus

Source: EEA Signals 2019.

43
 Interview

Mark Kibblewhite
Cranfield University,
Bedford, United Kingdom

44 © EEA
Soil contamination: the unsettling
legacy of industrialisation
Soil contamination is an issue that is strongly linked to our common past and part of the
story of how Europe first became the industrial and later the environmental frontrunner
in the world. We talked to Mark Kibblewhite, Emeritus Professor at Cranfield University,
United Kingdom, and one of Europe’s leading soil experts, to better understand the issue
of soil contamination.

What does soil contamination mean? Yugoslavia where anti-personnel mines

were deployed, which cause an extreme
In principle, soil that is contaminated is form of soil contamination.
soil that has any substances added to it by
human activity. This can happen directly The range of different types of
or indirectly and it might be that the contaminants is vast, including not just
contamination took place a very long time metals but a range of organic molecules,
ago or it could be happening right now. It pathogens, biologically active materials,
is a serious problem when land is used for radioactive substances and so on, and all
something where there is a possibility of these have different sources.
people being exposed to soil contaminants.
It is hard to remove soil contamination and Regulations and standards have
the cost of this is often very high. It is very been increasingly successful over the
onerous for a generation to clean up the past 30‑40 years in preventing soil
mess made by many past generations. contamination. Meanwhile, many heavily
contaminated sites have been brought to
What are the main sources of soil safer conditions, although many remain
contamination? What can be done to that have not been dealt with. A very
address it? wide range of technologies can be used
to reduce the risk of soil contamination,
Different contaminants have different either by removing the contaminant or by
sources but probably the most important containing it. The critical issue is the level
sources are former industrial activities. of residual risk we are prepared to accept
Their legacy is areas with serious soil in the context of the cost of remediation.
contamination, mainly with metals,
tars and other associated substances. How much of past contamination are we able
Another important source is military to clean up? How are these sites selected?
activity, including on training grounds. For
example, one of the worst examples of The two big drivers for cleaning up soil
soil contamination in Europe is in former contamination are risks to human health

45
 and to surface water and groundwater cadmium in fertilisers. Copper is found in
quality. Meeting the EU’s Water Framework areas that have vineyards and where the
Directive targets can require soil
67
metal was used historically as an antifungal
remediation to protect aquatic ecology. agent. This copper has unfortunately
A third driver is agricultural production and accumulated in soil. Once these and other
ensuring plant health and food safety. metals are added to soil, they remain there
and there are few realistic prospects for
A lot depends on the end use of the land and removing them.
the availability of funding from developers.
In cities with a long industrial past, soil Pesticides are another problem linked to
contamination in very-high-value areas, such agriculture. We know, for example, that
as business districts or big developments organochlorine pesticides, which have long
near water, has now largely been dealt with, been prohibited, are still in soils across
so risks are contained. This is good progress, all of Europe. With current pesticides, the
but for areas without a high current focus on their impact on the soil biota
economic importance, it is often not possible has been rather limited. They may create
to secure funding for remediation. problems that we have not noticed yet.
Also, our regulatory regime on agricultural
We have made huge progress in cleaning up chemicals’ impact on soil is in my opinion
soils in Europe but we still have a problem. rather weak.
There are many places in Europe where the
economic incentives and motivation to clean How does soil contamination affect
up soil contamination have not yet emerged. biodiversity?
In the end, the key question is what level of
risk we are prepared to accept, and where Our understanding of the impacts of
those risks are exceeded what we will do soil contamination on soil biota and soil
about it. functions is relatively poor and today
there are some complications linked to
How is agriculture linked to soil soil contamination and above-ground
contamination? biodiversity. Many sites across Europe
have been abandoned for decades and as
Two metals are particularly important in this a consequence have become important
context: cadmium and copper. Cadmium reservoirs of species and biodiversity
is an impurity in phosphate fertilisers and following natural regeneration. Cleaning
there is always some additional cadmium them up may damage this biodiversity.
in soil where these are used. The amounts
may be very small but they are cumulative. Thinking globally, we have to recognise
As cadmium is a carcinogen, we need to that especially our airborne emissions may
monitor this accumulation carefully. A lot of contaminate soil very far away and impact
work has been and is being done to quantify on soil biodiversity; therefore, we have a
this problem and explore how to reduce responsibility to make sure these emissions

46
are minimised. Even in the polar regions and aware of the impacts of their individual
other very remote areas, we find contaminants actions they will change behaviours
that are entirely of human origin. and this will have a positive effect on
soil management generally, including
What other type of knowledge is missing contamination.
about soil contamination? What are the
emerging issues? Mark Kibblewhite
Emeritus Professor, Cranfield University,
We may have underestimated radioactivity Bedford, United Kingdom
as a problem. It is a widespread lower-level
issue but there are also some hotspots, such
as cities with old jewellery and watchmaking
areas. These areas can contain enhanced
levels of radioactive soil contamination from
luminescent and other substances that have
been used in small-scale workshops.

By combining new spatial data sets and

soil information, we will get a much clearer
idea of where there is contamination. In
parallel, epidemiological studies are getting
ever more sophisticated and we have more
and more information about the instances
of disease that are linked to specific areas.
When these two things come together, we
may find that some diseases we observe in
the general population can be clearly linked
to soil contamination, which has been hard
to demonstrate up to now.

What kind of positive progress do you see

for the future?

The best thing for the future is to prevent

further soil contamination. We can build on
existing regulations controlling industrial
soil contamination and engage citizens more
directly. Plastics are a good example. We
already have a citizen-driven movement
to reduce the use of plastics and I’m very
optimistic that as people become more

47
48 © Rosana Grecchi, Sustainably Yours /EEA
Governance — Acting together for
sustainable land management
Who owns land and its resources? Who decides how they can be used? In some cases,
land is private property, which can be bought and sold, and exclusively used by its
owners. Often its use is governed by national or local regulations, for example to maintain
forest areas. In other cases, some areas are designated for public use only. But land is
not only space or a territory. When we all use land and rely on its resources, sustainable
management requires owners, regulators and users from local to global level to
work together.

In our daily lives, ‘land’ can mean many areas across the globe often at the expense
things at once. It can refer to a space on of small-scale local production.
the surface of our planet’s land mass. It can
also mean the soil, rocks, sand or water The concept of designating land as private
bodies on the Earth’s surface and its upper property (as a commodity that can be
layers. In some cases, it can include all bought and sold) varies across cultures
the minerals and other resources such as and over time. In traditionally nomadic
groundwater, oil and precious stones in the cultures, such as the Sami in northern
depths of an area. For rural communities or Finland and Sweden, seasonal migration
amateur urban gardeners, it can even mean over vast distances and relying on natural
a personal and cultural connection with the resources along the way have been and
rural way of life or a connection with nature. to a lesser extent still are the norm. This
way of life depends on unhindered access
Land: commodity or public good? to the landscape and its resources. The
community as a whole uses and cares for
The market value of land (a given area) the land. In this context, the land and its
can vary significantly depending on its resources above and below the ground are
use, location and the resources it holds. common goods.
History is filled with stories of remote or
not‑so‑popular areas where land prices Land can also be a shared space and
skyrocket upon the discovery of oil or a shared good assigned to a specific
gold, or of neighbourhoods, such as community’s use. Many villages across
Kreuzberg in Berlin which was a peripheral Turkey have access to clearly marked
neighbourhood along the Berlin Wall, that pastureland, to be used by the herds of that
quickly become central to urban life, with village. Legally, the land might belong to the
rising land and property prices. Productive state or the village as a community but the
land can also be a global commodity or an village has the right to use the space and
investment for multinationals buying large decide how to share it.

49
 In some ways, this is similar to other public
spaces. In urban areas, authorities can
designate some areas, such as parks, public
squares or pedestrian zones, to be used
and shared by everyone. Public spaces
can include land owned by the state or a
public authority.

In Europe, the concept of common public

spaces co-exists with the concept of areas
that are clearly and legally defined as private
property, belonging to individuals or legal
entities such as companies or organisations.
The boundaries are clearly marked, often
by a fence or a wall, and registered and
recognised by an official institution such as
a land registry or municipality. Regardless of
the type of land ownership, public authorities,
through zoning laws, can also determine
how specific areas are to be used, such as
for residential, commercial, industrial or
agricultural purposes.

Forest ownership: private

or public?

The governance of land and its resources

has never been straightforward. An area
designated as private property managed by
private entities can also function as a public
space and provide public good. In some
cases, the space can be considered a public
space that provides a public good while
its resources are commodities belonging
to the legal owner, as in the example of
Finnish forests.

Over 70 % of Finland is covered by forests

and about 60 % of Finnish forests68,
consisting of some 440 000 holdings,
are owned by almost 1 million private

50 © EEA
individuals or families. These relatively small guiding the EU’s environment policy until
forest patches (average of 23 hectares per 2020, includes a non-binding commitment
holding, roughly equal to 32 football pitches) of ‘no net land take by 2050’, with the aim of
are passed on from one generation to the halting the spread of urban areas into often
next. Over time, the number of forest-owner fertile agricultural land and forests. Despite
farmers has declined significantly, partly due such measures, there is not a coherent and
to an ageing population and the migration comprehensive set of policies targeting land
of young people to cities. Today, pensioners and soil. A recent report72 by the European
are the largest group of forest owners Court of Auditors (ECA) stresses that the risks
and the actual management of most of linked to desertification and land degradation
these areas is run by an extensive network are increasing and that policy measures
of owner associations across Finland. lack coherence. The ECA recommends,
Yet, all Finns can access and enjoy these among other things, that a methodology
private forests. be established to assess the extent of
desertification and land degradation in the
In fact, more than 60 % of Europe’s forests69 EU and that guidance be provided to Member
are privately owned. Private ownership States on preserving soil and achieving land
ranges from 75 % in Sweden and France to degradation neutrality.
less than 25 % in Greece and Turkey. Forest
management and forestry activities can then When it comes to taking action on the
be handled by public entities or entrusted to ground to achieve such policy goals, it is
private forestry companies. not down to individual stakeholders such
as farmers, consumers or urban planners
Who has the duty of care? alone. Although our consumption choices,
such as avoiding personal care products
To protect land and its resources and how to with microplastics, diets or farming practices
use them, different governance structures can have an impact on the health of our soils
put in place a series of policies and measures. and land, there are many factors and other
In Europe, these can range from local zoning stakeholders at play. Market prices for food
regulations to European legislation aimed and land, the productivity of land, climate
at reducing industrial pollutant releases change and pressure from urban sprawl
to land, or from connecting green areas to may all force farmers to adopt monoculture
reduce fragmentation to extending protected or intensive farming practices to remain
areas to preserve nature’s diversity. Some economically viable. It is not surprising
of these measures are closely linked to that many farming communities across
economic sectors or specific policy areas. Europe face abandoned land and young
For example, the EU’s common agricultural people migrating to urban areas, especially
policy70 requires farmers to adopt a set of in areas with low agricultural productivity.
practices to achieve ‘good agricultural and Similarly, individual urban planners may
environmental condition’. Similarly, the choose to limit urban sprawl by converting
Seventh Environment Action Programme , 71
old industrial sites into new urban areas but

51
 authorities may lack the resources needed. Defining and agreeing on measurable
In many cases, cleaning and remediating targets can present another governance
land in industrial areas may be more costly challenge. For example, we know that soil
than expanding the infrastructure and organic matter — such as plant residues —
building on farmland. is essential for healthy and productive soil
and for mitigating climate change. Given this,
Who is responsible? the EU has committed itself to increasing
soil organic matter in its Roadmap to a
In some policy areas, such as soil pollution, resource efficient Europe74. But how can we
it can be extremely difficult to attribute measure change accurately when we do not
responsibilities. In a given field, some know the current amount of organic matter
contamination might be due to excessive in Europe’s soil? To this end, the European
fertiliser and pesticide application by the Commission’s Joint Research Centre initiated
farmer. Additional pollutants released by an initial soil survey75 comprising about
transport, industry or energy sectors might 22 000 soil samples from across the EU.
be transported in by wind and rain, or as a
result of flooding. Ultimately, wider society Soil and land have increasingly been
benefits from the food produced in the field recognised as vital and finite resources
and its transport to cities. globally and in Europe that face increasing
pressures, including those linked to
Some of the land resources, including sand climate change and biodiversity loss. For
and gravel, are global commodities. End example, a recent special report76 from
users might be quite far from the extraction the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
location. According to a recent report by Change brings a global perspective to
UN Environment (the United Nations
73
the challenges ahead by looking at land
Environment Programme), the global degradation, sustainable land management,
demand for sand has trebled over the last food security and greenhouse gas fluxes
two decades as a result of urbanisation and in terrestrial ecosystems in the context of
infrastructure developments. Extraction climate change. A report by the IPBES77
rules and their enforcement can vary from (the Intergovernmental Science-Policy
one country to another. Along with growing Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem
demand and illegal extraction practices, Services) highlights the scope of global land
these differences in governance can result degradation and its implications. A more
in additional pressure on already vulnerable recent global assessment78 by IPBES draws
ecosystems, such as rivers and coastal attention to the accelerating decline in
areas, where sand is extracted. Similarly, biodiversity, including land-based species,
other mining activities — of coal, limestone, which is caused by, among other factors,
precious metals or gems — can have equally changes in land use.
significant impacts (e.g. contamination or
removal of topsoil layers) on ecosystems
near their extraction sites.

52
© Balázs Bálint, Environment & Me /EEA 53
 In recent years, this recognition has
gradually been translated into overarching
goals and structures. The United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals — in
particular Goal 15: Life on Land79 and Goal
2: Zero Hunger80 — depend on healthy soil
and sustainable land use. The Global Soil
Partnership81 of the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations along
with its regional partnerships aim to
improve the governance and promote the
sustainable management of soil by bringing
together all stakeholders, from land users
to policymakers, to discuss soil issues. Many
EU policy documents, including the EU’s
soil thematic strategy82 and biodiversity
strategy83, call for protecting soil and
ensuring the sustainable use of land and
its resources.

Given the complexity of governance linked

to soil and land, binding targets, incentives
and measures for protecting soil and land
resources are largely missing despite these
global and European efforts.

However, various initiatives are in progress

across different parts of society to better
manage our land and soil. These range from
improving our environmental monitoring,
policy reform proposals (e.g. agriculture),
research initiatives and associations that
promote environmentally friendly farming,
to consumers that buy sustainable food
products. Ultimately, we all have a duty of
care and we are all responsible, as we are
the users, owners, regulators, managers and
consumers of land and soil.

54
Soil and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
Many global policy frameworks, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
directly and indirectly address land and soil. Many of these SGDs cannot be achieved without healthy
soils and a sustainable land use. Below is an overview of the SDGs with strong links to soil.

Take urgent action to Protect, restore and Improving the quality ‘Ensure healthy lives
combat climate promote sustainable use of of land and soil to and promote
change and its terrestrial ecosystems, ‘end hunger, achieve well-being for all at all
impacts. Soil can play sustainably manage forests, food security and ages’ by preventing
a positive role in combat desertification, and improved nutrition dangerous chemicals,
reducing the impacts halt and reverse land and promote air and water
of climate change, by degradation and halt sustainable pollution from
sequestering CO2, biodiversity loss. agriculture.’ contaminating land
sustainably managing and soil. Additionally,
the resource and reducing soil
restoring degraded degradation can help
soils. to increase food
PARTNERSHIPS production.
FOR THE GOALS
PEACE, JUSTICE ZERO
AND STRONG HUNGER
INSTITUTIONS

LIFE ON LAND GOOD HEALTH

AND WELL-BEING

QUALITY
LIFE BELOW WATER EDUCATION

GENDER
EQUALITY
CLIMATE ACTION

CLEAN
RESPONSIBLE WATER AND
CONSUMPTION AND SANITATION
PRODUCTION

SUSTAINABLE CITIES AFFORDABLE AND

AND COMMUNITIES CLEAN ENERGY

REDUCED DECENT WORK

INEQUALITIES AND ECONOMIC
INDUSTRY, INNOVATION GROWTH
AND INFRASTRUCTURE

‘Ensure sustainable consumption ‘Make cities and human ‘Ensure availability and
and production patterns,’ through settlements inclusive, safe, sustainable management of
making sure chemicals and waste resilient and sustainable,’ by water and sanitation for all,’ by
does not make its way into the ensuring land and soils are preserving soil quality because of
air, water and soil, which can have protected as they safeguard the role it plays in helping to
adverse impacts on our health our cultural and natural provide clean water for drinking
and environment. That is why it is heritage. and agriculture.
important to sustainably manage
and efficiently use soil resources.

https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/
Source: United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

55
 Key sources
EEA reports

• EEA Report No 5/2016 European forest ecosystems

• EEA Report No 31/2016 Land recycling in Europe
• EEA Report No 10/2017 Landscapes in transition
• EEA Report No 16/2017 Food in a green light
• EEA Report No 7/2018 European waters — Assessment of status and pressures 2018
• EEA Report No 11/2018 Mercury in Europe’s environment
• EEA Report No 16/2018 Trends and projections in Europe 2018
• EEA Report No 18/2018 Chemicals in European waters — Knowledge developments
• EEA Report No 23/2018 Industrial waste water treatment — Pressures on Europe’s
environment
• EEA Report No 26/2018 Natural capital accounting in support of policymaking in Europe
• EEA Report No 04/2019 Climate change adaptation in the agriculture sector in Europe

EEA indicators
• EEA indicator on Land take
• EEA indicator on Industrial pollution in Europe
• EEA indicator on Imperviousness and imperviousness change
• EEA indicator on Contaminated sites
• EEA indicator on Land recycling and densification
• EEA indicator on Landscape fragmentation pressure from urban and transport
infrastructure expansion

EEA databases and viewers

• Land take database and viewer

• Imperviousness database and viewer
• 20 years land cover and land use database and viewer
• Land cover country fact sheets
• Land recycling database and viewer
• Natura 2000 database and viewer
• Corine Land Cover data set
• Copernicus Urban Atlas

56
Other resources

• European Commission — Soil policy

documents
• European Commission Joint Research
Centre — JRC European Soil Datacentre
• European Commission Joint Research
Centre — European Atlas of Soil
Biodiversity
• European Commission Joint Research
Centre — LUCAS 2018 Soil component:
sampling instructions for surveyors
• European Court of Auditors —
Special report n°33/2018: Combating
desertification in the EU: a growing
threat in need of more action
• Food Agriculture Organization (FAO)
— Status of the World Soil Resources
report
• Intergovernmental Science-Policy
Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem
Services (IPBES) — The assessment
report on Land Degradation and
Restoration
• IPBES — The global assessment report
on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) — Climate Change
and Land: an IPCC special report
on climate change, desertification,
land degradation, sustainable land
management, food security, and
greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial
ecosystems

© EEA 57
 Endnotes
1 www.ipbes.net/system/tdf/spm_3bi_ldr_ 23 www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/
digital.pdf?file=1&type=node&id=28335 apr/03/a-natural-solution-to-the-climate-
disaster
2 www.ipbes.net/news/Media-Release-
Global-Assessment 24 https://ec.europa.eu/environment/soil/
review_en.htm
3 https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/
cc-adaptation-agriculture 25 www.eea.europa.eu/publications/trends-
and-projections-in-europe-2018-climate-
4 www.copernicus.eu/en
and-energy
5 www.ipbes.net/assessment-reports/ldr
26 www.ipcc.ch/report/srccl/
6 https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/
27 www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/
policy/what/territorial-cohesion/
c6814873-efc3-41db-b7d3-2081a10ede50/
7 www.eea.europa.eu/about-us/who
28 https://publications.europa.eu/en/
8 https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and- publication-detail/-/publication/cd486e15-
maps/dashboards/land-cover-and-change- 27c7-11e6-914b-01aa75ed71a1/language-
statistics en/format-PDF
9 https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/publication/ 29 https://ec.europa.eu/environment/soil/
european-cities-territorial-analysis- three_en.htm
characteristics-and-trends-application-luisa- 30 https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/
modelling-platform international/negotiations/paris_en
10 www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/ 31 https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/forests/
indicators/mobility-and-urbanisation- lulucf_en
pressure-on-ecosystems/assessment
32 https://land.copernicus.eu/
11 https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/
biodiversity/strategy/index_en.htm 33 www.fao.org/tempref/FI/CDrom/FAO_
Training/FAO_Training/General/x6706e/
12 https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/ x6706e07.htm
ecosystems/index_en.htm
34 https://phys.org/news/2018-03-soil-
13 www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/ bacterium-penicillin-duty.html
S026483771200066X
35 www.technologyreview.com/s/533966/
14 www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/ from-a-pile-of-dirt-researchers-discover-
S1462901115300654 new-antibiotic/
15 https://prtr.eea.europa.eu/#/home 36 https://esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu/content/
16 www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/ atlas-soil-biodiversity
indicators/land-recycling-and-densification/ 37 www.nhbs.com/atlas-francais-des-bacteries-
assessment-1 du-sol-atlas-of-french-soil-bacteria-book
17 https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and- 38 www.fao.org/global-soil-partnership/en/
maps/dashboards/land-recycling
39 https://land.copernicus.eu/pan-european/
18 www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/ corine-land-cover
dashboards/land-take-statistics
40 www.copernicus.eu/en
19 www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/1071012/
41 www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/
icode/
indicators/land-take-2/assessment-1
20 www.eea.europa.eu/publications/climate-
42 www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/
change-impacts-and-vulnerability-2016
dashboards/land-take-statistics
21 www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/DocItem.
aspx?did=48393 43 www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/
indicators/imperviousness-change-1/
22 www.eea.europa.eu/publications/cc- assessment
adaptation-agriculture

58
44 www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/ 65 www.ipbes.net/news/Media-Release-
dashboards/imperviousness-in- Global-Assessment
europe#tab-based-on-data
66 https://news.un.org/en/
45 https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/ story/2019/06/1040621
natura2000/index_en.htm
67 https://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/
46 www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/ water-framework/index_en.html
dashboards/natura-2000-data-viewer
68 www.fao.org/3/a1346e/a1346e12.htm
47 https://land.copernicus.eu/local/urban-atlas
69 www.eea.europa.eu/publications/
48 www.gsa.europa.eu/european-gnss/galileo/ european-forest-ecosystems
galileo-european-global-satellite-based- 70 https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-
navigation-system fisheries/key-policies/common-agricultural-
49 www.eea.europa.eu/publications/natural- policy/cap-glance_en
capital-accounting-in-support 71 https://ec.europa.eu/environment/action-
programme/
50 https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-
fisheries/key-policies/common-agricultural- 72 www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/DocItem.
policy/cap-glance_en aspx?did=48393

51 https://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/envir/ 73 www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/
soil_en press-release/rising-demand-sand-calls-
resource-governance
52 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-
explained/index.php?title=Farms_and_ 74 https://ec.europa.eu/environment/
farmland_in_the_European_Union_-_ resource_efficiency/about/roadmap/
statistics index_en.htm

53 www.eea.europa.eu/publications/food-in-a- 75 https://publications.europa.eu/en/
green-light publication-detail/-/publication/43bd384b-
0251-11e7-8a35-01aa75ed71a1
54 www.globalcarbonproject.org/
methanebudget/ 76 www.ipcc.ch/report/srccl/

55 https://link.springer.com/ 77 www.ipbes.net/assessment-reports/ldr
chapter/10.1007/978-0-387-69163-3_4 78 www.ipbes.net/news/Media-Release-
56 www.eea.europa.eu/publications/food-in-a- Global-Assessment
green-light 79 www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/
57 https://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/food_ biodiversity/
waste_en 80 www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/
58 www.fao.org/state-of-food-security- hunger/
nutrition/en/ 81 www.fao.org/global-soil-partnership/about/
59 http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/ why-the-partnership/en/
show.do?dataset=hlth_dm030&lang=en 82 https://ec.europa.eu/environment/soil/
60 https://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/food_ index_en.htm
waste/eu_actions_en 83 https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/
61 www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/ biodiversity/strategy/index_en.htm
hunger/
62 www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/
sustainable-consumption-production/
63 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-
explained/index.php/Extra-EU_trade_in_
agricultural_goods
64 https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/
renewable-energy/biofuels/sustainability-
criteria

59
 10.2800/779710
TH-AP-19-001-EN-N
EEA Signals 2019

Land and soil in Europe

We cannot live without healthy land and

soil. It is on land that we produce most
of our food and we build our homes.
For all species — animals and plants
living on land or water — land is vital.
Soil — one of the essential components
of land — is a very complex and often
undervalued element, teeming with life.
Unfortunately, the way we currently use
land and soil in Europe and in the world
is not sustainable. This has significant
impacts on life on land.

European Environment Agency

Kongens Nytorv 6
1050 Copenhagen K
Denmark

Tel: +45 33 36 71 00
Web: eea.europa.eu
Enquiries: eea.europa.eu/enquiries
© EEA