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Soil at JRC > SOER2010 (State of Environment Report 2010) > Section 0. Summary

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Section 0. Summary

Section 1. Introduction

Section 2. State and Trends

Section 3. Impacts

Section 4. Outlook 2020

Section 5. Response

Glossary/supporting information

References
EEA
SOER 2010


Nearly all of the food and fibres used by humans are produced on soil. Soil is also essential for water and ecosystem health. It is second only to the oceans as a global carbon sink, with an important role in the potential slowing of climate change. Soil functions depend on a multitude of soil organisms which makes it an important part of our biodiversity. Nevertheless, soil in many parts of Europe is being over-exploited, degraded and irreversibly lost due to impacts from industrial activities and land use change, leading to soil sealing, contamination, erosion and loss of organic carbon. Due to these problems, legislation for the protection of soils has been proposed at EU level.

Soil is defined as the top layer of the earth's crust. It is composed of mineral particles, organic matter, water, air and living organisms — a non-renewable resource which performs many vital functions. Soil has a role as a habitat and gene pool; serves as a platform for human activities, landscape and heritage; and acts as a provider of raw materials. These functions are worthy of protection because of their socio-economic as well as environmental importance.

The soil resources of Europe are diverse, reflecting a combination of geology, climate, topography and land use developed over thousands of years. Northern European soils tend to have higher organic matter content than those in the south. Relatively young soils dominate central Europe. Poorly developed soils or soil with accumulations of calcium carbonate characterise the Mediterranean basin. The slow rates of soil formation mean that soil must be regarded as essentially non-renewable. The unsustainable human use and management of land is leading to increased soil degradation and a loss of a key resource that is fundamental to life on the planet.

Different EU policies for water, waste, chemicals, industrial pollution prevention, nature protection, pesticides and agriculture are contributing to soil protection. However, as these policies have other aims and other scopes of action, they are not sufficient to ensure an adequate level of protection for all soil in Europe. The prevention of soil degradation is also limited by the scarcity of data. In this context, the European Commission adopted a Soil Thematic Strategy (COM(2006) 231) and a proposal for a Soil Framework Directive (COM(2006) 232) on 22 September 2006 with the objective to protect soils across the EU.

Soil degradation: state, trends and impacts



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