LUCAS 2022 TOPSOIL data

Data from the 2022 LUCAS campaign soil component containing soil properties data for approximately 33,00 locations (38,000 samples): In addition to the standard core analysis (pH (CaCl2 and H2O), carbonate organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, Electrical conductivity), data will be presented on eDNA, the residues of pesticide residues and a broader assessment of metals and micronutrients.
LUCAS 2022 TOPSOIL data
Resource Type: 
Datasets
Soil Point Data
Registration is requested: 
No
Publisher: 
European Commission
Year: 
2025
Themes: 
Soil Nutrients
Soil Organic Carbon Content
Soil Sampling
Soil pH
Projects: 
LUCAS

This page will be an entry point to the principal LUCAS 2022 TOPSOIL data .

The data will likely become available to the public in the first quarter of 2026.

In order to access the data, you will need to register. The Topsoil data for 18,984 samples from LUCAS 2022 will be available as a CSV file and, to facilitate use of the data, an ESRI shapefile containing LUCAS points to which the taken samples should be associated.

Documentation: these data are accompanied by a report describing the 2022 dataset.

Geographical extent: European Union.

Format: CSV (with soil property data) + shapefile (theoretical sampling points, based on LUCAS Grid)

Measured properties: pH (CaCl2 and H2O), organic carbon content, CaCO3, nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, EC (Electrical conductivity), extractable P, Fe and Al .

Clay, silt, sand content and coarse fragments are measured for points that were sampled for the first time – particle size data for points sampled in previous surveys are available in a separate file under the LUCAS 2018 TOPSOIL data.

Reference Year: samples taken in 2022.

Previous LUCAS campaigns topsoil data are found here (2009/2012), here (2015), and here (2022).

Note that for this dataset of basic soil properties, data of physical and chemical properties were analysed in samples taken at various depth points as follows:

  • Samples taken from 0-30 cm
  • Further information from this LUCAS SOIL 2022 campaign is in preparation. These include:
    • a summary overview
    • An assessment of changes between surveys Environmental conditions: reference ancillary data describing a range of environmental conditions for all LUCAS points

Updates on LUCAS 2022

New developments for the 2022 LUCAS Soil module survey included:
  • An increase in the number of targeted sampling points to c. 41,000 – this was to target statistically robust assessments of soil organic carbon content in arable soils at NUTS2 level, while at NUTS0 for grasslands and woodlands
  • Revised sampling protocol for woodland sites and the collection of litter samples
  • Collection of samples > 1 500 m
  • Repeat assessment of bulk density for a subset of locations
  • Sampling depth increased to 30 cm
  • A target to double the collection of fresh samples to extract DNA from the soil to assess soil biodiversity
  • An assessment of gully erosion
  • Increased measurements of metals and residues of plant protection products in a subset of samples.
  • The involvement of organisations under the umbrella of EJP Soils to compare the LUCAS Soil approach with those of Member States

Some takeaway messages:

  • 4th iteration of soil sampling in LUCAS
  • 31 054 samples were collected covering all EU Member States, more than 11 000 were repeat visits to sites sampled in 2018.
  • Bulk density measurements were made at various depths at 2 655 locations
  • 1 410 fresh samples were collected to assess soil biodiversity
  • 6 027 litter samples were collected from woodland sites
  • More than 1 500 samples were collected from locations above 1 000 m, of which 202 will be assessed for soil biodiversity. The highest LUCAS sample was collected in France at an elevation of 2 260 m.
  • Overall the collection of samples reached around 70% of expected, with BG, CY, CZ, EE, ES, HR, HU, LT, LV, PL and SI all returning more than 80% of planned samples. CZ collected 93% of samples.
  • Access to land can be an issue, which resulted in a lower number of samples in some countries with both DE and DK returning less than 50% of standard samples. Only 39% of bulk density samples were collected in DE while only collected 29% of biodiversity samples were collected in BE. Only 28% of litter samples were returned from RO.
  • Surveyors were able to ascertain gully erosion features in 399 591  locations (around 1% of the total surveyed).

Lucas 2022 soil sample target

Note that on the Eurostat website, you can find the general LUCAS 2022 data (such as observed LandUse and LandCover, and point coordinates) which can be combined with the LUCAS SOIL 2022 data using the POINT_ID field).

For any problem / question / comment on this dataset, please contact ec-esdac@ec.europa.eu

Notification:

  1. The LUCAS2022_SOIL data are the property of the European Union , represented by the European Commission, represented by the Directorate General-Joint Research Centre (hereafter referred to as the JRC), which is allowed to authorize third parties to use these data free of charge.
  2. The LUCAS2022_SOIL data have been generated with a harmonised methodology for the production of statistics on soil characteristics at European level and are not meant to provide any any information as to personal or land properties character. Furthermore, given the relatively limited number of points analysed and their spatial distribution, data contained in LUCAS2022_SOIL cannot be considered representative of local conditions and certainly not of field conditions.
  3. The European Union grants to the Licencee a personal, non transferable, perpetual, and non exclusive right to use the LUCAS2022_SOIL data. No sub-licence is allowed. The data may be used for any purpose.
  4. The Licensee shall take all the necessary regulatory, administrative, technical and organisational measures to ensure that the data are used only in accordance with the pprinciples specified in Article 2 and for the purposes specified in Article 3 and that there will be no attempt to identify by any means whatsoever, any individual statistical unit other than the geo-referenced coordinates of the points. In particular, owners of the land to which the points belong shall not be identified.
  5. In any reports, including all publications and unpublished papers, the following rules should be applied:
    a) Any results can be published once a proper aggregation process that prevents any individual body (private person, private organisation) from being identified has been applied, ,
    b) Graphical representation of individual units on a map is permitted as far as the geographical location of the soil samples is not detectable.
  6. The present licence is granted free of charge.
  7. This agreement shall start on the date the Licencee has received the LUCAS2022_SOIL data from the JRC. There is no need for a signature of the present agreement by the JRC.
  8. The LUCAS2022_SOIL database will be accessible only to the Licensee and staff working for the Licensee's Organization and on a need-to-know basis. The Licencee undertakes to inform the authorized persons of the existence of the present licence agreement and of its obligations that they will also have to respect.
  9. The European Union will be formally mentioned and fully acknowledged in, but not limited to, reports, articles, publications and presentations of work resulting from the use of the LUCAS2022_SOIL data as follows: "The LUCAS 2022 topsoil dataset used in this work was made available by the European Commission through the European Soil Data Centre managed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), http://esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu/".
  10. The Licensee can obtain information concerning the LUCAS2022_SOIL database from the JRC by e-mail (ec-esdac@ec.europa.eu). The Licencee undertakes to communicate on a regular basis to the JRC any errors or omissions discovered
  11. Neither the European Union, nor any person acting on its behalf, is responsible for the use which might be made of LUCAS2022_SOIL database.
  12. Whereas every effort has been made to ensure the quality of the LUCAS2022_SOIL data, the European Commission does not give any warranty as to the completeness or accuracy of the LUCAS2022_SOIL data, nor that it is error free or of a satisfactory quality or appears precisely as described in any documentation related to the data. All other such warranties are expressly disclaimed.
  13. The European Union disclaims all warranties relating to the data, expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, any implied warranty against infringement of third parties property rights, of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.
  14. The European Union will not be liable for any loss of use, lost data, interruption of business or incidental, special, exemplary, consequential damages of any kind, even if the European Union has been advised, knew or should have known of the possibility of such damages.
  15. The European Union does not represent or warrant that the data will be error free or uninterrupted, or that all non-conformities can or will be corrected, or that the data are timely, accurate or complete or that are of a satisfactory technical or scientific quality.
  16. In case the Licencee receives claims for infringement from third parties, the Licencee shall inform immediately the JRC. The European Union may at its own discretion undertake any useful change to the LUCAS2022_SOIL data in order to deliver data free from any third parties rights. In case this is not possible, the availability of the LUCAS2022_SOIL data will be stopped. In the meantime, the Licencee will reply before the Court to the claims of the third party and pay all damages and costs.
  17. In the event of any claim, suit or proceeding for infringement from third parties, the European Union shall have the right, at its option, to assume defence of such action.
  18. The Licencee shall not use any trademarks of the European Union, the European Commission or JRC
  19. The name LUCAS2022_SOIL of the data being created by the European Union, the Licencee shall not use the name of LUCAS2022_SOIL without prior written authorization of the JRC and shall not register the name LUCAS2022_SOIL as a trademark
  20. Personal data retrieved from the LUCAS2022_SOIL database shall be processed according to Regulation (EC) 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data
  21. Licensee is informed that its personal data may be used by the European Union and automatically processed. The identifying data that Licensee may submit (The Data) will be treated in accordance with the policy on "protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the European Union institutions", based on Regulation (EC) N° 45/2001. It may occur that you are requested to provide certain Data such as your name, your mailing address, your e-mail address, and other data such as your country, area as well as any other information requested via a specific form. The Data will not be communicated to nonauthorised third parties and will only be collected to allow you the use of the Software and for the establishment of statistics or trends. The Data will not be used for any other purposes than the indicated and will not be kept within our systems beyond the necessary timeframe to achieve this goal. Licensor will take all possible measures in order to secure the Data. However, it cannot eliminate all the risks related to the use of the Internet. Thus, at the time of submitting the Data, you must be aware that other users of the Internet can possibly manage to visualize the Data. Further to the law on private data protection, you are allowed to access, modify or to oppose yourself to any processing of your Data. To use that right, you may contact Licensor per e-mail at the following address: ec-esdac@ec.europa.eu. The licence may be terminated by the European Union if the Licencee breaches any of its provisions. In such a case, the JRC shall give the Licensee 30 days notice and opportunity to rectify the infringement but in any case, this termination shall not prevent the European Union from claiming any further damages.
  22. The Licensee agrees to maintain in confidence and not to disclose to any natural or legal person and to use its best effort to prevent and protect the data and documentation and reports therefore, and all other material, know-how, information from disclosure by its agents or employees to any person, organisation or company.
  23. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with Belgian law. Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Licence shall be settled before the competent courts of Brussels.
  24. THE LICENCEE ACKNOWLEDGES TO HAVE READ, UNDERSTOOD AND AGREED TO BE BOUND BY THE ABOVE-MENTIONED TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE CONTRACT

Technical assistance concerning the use of the LUCAS data can be obtained from :  ec-esdac@ec.europa.eu

Reference of source (Citations) :

How to cite the data and associated report/scientific publications:

Jones, A., Orgiazzi, A., Panagos, P., Scarpa S., Havenga, C., Broothaerts, N., Arias Navarro, C., Ballabio, C., Belitrandi, D., Breure, T., De Medici, D., Fendrich, A., Liakos, L., Martin Jimenez, J., Schillaci, C., Vieira, D., van Liedekerke, M., Wojda, P., Yunta, F. & Van Eynde, E. LUCAS 2022 Soil Module -an overview. 2025

Scientific publication describing the LUCAS survey as a whole.

Orgiazzi, A., Ballabio, C., Panagos, P., Jones, A., Fernández-Ugalde, O. 2018. LUCAS Soil, the largest expandable soil dataset for Europe: A review. European Journal of Soil Science, 69(1): 140-153. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.12499

 

When making reference to the ESDAC

  • Panagos, P., Van Liedekerke, M., Borrelli, P., Köninger, J., Ballabio, C., Orgiazzi, A., Lugato, E., Liakos, L., Hervas, J., Jones, A.  Montanarella, L. 2022. European Soil Data Centre 2.0: Soil data and knowledge in support of the EU policies. European Journal of Soil Science, 73(6), e13315. DOI: 10.1111/ejss.13315
  • Panagos P., Van Liedekerke M., Jones A., Montanarella L., “European Soil Data Centre: Response to European policy support and public data requirements”; (2012) Land Use Policy, 29 (2), pp. 329-338. doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2011.07.003
  • European Soil Data Centre (ESDAC), esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu, European Commission, Joint Research Centre