Pesticides and Soil Biodiversity

The dataset includes pesticide concentrations detected above their limit of quantification (LOQ) at 373 European sites covering croplands, grasslands and woodlands. The analysed data contributed to the development of a high scientific outputs published in NATURE.
Resource Type: 
Datasets
Soil Threats Data
Registration is requested: 
Yes
Year: 
2026
Themes: 
Soil Biodiversity

The dataset includes pesticide concentrations detected above their limit of quantification (LOQ) at 373 European sites covering croplands, grasslands and woodlands1. Collected as part of the LUCAS Soil Pesticides2 module of the 2018 campaign, these sites overlap with LUCAS Soil Biodiversity2 sampling locations from the same year, where soil communities were assessed for archaea3, bacteria4, fungi4 and other eukaryotes5 using metabarcoding and metagenomics technics.

Soil biodiversity data and metadata of sampling locations (e.g., soil physico-chemical properties, climate) can be accessed through:

https://esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu/content/soil-biodiversity-dna-bacteria-and-fungi

https://esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu/content/soil-biodiversity-dna-eukaryotes

https://esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu/content/dna-metagenomes-soil-biodiversity

All datasets are part of LUCAS6 (Land Use/Cover Area frame Survey), the largest European soil survey coordinated by the European Commission.

Below is an interactive figure showing soil biodiversity responses to pesticide concentrations in croplands. Please see the caption of Fig. 3 in Köninger, Labouyrie et al. 20261 for more information.

Title: Pesticides and Soil Biodiversity
Description: The dataset includes pesticide concentrations for 373 samples collected as part of LUCAS 2018 Soil survey (Pesticides module)..
Spatial coverage: European Union
Type: table, R Scripts
Temporal coverage:  2018
More information: EU Science update on soil biodiversity.

References:

  1. Köninger, J., Labouyrie, M., Ballabio, C., Dulya, O., Mikryukov, V., Romero, F., Franco, A., Bahram, M., Panagos, P., Jones., A., Tederso, L., Orgiazzi, A., Briones, M.,  van der Heijden M. G. A. .2026. Pesticide residues alter taxonomic and functional biodiversity in soils, NATURE, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09991-z
  2. Orgiazzi, A. et al. LUCAS Soil Biodiversity and LUCAS Soil Pesticides, new tools for research 757 and policy development. European Journal of Soil Science 73, e13299 (2022).
  3. Bahram, M., Lehtovirta-Morley, L., Mikryukov, V., Sveen, T., Grant, A., Pent, M., Hildebrand, F., Labouyrie, M., Köninger, J., Tedersoo, L., Panos, A., Orgiazzi, A. Intensive land use enhances soil archaea capable of greenhouse gas emissions across Europe. In preparation (2024).
  4. Labouyrie, M., Ballabio C., Romero F., Panagos P., Jones, A., Schmid, M.W., Mikryukov V., Dulya O., Tedersoo L., Bahram, M., Lugato, E., van der Heijden, M.G-A., Orgiazzi, A. Patterns in soil microbial diversity across Europe. Nature Communications (2023).  
  5. Köninger, J., Ballabio, C., Panagos, P., Jones, A., Schmid, M.W., Orgiazzi, A., Briones, M.J.I. Ecosystem type drives soil eukaryotic diversity and composition in Europe. Global change biology, 1-14 (2023).  
  6. Orgiazzi, A., Ballabio, C., Panagos, P., Jones, A. & Fernández‐Ugalde, O. LUCAS Soil, the largest expandable soil dataset for Europe: a review. Eur J Soil Sci 69, 140–153 (2018).

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By sending these data, you declare that you have read & accept the notification below and that your personal data will be handled by the JRC only for statistical purposes (conform to privacy statement).

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

Notification:

  • The data provided has been prepared for use by internal research activities in the Joint Research Centre (JRC) Ispra in collaboration with University of Zurich and University of Tartu . The research activities support the LUCAS soil campaign. The LUCAS Soil sample collection is supported by the Directorate‐General Environment (DG‐ENV), Directorate‐General Agriculture and Rural Development (DG‐AGRI) and Directorate‐General Climate Action (DG‐CLIMA) of the European Commission. 
  • The data are the result of JRC research activities and are primarily made available for further research. The JRC does not accept any liability whatsoever for any error, missing data or omission in the data, or for any loss or damage arising from its use. The JRC agrees to provide the data free of charge but is not bound to justify the content and values contained in the databases.
  • The permission to use the data specified above is granted on condition that, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES are these data passed to third parties. They can be used ONLY for RESEARCH purposes.
  • JRC should be consulted on how to use the data
  • In case the data are used for EU assessments, you are kindly request to inform the JRC.
  • The user agrees to:
    • make proper reference to the source of the data when disseminating the results to which this agreement relates;
    • Participate in the verification of the data (e.g. by noting and reporting any errors or omissions discovered to the JRC).

 

Reference of source (Citations) :

Köninger, J., Labouyrie, M., Ballabio, C., Dulya, O., Mikryukov, V., Romero, F., Franco, A., Bahram, M., Panagos, P., Jones., A., Tederso, L., Orgiazzi, A., Briones, M.,  van der Heijden M. G. A. .2026. Pesticide residues alter taxonomic and functional biodiversity in soils, NATURE, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09991-z

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