Primary tabs

Temporary Dataset Download: Copper distribution in topsoils in the European Union

Dataset Access Expires on

30-January-2026

Notifications

  1. The data provided has been prepared for use by internal research activities in European Soil Data Centre (Sustainable Resources Directorate, JRC Ispra) in the context of developing the assessments of diffuse pollution and as a contribution to soil threats in Europe (RECARE project).
  2. The data were developed for research purposes of the JRC (European Commission). 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.
  3. 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 for any purpose, including commercial gain.
  4. The data/maps are result of interpolation (and advanced geostatistics) and they should be used with care. It is not recommended to use this dataset for qualifying the status of a point (parcel).
  5. 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).

Data

The Copper distribution in topsoils  dataset (Raster format) at 500m resolution. This dataset is refering to Fig.7 [Map of topsoil copper concentration (mg Kg-1) in the publication Copper distribution in European topsoils: An assessment based on LUCAS soil survey]

The aggregated data (mean per region NUTS2) both for all land uses and only for agricultural lands are also available. The aggregated data are calculated based on the raw LUCAS data.

In addition, we provide the copper accumulation and copper export in EU vineyards based on the publication  Copper Content and Export in European Vineyard Soils Influenced by Climate and Soil Properties.

Citations:

Metadata

Title: Copper distribution in European Union topsoils
Description: Copper (Cu) distribution in soil is influenced by climatic, geological and pedological factors. Apart from geological sources and industrial pollution, other anthropogenic sources, related to the agricultural activity, may increase copper levels in soils, especially in permanent crops such as olive groves and vineyards. This study uses 21,682 soil samples from the LUCAS topsoil survey to investigate copper distribution in the soils of 25 European Union (EU) Member States.Generalized Linear Models (GLM) were used to investigate the factors driving copper distribution in EU soils. Regression analysis shows the importance of topsoil properties, land cover and climate in estimating Cu concentration. Meanwhile, a copper regression model confirms our hypothesis that different agricultural management practices have a relevant influence on Cu concentration. Besides the traditional use of copper as a fungicide for treatments in several permanent crops, the combined effect of soil properties such as high pH, soil organic carbon and clay, with humid and wet climatic conditions favours copper accumulation in soils of vineyards and tree crops.
Spatial Coverage: European Union 25 Member States (no data for Croatia, Cyprus and Malta)
Resolution: 500m
Time Reference:  2009
Format: Raster (Grid)
Projection: ETRS89 Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area
Input data: 21,682 measured points of LUCAS survey and other auxiliary variables: Geology, Land use & vegetation, Climate, Topography, Soil Properties.

Ballabio, C., Panagos, P., Lugato, E., Huang, J.-H., Orgiazzi, A., Jones, A., Fernández-Ugalde, O., Borrelli, P., Montanarella, L. 2018. Copper distribution in European topsoils: An assessment based on LUCAS soil survey.  Science of the Total Environment, 636: 282-298.

Panagos, P., Ballabio, C., Lugato, E., Jones, A., Borrelli, P., Scarpa, S., Orgiazzi, A., Montanarella, L.  Potential Sources of Anthropogenic Copper Inputs to European Agricultural Soils. Sustainability 2018, 10, 2380.

Droz, B., Payraudeau, S., Rodríguez Martín, J.A., Tóth, G., Panagos, P., Montanarella, L., Borrelli, P. and Imfeld, G., 2021. Copper Content and Export in European Vineyard Soils Influenced by Climate and Soil Properties. Environmental Science & Technology. 55(11): 7327–7334

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

Joint Research Centre - European Soil Data Centre (ESDAC)
ID 123915
Date - Time Fri, 01/16/2026 - 10:58
Name of User Samuele Bumbaca
Organization SAGEA centro di saggio s.r.l.
Type of Organization Research Organization
-- Other
E-mail samuele.bumbaca@sagea.com
Purpose Preliminary environmental study of the impact of copper use on hill vineyards with complex human settlements, in collaboration with the University of Turin's Department of Agricultural, Veterinary and Food Science.
Notes

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