Recent EU policy initiatives have been taken to protect and restore soils, such as the EU Soil Strategy for 2030, the Mission Soil and the Soil Monitoring and Resilience Directive, all aiming to reach healthy soils by 2050. Soil monitoring through time and studying changes in soil status is needed to verify whether EU soils are on track to reach a healthy state by 2050. In this study, trends of six soil degradation processes were analysed. Results suggest that the area with unhealthy soils decreased in the past decades regarding three indicators, namely soil erosion by water, harvest erosion and phosphorus deficiency. Conversely, results suggest that the area with unhealthy soils increased regarding loss of soil organic carbon, phosphorus excess and soil sealing. Projections suggest that four studied soil degradation processes will further deteriorate in the upcoming decades due to climate change, continued unsustainable management practices and urbanisation. This shows the importance of the Soil Monitoring and Resilience Directive, the EU Soil Strategy and the Mission Soil to continue the investment in soil monitoring and related research and to accelerate the implementation of sustainable soil management practices, and to bring all indicators on track to reach healthy soils by 2050.
BROOTHAERTS Nils;
FENDRICH Arthur;
VAN EYNDE Elise;
YUNTA Felipe;
DE ROSA Daniele;
BORRELLI Pasquale;
JONES Arwyn;
PANAGOS Panos;
2026-07-20
European Commission
JRC147406
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC147406,
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