Agriculture occupies a substantial proportion of the European land, and consequently plays an important role in maintaining natural resources and cultural landscapes, a precondition for other human activities in rural areas. Unsustainable farming practices and land use, including mismanaged intensification as well as land abandonment, have an adverse impact on natural resources. Having recognised the environmental challenges of agricultural land use, the European Parliament requested the European Commission in 2007 to carry out a pilot project on "Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Conservation through simplified cultivation techniques" (SoCo). The project originated from a close cooperation between the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) and the Joint Research Centre (JRC). It was implemented by the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) and the Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES).
This report presents the findings of a stock-taking of the current situation with respect to soil degradation processes, soil-friendly farming practices and relevant policy measures within an EU-wide perspective. This overview includes the results of the survey on the national/regional implementation of EU policies and national policies, a classification of the described soil degradation processes, soil conservation practices and policy measures, and finally the outcome of the Stakeholder Workshop which took place on 22 May 2008 in Brussels.
GAY Stephan;
LOUWAGIE Geertrui;
SAMMETH Frank;
RATINGER Tomas;
CRISTOIU Adriana;
MARECHAL Brechje;
PROSPERI Paolo;
RUSCO Ezio;
TERRES Jean;
ADHIKARI Kabindra;
BODIS Katalin;
CENCI Roberto;
GARDI Ciro;
HOUSKOVA Beata;
REUTER Hannes;
RODRIGUEZ-LADO Luis;
STOLBOVOY Vladimir;
TOTH Gergely;
SCHULER Johannes;
KUTTER Thomas;
FUNK Roger;
HELMING Katharina;
DOUBLET Sylvain;
HOUTIN Marion;
POINTEREAU Philippe;
LOUWAGIE Geertrui;
GAY Stephan;
BURRELL Alison;
2009-03-04
European Commission
JRC50424
978-92-79-11358-1,
1018-5593,
EUR 23767 EN,
OP LF-NA-23767-EN-C,
http://ipts.jrc.ec.europa.eu/publications/pub.cfm?id=1981,
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC50424,
10.2791/69723,
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