To help monitor the health of Europe’s soils, the European Environment Agency (EEA) provides a set of common indicators and critical thresholds in a report published on Wednesday 18 January, as multiple pressures are increasingly exerted on a valuable resource for food production, water purification and carbon storage, the EEA says.
This report supports the EU Soil Strategy for 2030 adopted in 2021 to “reap the benefits of healthy soils for people, food, nature and climate” (see EUROPE 12834/2). This strategy foresees the adoption of an EU directive on soil health, which should, among other things, determine options for soil monitoring and define rules for sustainable soil use and restoration (see EUROPE 13008/18).
The indicators selected in this report relate to soil organic carbon, nutrients, acidification, pollution, biodiversity, erosion, compaction and sealing.
For each indicator, the EEA identifies thresholds beyond which soil functioning, for example for water purification or food production, is negatively affected. These thresholds can be considered as critical tipping points for soil health and action points for safeguarding it.
The proposal for an EU directive on soil health is expected to be presented on 7 June as part of a legislative package on sustainable food systems, according to the European Commission’s indicative timetable of 17 January.
For the EEA report: https://aeur.eu/f/4z8 (original version in French by Aminata Niang)