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Soil — key message 5: Industrialisation and poor management have left thousands of contaminated sites throughout Europe, resulting in human health impacts and environmental problems including groundwater contamination. While some countries have made significant progress, the identification and remediation of contaminated sites in many countries is patchy, with limited progress over the past five years.
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › … › Soil — SOER 2010 thematic assessment › Key messages
Soil — key message 6: Few countries have specific legislation to protect soil and there is no EU law or regulatory instrument that specifically addresses threats to it or requires the systematic collection of comparable data. The European Commission has published a strategy on soil protection, including legislative proposals, and further measures to support soil conservation within EU environmental and/or sectoral policies seem appropriate.
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › … › Soil — SOER 2010 thematic assessment › Key messages
Average total deposition of sulphate, 1995-1998: Notes: At 309 intensive monitoring plots
Located in Data and maps › Maps and graphs
Breakdown of activities causing local soil contamination.: The graph shows a breakdown of the main sources causing soil contamination by country as % of the number of sites where preliminary investigations have been completed
Located in Data and maps › Maps and graphs
Estimated allocation of public and private expenditures for management of contaminated sites by country: The graph shows the estimated allocation of public and private expenditure for site remediation.Values on top indicate total annual management expenditure in Million euro
Located in Data and maps › Maps and graphs
Concentration of benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) in the upper soil in kindergartens in the Czech cities monitored in 2004: Located in Data and maps › Maps and graphs
Soil protection critical for Europe's economy and ecosystems: Soil is one of the planet's invaluable resources but continues to be degraded in Europe. Together, the mineral particles, water, air, organic matter, and living organisms that constitute soil perform key functions which underpin our society.
Located in News
Windbreaks: Environmental Atlas of Europe - Georgia: During the Soviet era, Dedoplistskaro in south east Georgia was the country’s main production area for wheat and sunflower seeds. That came to an end in 1991 when Georgia became independent and Russia cut off its energy supply. To survive the cold winters, the people resorted to cutting down trees for firewood, stripping the countryside of the windbreaks that protected the crops and soil from the harsh desert winds and provided a natural habitat for many species of animals and plants.
Located in The Environmental Atlas › … › Windbreaks › Video
EU 2010 Biodiversity Baseline: The EU 2010 Biodiversity Baseline provides facts and figures on the state and trends of the different biodiversity and ecosystem components. It thereby supports the EU in developing the post‑2010 sub‑targets and provides factual data for measuring and monitoring progress in the EU from 2011 to 2020.
Located in Publications
Main contaminants affecting soil and groundwater. Percentage of contaminated industrial or commercial sites by country: Data for Belgium refer to the Flanders Region only Data for Italy refer to the Piemonte Region only
Located in Data and maps › Maps and graphs