7.1 - Introduction7.1.1 - Soil functions7.1.1.1 - Biomass production7.1.1.2 - Filtering, buffering and transformation7.1.1.3 - Biological habitat and gene reserve7.1.1.4 - Foundation7.1.1.5 - Source of raw materials7.1.1.6 - Historical medium7.1.1.7 - Interaction of functions7.1.1.8 - Functions at risk7.1.2 - Soils of Europe7.1.2.1 - Well drained soils7.1.2.1.1 - 'Black earths'7.1.2.1.2 - Sandy soils7.1.2.1.3 - Acid loamy soils7.1.2.1.4 - Non-acid loamy soils7.1.2.1.5 - Clayey soils7.1.2.2 - Shallow and stony soils7.1.2.3 - Semi-arid and salt-affected soils7.1.2.4 - Imperfectly drained soils7.1.3 - Soil vulnerability7.2 - Problems and Threats7.2.1 - Soil erosion7.2.1.1 - Causes7.2.1.2 - Magnitude7.2.1.3 - Impacts7.2.1.4 - Remedies7.2.2 - Soil acidification7.2.2.1 - Causes7.2.2.2 - Magnitude7.2.2.3 - Impacts7.2.2.4 - Remedies7.2.3 - Soil pollution by heavy metals7.2.3.1 - Cause7.2.3.2 - Magnitude7.2.3.3 - Impacts7.2.3.4 - Remedies7.2.4 - Soil pollution by pesticides and other organic contaminants7.2.4.1 - Causes7.2.4.2 - Magnitude7.2.4.3 - Impacts7.2.4.4 - Remedies7.2.5 - Soil pollution by nitrates and phosphorous7.2.5.1 - Causes7.2.5.2 - Magnitude7.2.5.3 - Impacts7.2.5.4 - Remedies7.2.6 - Soil pollution by artificial radionuclides7.2.7 - Contaminated soil7.2.7.1 - Causes7.2.7.2 - Magnitude7.2.7.3 - Impacts7.2.7.4 - Remedies7.2.7.5 - Legislation concerning contaminated land7.2.7.5.1 - Where are the polluted sites?7.2.7.5.2 - How clean is clean? How dirty is dirty?7.2.8 - Soil compaction7.2.8.1 - Causes7.2.8.2 - Magnitude7.2.8.3 - Impacts7.2.8.4 - Remedies7.2.9 - Other threats7.2.9.1 - Organic matter losses7.2.9.2 - Salinisation7.2.9.3 - Waterlogging7.3 - Responses7.3.1 - Ecological responses7.3.1.1 - Critical load: a useful policy tool7.3.2 - Technical responses7.3.3 - Policy and legislation7.3.3.1 - Perspectives for future policies and approaches7.3.3.2 - Current situation7.4 - Conclusions