1.7 Soil resources

Soils play a key role in our environment's functioning. This briefing considers the latest soils condition in Europe assessment. Healthy soils filter unwanted substances and buffer against chemical degradation. They also store and provide important nutrients as well as water. Soils are host to a huge diversity of organisms, acting as engines for ecosystem functions such as nutrient cycling and carbon storage. These functions are crucial for food security, biodiversity and climate change mitigation.

Key policies

The EU soil strategy for 2030 envisions that all soils are healthy by 2050. The strategy proposes novel legislative initiatives aiming to detect unhealthy soils and to restore them, to halt soil loss from soil sealing, and to detect and remediate contaminated sites. In April 2025, a provisional agreement has been reached among the co-legislators on a European Commission proposal for a soil monitoring law. Soil is an essential enabler of ecosystem services, so any land-related strategy and policy — including actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce pollution, improve biodiversity and support ecologically-friendly agriculture — is synergistically linked to soils.

Past trends (10-15 years)

Deteriorating trends/developments dominate

According to the EU Soil Observatory dashboard, 62% of all soils (Figure 1 and 2) and 89% of agricultural soils, show signs of critical loss of their functions. Nutrient inputs through fertilisation and atmospheric deposition have exceeded the buffer capacity for a significant portion of agricultural soils; some cropland soils show signs of acidification and elevated metal concentrations. 24% of European soils suffer from unsustainable erosion rates. Between 2009 and 2018, 28 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (MtCO₂e) per year were emitted through losses of soil organic carbon in the upper 20cm of soils, to a large extent on cultivated organic soils. Biodiversity loss and critical levels of subsoil compaction are estimated to be widespread phenomena, for which further evidence from monitoring is needed.

Outlook (10-15 years)

Trends/developments expected to show a mixed picture

The proposed Soil Monitoring Law is expected to improve unhealthy soil detection across all land uses; it suggests that Member States mitigate land take, and that they support landowners and land managers to improve soil health and soil resilience. Besides soil management, climate change also can negatively impact soils. For example, pests can be expected to increase where climatic extremes challenge ecosystem stability. Healthy soils are key to the resilience of ecosystems thanks to their higher water, carbon and nutrient storage capacity, and their resilience against erosion and compaction. Regarding inputs of contaminants, air pollution has decreased by over 80% and is thus expected to decrease processes such as acidification.

Prospects of meeting policy targets 2030/2050

2030 Largely not on track to meet targets

Healthy soils are central for achieving objectives set out in several EU strategies which contain 2030 targets, for example the biodiversity, soil, forest, Farm to Fork and chemicals strategies, the zero pollution action plan and CAP 2023-2027. However, these targets are non-binding. Moreover, certain soils and their properties have a long response time before protective and restorative actions become detectable. The knowledge base to target effective measures is expected to improve substantially through to 2030.

2050 Partially on track to meet targets / highly uncertain

The EU soil strategy for 2030, which would be enabled by the proposed EU Soil Monitoring Laws, strives to achieve healthy soils by 2050. This soil-specific legislative initiative is essential to target measures effectively to soils needing protection and restoration. This legislation should enhance the impact of CAP environmental measures as well as measures under the Nature Restoration Regulation. These developments may compensate for land areas which remain under intensive management.

Robustness

Soil condition data quality at the EU level is being significantly improved through the EU’s LUCAS soil monitoring survey, which includes more than 40,000 sampling points. Under a future soil monitoring law, more knowledge about soil health will be available at the national level, including soil-specific target and trigger values. The EU’s soil mission supports land managers, planners and politicians by developing the availability and robustness of soil information and solutions. The objective to establish 100 living labs and lighthouses through the EU soil mission is on track.

Charts/maps

Figure 1. Proportion of land likely to be affected by one or more soil degradation processes or by soil sealing in the EU

Figure 2. Soil degradation processes in the EU