Soil

This interactive data viewer provides accounts of imperviousness, i.e. land surface sealing status in Europe (EEA39 and EU27+UK) for the year 2018. Sealing is measured by the high resolution (10m) dataset "Imperviousness "of the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service. The viewer facilitates the understanding and assessment of soil sealing, which can be queried by administrative region or the degree of urbanisation as well as by ecological units such as floodplains and coastal zones or protected areas. All disaggregated assessment level allows the query of countries and land cover classes as well.

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The maps show the long-term average soil moisture contents (left) and the trends in soil moisture values (right), aggregated by NUTS3 regions. Soil moisture is equal to 0 when the soil is severely dry (wilting point) and equal to 1 when the soil moisture is above the field capacity. Low long-term average soil moisture values indicate areas where during the 2000-2019 period the soil moisture deficit was the biggest problem. Trends are expressed in standard deviation from the long term average. Negative trends indicate that soil moisture values show a decreasing tendency during the 2000-2019 period. Areas with lower soil moisture content together with decreasing tendency in the soil moisture are in risk of loosing their land functions of supplying ecosystem services. See also: https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/data-viewers/soil-moisture and Original dataset: https://edo.jrc.ec.europa.eu/documents/factsheets/factsheet_soilmoisture.pdf

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Monitoring the pressure from soil moisture deficits can warn of potential impacts on plant development and soil health, supporting the assessment of drought-tolerant, resilient and vulnerable ecosystems. In 2000-2019, soil moisture in the growing season was several times below the long-term average in the EEA member countries plus the United Kingdom. The largest soil moisture deficits occurred in 2003, 2017 and 2019, affecting over 1.45 million km 2 in 2019. Soil moisture content was also low in 2012, 2015 and 2018, contributing to increasingly frequent and intense drought pressure.

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The dataset consists of a collection of annual soil moisture (SM) anomalies during the vegetation growing season (GS) for the years 2000-2019 across EEA 38 area and the United Kingdom. The vegetation growing season is defined by EEA´s phenology data series "Vegetation growing season length 2000-2016" [https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/annual-above-ground-vegetation-season]. The anomalies are calculated based on the European Commission's Joint Research Centre European Drought Observatory (EDO) Soil Moisture Index (SMI) with respect to the 1995–2019 base period. The yearly start and end of GS periods are dynamic and calculated according to the EEA Phenology Indicators. A positive anomaly indicates that the observed SM was wetter than the long-term SM average for the base period, while a negative anomaly indicates that the observed SM was drier than the reference value. Because SM anomalies are measured in units of standard deviation from the long-term SMI average, they can be used to compare annual deficits/surplus of SM between geographic regions. EDO is one of the early warning and monitoring systems of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service. As the dataset builds on EDO's SMI, it therefore contains modified Copernicus Emergency Management Service information (2019).

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Monitoring soil moisture shortages is a precondition for managing drought adaptation and resilience of ecosystems, such as foreseen by the EU Nature restoration plan of the EU Biodiversity strategy 2030. This dashboard analyses 20 years (2000-2019) soil moisture content in Europe (EU27, EEA-38 and the UK). Soil moisture deficits, trends in soil moisture values and the area under pressure are presented by countries and land cover. Scroll down to the More information section for further details.

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The datasets below correspond to a new version of the Effective Mesh Density (seff) 2016 dataset with improved input data, for the years 2009, 2012 and 2015. This time-series uses the Copernicus Imperviousness and the TomTom TeleAtlas datasets as fragmenting geometries. The Effective Mesh Density (seff) is a measure of the degree to which movement between different parts of the landscape is interrupted by a Fragmentation Geometry (FG). FGs are defined as the presence of impervious surfaces and traffic infrastructure, including medium sized roads. The more FGs fragment the landscape, the higher the effective mesh density hence the higher the fragmentation. An important consequence of landscape fragmentation is the increased isolation of ecosystem patches that breaks the structural connections and decreases resilience and ability of habitats to provide various ecosystem services. Fragmentation also influences human communities, agriculture, recreation and overall quality of life. Monitoring how fragmentation decreases landscape quality and changes the visual perception of landscapes provides information for policy measures that aim at improving ecosystem condition and restoration as well as maintaining the attractiveness of landscapes for recreational activities. The geographic coverage of the datasets is EEA39.

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The European Union has embarked on ambitious plans to drastically reduce emissions and pollution over the coming decades. Part of this includes the recently launched Zero Pollution Action Plan which will focus on cutting air, water and soil pollution to levels no longer considered harmful to human health and the environment. We sat down with Ian Marnane, EEA environment, health and well-being expert working on an upcoming EEA report on Zero Pollution, which is expected to be published later this year.

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This interactive data viewer provides accounts of imperviousness, i.e. land surface sealing status in Europe (EEA39 and EU27+UK) for the year 2018. Sealing is measured by the high resolution (10m) dataset "Imperviousness "of the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service. The viewer facilitates the understanding and assessment of soil sealing, which can be queried by administrative region or the degree of urbanisation as well as by ecological units such as floodplains and coastal zones or protected areas. All disaggregated assessment level allows the query of countries and land cover classes as well.

Read more

The maps show the long-term average soil moisture contents (left) and the trends in soil moisture values (right), aggregated by NUTS3 regions. Soil moisture is equal to 0 when the soil is severely dry (wilting point) and equal to 1 when the soil moisture is above the field capacity. Low long-term average soil moisture values indicate areas where during the 2000-2019 period the soil moisture deficit was the biggest problem. Trends are expressed in standard deviation from the long term average. Negative trends indicate that soil moisture values show a decreasing tendency during the 2000-2019 period. Areas with lower soil moisture content together with decreasing tendency in the soil moisture are in risk of loosing their land functions of supplying ecosystem services. See also: https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/data-viewers/soil-moisture and Original dataset: https://edo.jrc.ec.europa.eu/documents/factsheets/factsheet_soilmoisture.pdf

Read more

Monitoring the pressure from soil moisture deficits can warn of potential impacts on plant development and soil health, supporting the assessment of drought-tolerant, resilient and vulnerable ecosystems. In 2000-2019, soil moisture in the growing season was several times below the long-term average in the EEA member countries plus the United Kingdom. The largest soil moisture deficits occurred in 2003, 2017 and 2019, affecting over 1.45 million km 2 in 2019. Soil moisture content was also low in 2012, 2015 and 2018, contributing to increasingly frequent and intense drought pressure.

Read more

The dataset consists of a collection of annual soil moisture (SM) anomalies during the vegetation growing season (GS) for the years 2000-2019 across EEA 38 area and the United Kingdom. The vegetation growing season is defined by EEA´s phenology data series "Vegetation growing season length 2000-2016" [https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/annual-above-ground-vegetation-season]. The anomalies are calculated based on the European Commission's Joint Research Centre European Drought Observatory (EDO) Soil Moisture Index (SMI) with respect to the 1995–2019 base period. The yearly start and end of GS periods are dynamic and calculated according to the EEA Phenology Indicators. A positive anomaly indicates that the observed SM was wetter than the long-term SM average for the base period, while a negative anomaly indicates that the observed SM was drier than the reference value. Because SM anomalies are measured in units of standard deviation from the long-term SMI average, they can be used to compare annual deficits/surplus of SM between geographic regions. EDO is one of the early warning and monitoring systems of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service. As the dataset builds on EDO's SMI, it therefore contains modified Copernicus Emergency Management Service information (2019).

Read more

What do many vineyards scattered across idyllic landscapes, industrial sites and landfills have in common? The presence of chemicals might be the answer. From heavy metals to organic pollutants and microplastics, the soil in which we grow our food and the land on which we build our homes might be contaminated with different pollutants. Contaminants are widespread and are accumulating in Europe’s land and soils. How can we tackle this problem?

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Monitoring soil moisture shortages is a precondition for managing drought adaptation and resilience of ecosystems, such as foreseen by the EU Nature restoration plan of the EU Biodiversity strategy 2030. This dashboard analyses 20 years (2000-2019) soil moisture content in Europe (EU27, EEA-38 and the UK). Soil moisture deficits, trends in soil moisture values and the area under pressure are presented by countries and land cover. Scroll down to the More information section for further details.

Read more

The datasets below correspond to a new version of the Effective Mesh Density (seff) 2016 dataset with improved input data, for the years 2009, 2012 and 2015. This time-series uses the Copernicus Imperviousness and the TomTom TeleAtlas datasets as fragmenting geometries. The Effective Mesh Density (seff) is a measure of the degree to which movement between different parts of the landscape is interrupted by a Fragmentation Geometry (FG). FGs are defined as the presence of impervious surfaces and traffic infrastructure, including medium sized roads. The more FGs fragment the landscape, the higher the effective mesh density hence the higher the fragmentation. An important consequence of landscape fragmentation is the increased isolation of ecosystem patches that breaks the structural connections and decreases resilience and ability of habitats to provide various ecosystem services. Fragmentation also influences human communities, agriculture, recreation and overall quality of life. Monitoring how fragmentation decreases landscape quality and changes the visual perception of landscapes provides information for policy measures that aim at improving ecosystem condition and restoration as well as maintaining the attractiveness of landscapes for recreational activities. The geographic coverage of the datasets is EEA39.

Read more