2024 State of Soils in Europe report shows alarming trends of soil degradation in the EU and EEA

Nutrient imbalances are estimated to affect 74% of agricultural land. Nitrogen surplus is increasing and potentially harmful to human health, crops, ecosystems, and the climate. Meanwhile, soil organic carbon, essential to keeping soil healthy, is decreasing in agricultural areas. An estimated 70 million tonnes of this organic carbon were lost from the mineral soils of croplands across the EU and UK between 2009 and 2018.

The report, jointly prepared by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre and the European Environment Agency highlights the need for immediate action to reverse these and other harmful trends.

EASAC's Report on Regenerative Agriculture highlights farming principles and practices that maintain agricultural productivity, increase biodiversity, enrich soils, restore watersheds, and enhance ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration.

As the European Parliament's Environment Committee has just decided to start interinstitutional negotiations on a new Directive on Soil Monitoring and Resilience, we hope the two scientific publications provide some inspiration.