Soil Atlas 2024
As the climate crisis intensifies around the world, severe storms and flooding are becoming more frequent. Healthy soils can help buffer the effects of extreme weather. For that reason, soil protection is more important than ever. Yet, it is still neglected.
Healthy soils with a well-balanced pore structure act like a sponge, absorbing water and releasing it when needed. Soils also filter out pollutants, thereby maintaining and improving the quality of groundwater. Soil organisms such as fungi and bacteria break down certain pollutants and convert them into non-toxic compounds. Soils are best able to fulfil these functions when properly managed.
Without the ability of soil to store water, farming would be impossible. Around 80 percent of the world’s cultivated area is not artificially irrigated but relies on rainfall alone. The water storage capacity of the soil plays a vital role in farming because it enables crops to survive periods of drought. It is essential to protect the soil and practise sustainable agriculture so that as much rainfall as possible can percolate through the soil, making it available for plants. If soils are compacted by heavy machinery, less water can seep through, and heavy rains may result in localised flooding. Cover crops, such as clover and lupins, help to ensure that soil is not washed away in downpours and that less water evaporates in hot weather. In hilly areas, terraces – steps carved into the hillside – reduce surface runoff and help retain water on the land.
The Soil Atlas 2024 presents data and facts about the importance and condition of land, soils and arable land. In numerous graphics and text contributions, it provides a current insight into the condition of and threats to the soils on which we live.
Dense urban infrastructure may also prevent soil from acting as a water reservoir. When large areas of towns and cities are sealed by asphalt or concrete, rainwater must be channelled into drains, and heavy downpours can overwhelm the drainage system and cause flooding. Europe is the continent with the highest rate of such soil sealing. Between 1990 and 2006, the area of land in the European Union (EU) used for urban development increased by 1.5 million hectares, an area half the size of Belgium. If this trend continues, an area the size of Hungary will be sealed within 100 years.
In the face of the climate crisis, the importance of sustainable urban development is increasing. The city of Copenhagen has become a pioneer in this regard. In response to several severe flooding incidents over the last decade, the city has been transformed into what it terms a sponge city. A major part of this process has been the greening and unsealing of built-up and asphalted areas. Unsealed soils play an indispensable role in flood control. During heavy rains they absorb water, thus reducing the pressure on surrounding areas. In addition to sponge cities, sponge landscapes are also needed. Low-lying areas and wetlands, such as floodplains and peatlands, serve as natural flood defences and cool their vicinities through evaporation during heatwaves. But human activities have severely damaged them. In the EU, around half of all peatlands are now degraded, having in most cases been drained for agriculture, forestry, or peat extraction. Yet only 120,000 hectares, representing less than one percent of the total drained area, have so far been rewetted.
Legally binding targets for the sustainable use, protection and regeneration of soils are needed as vital water reservoirs. Farming, which accounts for more than 40 percent of land use in the EU, can play a key role. Funding from the Common Agricultural Policy could be used to incentivise the switch to soil-friendlier agriculture. In June 2024, the European Council adopted the Nature Restoration Law (NRL), which obliges Member States to restore Europe’s degraded landscapes. The law includes a target to restore at least 30 percent of their drained peatlands by 2030, and 50 percent by 2050, of which at least one third must be rewetted. Yet, the NRL includes an exemption for farmers and private landowners, for whom the rewetting of peatlands will be voluntary. Similarly, the targets for restoring agricultural ecosystems may be temporarily halted under exceptional circumstances if they are found to significantly reduce the land required for sufficient food production.
