Land Management & Natural Hazards Unit	SOIL
European Commission	Joint Research Centre	Institute for Environment and Sustainability		EU Soils Web Site
Soil Atlas of Europe

Scope of the Atlas

Soil is one of the fundamental components for supporting life on the planet.

Soil can be defined as a mixture of rock particles, organic matter, air and water that occupies the uppermost few metres of the Earth's crust.

Soil performs a number of key environmental, social and economic functions that are vital for life. Plants and crops are dependent on soil for the supply of water, nutrients and as a medium for growing. Soil stores, filters, buffers and transforms substances that are introduced into the environment. This capability is crucial in producing and protecting water supplies and for regulating greenhouse gases. Soil is a provider of raw materials. Soil is also an incredible habitat and gene pool -in excess of 5 tonnes of live organisms can exist in a hectare of arable soil. Soil is a fundamental component of our landscape and cultural heritage.

Simply put, without soil, the Earth and society as we know it, would not function. It is no coincidence that the word earth is used for both soil and the planet that we live on.

In order to perform its many functions, soil condition must be maintained. Yet, often the value of soil, a largely nonrenewable resource, is not always appreciated.

The famous scientist, Gallileo said, "What greater stupidity can be imagined than that of calling jewels, silver, and gold 'precious,' and earth and soil 'base'? People who do this ought to remember that if there were as great a scarcity of soil as of jewels or precious metals, there would not be a prince who would not spend a bushel of diamonds and rubies and a cartload of gold just to have enough earth to plant a jasmine in a little pot, or to sow an orange seed and watch it sprout, grow, and produce its handsome leaves, its fragrant flowers, and fine fruit."

Unfortunately, the careful use and management of soil has not been a high priority for many people. In fact, there is evidence that the thin layer of soil that we all depend on, in many areas of Europe and beyond, may be increasingly threatened by a range of human activities.

For this reason, the European Union has decided to protect soil in the same manner as water and air by developing a strategy to safeguard this vital resource. To this end, the European Commission, supported by the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament, has agreed to develop a Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection.

One of the primary aims of the Soil Atlas of Europe is to support the European Soil Thematic Strategy by providing comprehensive information about European soil and raising awareness of issues affecting soil. The approach adopted by the policy makers of Europe is to ensure that soil is used in a sustainable manner so that future generations may inherit a viable environment and, if possible, find it in an even better condition that it is at present.

Soil protection aspects exist in Community legislation in a scattered manner. Requirements aimed at preserving soil quality can be found in the Common Agricultural Policy, in different pieces of environmental legislation and in product legislation. So far there is not at EU level any instrument specifically addressing the protection of soil. In the 6th Environment Action Programme1 (EAP) among the priorities set for the conservation of biodiversity and natural resources, the Community took the commitment of addressing soil alongside water and air as an environmental media and as a non renewable resource to be preserved, hence taking the commitment of developing a Thematic Strategy for the protection of soil.

As a first step in this process, the Commission adopted on 16 April 2002 a Communication2 "Towards a Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection". This Communication highlighted the need to introduce, in a more systematic manner, soil protection aspects in other Community policies. It also identified the major threats to soil in the enlarged EU, i.e. erosion, organic matter decline, contamination, loss of biodiversity, salinisation, compaction, sealing, floods and landslides. The Communication was followed by a very wide and inclusive public consultation with Member States in 2003 and 2004, soil scientists, industry, environmental NGOs and other stakeholders in order to develop the basis of soil policy in the EU.

Taking into account the very local nature of soil and its huge variability, the Commission has always sought to ensure that the right level of intervention is reached for soil protection (some measures are better adopted at local, regional and national level, some at Community level), that any EU-wide action would have to reflect the soil variability and allow for sufficient flexibility to apply a customised approach for the different types of soils and that Community action would be based as far as possible on existing schemes. This approach, coupled with the results of the comprehensive public consultation, will be building blocks for the Thematic Strategy that the Commission envisages to propose by the end of 2005 in order to meet the challenge of establishing a long term soil protection policy to ensure a sustainable use of soil in the EU.

1Decision 1600/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 July 2002 laying down the Sixth Community Environment Action Programme, OJ L242, 22.07.02, p.1

Another goal of this atlas is to educate. Many people have no knowledge of soil nor the important roles that it plays. This atlas aims to explain and show, in a non technical manner, how soil is created, the properties of soil and their relevance to society, the different soil types that are found across Europe and how soil is classified and mapped. The core of the atlas is a striking series of maps illustrating the varying patterns of different soil types occurring across Europe. The maps show, for the first time, the distribution of the soil of Europe through a new soil classification scheme, the World Reference Base. The atlas also displays a series of maps showing the relevance of European soil types in a global context. The maps that make up this atlas are based on information provided by the European Soil Bureau Network: a collection of organisations from all the countries of Europe that are responsible for mapping and managing soils. The European Soil Bureau collaborates with the European Commission to provide relevant information to policy makers. The soil information is stored in digital or computerised form. This allows us to create maps using special computer programmes, known as geographic information systems.

As you will see in the following pages, subtle variations in landscapes, land use and geology can lead to local variations in soil types. The maps of the atlas show the broad regional patterns across Europe of the major soil groups that are generally characteristic of that area. The atlas concludes with an examination of the major threats to soil across Europe. The goal of the European environmental policy is to reduce the pressure of these threats on soil. Although the text has been written in English, the atlas aims to show the diversity and richness of soil across all Europe. If you are interested in discovering more about soil in the other languages of Europe, please consult the Bibliography Section at the back of the atlas. After reading this atlas, we hope that the content helps you to understand better how the product of the complex interactions between climate, geology, vegetation, biological activity, time and land use leads to the creation of the valuable resource we call Soil.

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