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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?
Soil contamination is an issue that is strongly linked to our common past and part of the story of how Europe first became the industrial and later the environmental frontrunner in the world. We talked to Mark Kibblewhite, Emeritus Professor at Cranfield University, United Kingdom, and one of Europe’s leading soil experts, to better understand the issue of soil contamination.
Known as Europe’s eyes on Earth, the EU’s Earth observation and monitoring programme, Copernicus, is revolutionising the way we understand and plan for the more sustainable use of our valuable land and soil resources. From urban planning, transport routes and green spaces to precision farming and forest management, Copernicus provides detailed and timely land monitoring information to support decision-making.
Most of the food we eat is produced on land and in soil. What we eat and how we produce it have changed significantly in the last century along with the European landscape and society. The intensification of agriculture has enabled Europe to produce more food and at more affordable prices but at the expense of the environment and traditional farming. It is now time to rethink our relationship with the food we put on our plates and with the land and communities that produce it.
Climate change has a major impact on soil, and changes in land use and soil can either accelerate or slow down climate change. Without healthier soils and a sustainable land and soil management, we cannot tackle the climate crisis, produce enough food and adapt to a changing climate. The answer might lie in preserving and restoring key ecosystems and letting nature capture carbon from the atmosphere.
Europe’s landscape is changing. Cities and their infrastructures are expanding into productive agricultural land, cutting the landscape into smaller patches, affecting wildlife and ecosystems. In addition to landscape fragmentation, soil and land face a number of other threats: contamination, erosion, compaction, sealing, degradation and even abandonment. What if we could recycle the land already taken by cities and urban infrastructure instead of taking agricultural land?
Who owns land and its resources? Who decides how they can be used? In some cases, land is private property, which can be bought and sold, and exclusively used by its owners. Often its use is governed by national or local regulations, for example to maintain forest areas. In other cases, some areas are designated for public use only. But land is not only space or a territory. When we all use land and rely on its resources, sustainable management requires owners, regulators and users from local to global level to work together.
Soil is much more than inanimate sand and silt. It is full of life, from microscopic organisms to larger mammals, all interacting in an equally rich number of microhabitats. Their interactions provide us with food and fibre, clean water, clean air and industrial processes free of synthetic chemicals, and can even provide a cure for many diseases. We talked to Dr David Russell of Senckenberg Museum of Natural History, Germany, about soil biodiversity and what it means for our planet.
We cannot live without healthy land and soil. It is on land that we produce most of our food and we build our homes. For all species — animals and plants living on land or water — land is vital.
Land and soil are essential for natural systems and human society, but human activities threaten the functioning of the overall land resource, including soil. Why is this happening? What is Europe doing to prevent it? 2015 is the International Year of Soils, so we put these questions to Geertrui Louwagie, project manager for soil assessments and reporting at the European Environment Agency.
Over the last decades, continuous urban expansion at rates much higher than population growth has resulted in a massive urban footprint on Europe – fragmenting rural space, blocking ecosystem services and increasing the demand for transport and energy.
Soil is the earth's living skin and provides us with essential services for life in our planet: production of food; infiltration and cleansing of water and protection against flooding; habitat for plants; areas for recreation and mental health; micro climate regulation, etc. It is such a crucial resource that it can't be ignored. However, particularly in urban areas, soil is being sealed off with increasing housing and infrastructure.
For references, please go to https://eea.europa.eu./themes/soil/articles/articles_topic or scan the QR code.
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