A proposal for soil health indicators at EU-level : report on indicator framework available through the EU Soil Observatory.
Date: 2024-11-26
Institutions: Joint Research Centre
Subjects: EU environmental policy, EU strategy, environmental indicator, erosion, research report, soil analysis, soil pollution, soil protection, soil resources

ISSN 1831-9424 

A proposal for soil health indicators at EU-
level 

Report on indicator framework available through the EU Soil Observatory 

Broothaerts, N., Panagos, P., Jones, A. 

2024 

 EUR 40110 

 
  
This document is a publication by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commission’s science and knowledge 
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Contact information 
Name: Arwyn Jones 
Address: European Commission Joint Research Centre, Sustainable Resources, Via Fermi 2749, 21027 Ispra (VA), Italy 
Email: Arwyn.jones@ec.europa.eu 
Tel.: +39 0332 789162 

EU Science Hub 
https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu  

JRC138417 

EUR 40110 

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ISBN 978-92-68-22020-7   ISSN 1831-9424   doi:10.2760/8953204  

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How to cite this report: European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Broothaerts, N., Panagos, P. and Jones, A., A proposal for soil health 
indicators at EU-level, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2024, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2760/8953204, 
JRC138417. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Contents 

Abstract ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 

Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................................................................. 3 

1  Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 

2  Material and methods ................................................................................................................................................................. 5 

2.1  Soil health, soil health indicators and thresholds ............................................................................................. 5 

2.2  EUSO Soil Degradation Dashboard ............................................................................................................................ 6 

2.3  Interaction with Mission Soil projects ...................................................................................................................... 6 

3  Results .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 8 

3.1  Proposed list of soil health indicators and thresholds ................................................................................... 8 

3.2  EUSO Soil Degradation Dashboard ......................................................................................................................... 11 

3.3  Results from the Dashboard and the proposed indicators ....................................................................... 13 

3.3.1  Soil erosion ............................................................................................................................................................. 15 

3.3.2  Soil pollution .......................................................................................................................................................... 17 

3.3.3  Soil nutrients ......................................................................................................................................................... 19 

3.3.4  Other soil degradation indicators .............................................................................................................. 20 

4  Discussion and planned updates ........................................................................................................................................ 24 

5  Conclusions ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 26 

References ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 27 

List of abbreviations and definitions ...................................................................................................................................... 30 

List of figures ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 31 

List of tables ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 32 

1 

 
 
Abstract  

Healthy soils are essential for our environment and society, as soils deliver crucial ecosystem 
services. The publication of the EU Soil Strategy for 2030 and the Soil Monitoring Law marked 
major milestones for soil protection and restoration in the EU. In parallel, the Mission Soil aims to 
advance knowledge on healthy soils and establish 100 Living Labs and Lighthouses to co-create 
innovations for soil health. Contributing to a better EU soil health monitoring and a complete set of 
indicators at the EU-level are crucial components of the Mission Soil’s objectives. This report 
proposes a list of indicators for soil health in the EU, together with targets and thresholds for these 
indicators. Nineteen indicators are presented, representing the main soil degradation processes and 
monitoring the state of soil health at EU scale. The EUSO Soil Degradation Dashboard is proposed 
as the main platform for presenting these indicators, together with key results and statistics. The 
dashboards shows that, based on the proposed indicators, more than 60% of EU soils are currently 
unhealthy. Planned updates on the proposed indicator framework include: (i) refining, updating and 
adding new datasets for indicators, (ii) refining thresholds for the indicators, and (iii) developing a 
composite Soil Health Index. For these planned activities, close collaboration with the Mission Soil 
projects will be crucial. 

2 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Acknowledgements  

This work was realised under the Administrative Arrangement JRC No 36283-2022 [AGRI-2022-
0253, RTD LC-1158189]: Provision of scientific and technical support to DG AGRI and RTD in 
relation to the implementation of the soil monitoring tasks of Horizon Europe Mission “A Soil Deal 
for Europe”. The authors are thankful to the entire EUSO-team for the collaboration and interaction 
on the indicator framework. 

Authors 

Broothaerts, N.; Panagos, P.; Jones, A. 

3 

 
1 

Introduction  

Healthy soils are essential for our environment, economy and society, as soils deliver crucial 
ecosystem services. For example, soils help to prevent droughts and floods, mitigate climate change 
and ensure clean freshwater and food security. The European Green Deal has highlighted these vital 
aspects of healthy soils. Sustainable land management and healthy soils are vital in achieving some 
of the European Green Deal targets, such as sustainable farming and forestry, biodiversity, zero-
pollution and climate resilience. Also the publication of the EU Soil Strategy for 2030 and the 
Directive on Soil Monitoring and Resilience (Soil Monitoring Law, SML) marked major milestones for 
soil protection and restoration in the EU. The EU Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe” (Mission Soil) 
supports the EU ambitions on soil health and sustainable land management. The Mission Soil aims 
to establish 100 Living Labs and Lighthouses to co-create, test and pioneer innovations for soil 
health, next to advancing knowledge on healthy soils. In addition, establishing a soil health 
monitoring framework is a crucial component of the Mission Soil. For this, a systematic and 
harmonised soil health monitoring framework at the scale of the EU is needed, as well as a 
complete set of measurable indicators that reflect the state of soil health in the EU. To be able to 
monitor soil health, to know where and to which extent remediation and restoration actions are 
needed, and how effective such actions are, it is essential to have a robust set of soil health 
indicators. Moreover, expected ranges to help to benchmark soil health for such a set of indicators 
are needed. 

Given this context, the EU Soil Observatory (EUSO) has an important role as the principal provider of 
soil-related data and knowledge at the EU-level. The EUSO is hosted within the Joint Research 
Centre (JRC) of the European Commission. The EUSO is a dynamic and inclusive platform that 
supports EU policymaking related to soils. EUSO provides the relevant Commission Services and the 
broader soil user community with the knowledge and data flows needed to monitor, safeguard and 
restore soils at the EU-level. This also includes supporting the Mission Soil Secretariat in relation to 
the monitoring activities set out in the Mission Soil Implementation Plan. Through it Soil 
Degradation Dashboard, EUSO provides a set of soil health indicators at the EU-level.  

This report aims to propose a list of indicators for soil health in the EU. Secondly, this report aims to 
suggest targets and thresholds for these indicators, and to identify expected ranges for soil health 
benchmarking.   

4 

 
 
 
 
 
2  Material and methods 

2.1  Soil health, soil health indicators and thresholds 

In this report, soil health is defined as “the continued capacity of soils to support ecosystem 
services”, following the definition used in the Mission Soil Implementation Plan1. It matches the 
definition in the proposal for a Directive on Soil Monitoring and Resilience (Soil Monitoring Law)2, in 
which soil health is defined as “the physical, chemical and biological condition of the soil 
determining its capacity to function as a vital living system and to provide ecosystem services”. 

To capture and monitor the state of soil health, measurable and well defined indicators are needed. 
In this report, indicators for soil health at the EU-level were selected based on the following criteria:   

—  First, the main soil degradation processes and associated indicators described in literature were 
selected. This literature review also included reports on soil health indicators by Mission Soil 
projects.  

—  Second, for each of the Specific Objectives and Indicators of the Mission Soil Implementation 

Plan (Fig 1), indicators were selected. 

—  The third criterion for selecting indicators was data availability. Indicators were only selected if 

EU-wide geospatial data were available for that indicator.  

—  Fourth, the goal was to provide a comprehensive assessment of soil health by including as 

many indicators as possible, capturing both soil conditions and degradation processes acting on 
them. 

—  However, and this is the fifth criterion, only one indicator for each soil degradation process was 

retained, to avoid overlap among the indicators and double counting in the soil health 
assessment.  

Next, thresholds were defined for each indicator to determine whether soils can be considered 
healthy or unhealthy. Thresholds were defined based on evidence described in scientific literature. 
The thresholds are considered as an estimate of the point beyond which soils can be considered as 
significantly affected by a certain degradation process. In this report, EU-wide thresholds were set 
for each of the selected indicators, for simplicity and easy interpretation at EU-scale.  

If any indicator reaches the threshold, the soil is classified as unhealthy. This principle of ‘one out all 
out’, means that if only one indicator is classified as unhealthy, the respective soil site is classified 
as unhealthy. In other words, a failure to meet any of the criteria, would result in an unhealthy 
status.  

1 https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/knowledge-publications-tools-and-data/publications/all-

publications/implementation-plans-eu-missions_en  

2 https://environment.ec.europa.eu/publications/proposal-directive-soil-monitoring-and-resilience_en  

5 

 
 
 
Figure 1. The Specific Objectives (bottom) and Indicators (right) of the Mission Soil Implementation Plan. 

Source: Mission Soil Implementation Plan and Panagos et al. (2024b). 

2.2  EUSO Soil Degradation Dashboard 

All indicators selected in this report, together with their respective thresholds, are included and 
presented in the EUSO Soil Degradation Dashboard. This dashboard is the main platform for 
presenting and updating the indicators, and showing them to the wider soil community, including 
researchers, policy makers and land managers, as well as the interested public.  

The dashboard is a dynamic platform. When new datasets become available that fulfil all criteria, 
these datasets will be added and the dashboard will be updated. As such, the assessment of the 
state of soil health in the EU will be updated regularly in the coming years, according to the 
availability of new data (e.g. from Mission Soil projects) and with the implementation of EU and 
national soil policies (particularly the proposed Soil Monitoring Law). 

The technical creation of the EUSO Dashboard included masking all geo-spatial input layers of the 
individual indicators. All sealed areas and non-relevant areas (e.g., bare rocks, glaciers and water 
bodies) were excluded. As soil sealing mask, the Copernicus Impervious Built-up 2018 layer at 100 
m resolution was used. As mask to exclude non-relevant areas, the following Corine Land Cover 
(CLC) 2018 categories were used: CLC 332 Bare rocks, CLC 335 Glaciers and perpetual snow, and 
CLC 511 512 521 522 523 Water bodies.  

2.3  Interaction with Mission Soil projects 

EUSO works in collaboration with the Mission Soil projects, including the projects selected under 
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-02 (i.e. BENCHMARKS and AI4SoilHealth). These collaborations and 
interactions will result in further development and refining of indicators for soil health. The 
interactions with these Mission Soil projects include: (i) regular bilateral meetings, (ii) interactions 
and presentations during the EUSO Stakeholders Forum and EUSO Working Groups, and (iii) 
coordination of the Mission Soil Cluster on Indicators and Monitoring. The latter will result in 
completing and refining the work on indicators; identifying new indicators or measurement 

6 

 
 
methods; identifying knowledge gaps; and elaborating a roadmap for the further development of 
indicators and soil health monitoring.  

7 

 
 
3  Results  

3.1  Proposed list of soil health indicators and thresholds  

19 indicators were selected to represent the main soil degradation processes and to capture and 
monitor the state of soil health at EU scale (Table 1). These indicators match the main soil 
degradation processes and indicators described in scientific literature (e.g. Bünemann et al., 2018; 
Stolte et al., 2015). All 19 indicators are included and presented in the EUSO Soil Degradation 
Dashboard.   

For each of these indicators, thresholds were defined to determine whether soils could considered 
healthy or unhealthy. Thresholds were defined based on scientific evidence described in scientific 
literature (Table 1). EU-wide thresholds were set for each of the selected indicator. Given the wide 
range of soil types, ecosystems and climate regions, such EU-wide thresholds can result in large 
uncertainties and incorrect assessments of soil health. However, these EU-wide thresholds were 
chosen since not for each indicator locally based thresholds are available in literature. Moreover, 
using EU-wide thresholds are easier to interpret at EU-scale. 

The proposed 19 indicators cover very well the indicators included in the Mission Soil 
Implementation Plan (Table 2). Only for Vegetation cover, Landscape heterogeneity and Area of 
forest, no indicators are currently selected. The first seven Specific Objectives included in the 
Mission Soil Implementation Plan are covered by the list of proposed indicators (Table 1 and 
Figure 1). 

Similarly, the proposed 19 indicators cover the proposed descriptors of the Soil Monitoring Law 
(Table 3).  

With these 19 indicators, this report presents the latest state-of-the-art of indicators on soil health, 
for which published EU-wide geo-spatial data are available. However, this list does not yet cover 
every descriptor of the SML (Table 3) or indicator of the Mission Soil Implementation Plan (Table 
2), as not for each indicator such datasets are available. Filling these gaps is planned in the 
upcoming years (for more details on the planned activities, see section 4).  

8 

 
 
 
 
 
Table 1. Soil degradation indicators included in this report and in the EUSO Soil Degradation Dashboard, and their respective thresholds, data sources and links to the 
Mission Soil Implementation plan. 

Indicator 

Threshold 

Reference 

Groups of soil degrada-
tion processes 
Soil erosion 

Soil pollution 

Soil nutrients 

Loss of SOC 

Loss of soil bio-diversity 

Soil compaction 

Salinization 

Water erosion 

Wind erosion 

Tillage erosion 

Harvest erosion 

Post fire recovery 

Copper excess 

Mercury excess 

Zinc excess 

Cadmium excess 

Arsenic excess 

Nitrogen surplus 

Phosphorus deficiency 

Phosphorus excess 

Distance to max SOC 
level 
Potential threat to bio-
logical functions 
Packing density 

Erosion rate > 2 tonnes ha-1 yr-1 
Erosion rate > 2 tonnes ha-1 yr-1 
Erosion rate > 2 tonnes ha-1 yr-1 
Erosion rate > 2 tonnes ha-1 yr-1 
Recovery rate < 1 
Cu concentration > 100 mg kg-1  
Hg concentration > 0.5 mg kg-1 
Zn concentration > 100 mg kg-1 
Cd concentration > 1 mg kg-1 
P(X > 45 mg kg⁻¹) > 5% 

Agricultural areas where N surplus > 
50 kg ha-1 yr-1 
P deficiency < 20 mg kg-1 
P excess > 50 mg kg-1 
Distance to max SOC level > 60% 

Link to Mission Soil 
Objectives (see Fig 1) 
1, 5 and 6 

Link to Mission Soil Indi-
cators (see Fig 1) 
Soil structure and absence 
of soil sealing and erosion 

Panagos et al., 2020 

Borrelli et al., 2017 

Borrelli et al., 2023 

Panagos et al., 2019 

Vieira et al., 2023 

Ballabio et al., 2018 

1 and 4 

Ballabio et al., 2021 

Van Eynde et al., 2023 

Ballabio et al., 2024 

Fendrich et al:, 2024 

Grizzetti et al., 2022; 
Lugato et al., 2018 

Ballabio et al., 2019 

Ballabio et al., 2019 

1 

Presence of soil pollu-
tants, excess nutrients 
and salts 

Soil nutrients and acidity; 
Presence of soil pollu-
tants, excess nutrients 
and salts 

De Rosa et al., 2024 

1 and 2 

Soil organic carbon stock 

≥ Moderately-High level of risk 

Orgiazzi et al., 2016 

1 and 6 

Soil biodiversity 

Packing density ≥ 1.75 g cm-3 

Panagos et al., 2024b 

1 and 6 

Secondary salinization 
risk 

Areas in Mediterranean region where 
>30% is equipped for irrigation 

Siebert et al., 2013 

1 and 4 

Loss of organic soils 

Peatland degradation risk  Peatlands under hotspots of cropland  UNEP, 2022 

1 and 2 

Soil sealing 

Built-up areas 

No threshold applied (all built-up ar-
eas) 

Copernicus, 2018 

3 

Source: JRC analysis.

9 

Soil structure and absence 
of soil sealing and erosion 
Presence of soil pollu-
tants, excess nutrients 
and salts 
Soil organic carbon stock 

Soil structure and absence 
of soil sealing and erosion 

 
Table 2. Mission Soil indicators, as included in the Mission Soil Implementation Plan, and the corresponding 
indicators presented in this report and in the EUSO Soil Degradation Dashboard.  

Mission Soil indicators 

Indicators included in EUSO Dashboard 

Presence of soil pollutants, excess nutri-
ents and salts 

Copper excess 
Mercury excess 

Zinc excess 
Cadmium excess 
Arsenic excess 
Nitrogen surplus 
Phosphorus excess 
Secondary salinization risk 
Distance to max SOC level 

Peatland degradation risk 
Water erosion 
Wind erosion 
Tillage erosion 
Harvest erosion 
Post fire recovery 

Packing density 
Built-up areas 
Potential threat to biological functions 
Nitrogen surplus 
Phosphorus deficiency 
Phosphorus excess 

not yet included in the dashboard 
not yet included in the dashboard 
not yet included in the dashboard 

Soil organic carbon stock 

Soil structure including bulk density and 
the absence of soil sealing and erosion 

Soil biodiversity 
Soil nutrients and acidity 

Vegetation cover 

Landscape heterogeneity 
Area of forests 

Source: JRC analysis.  

10 

 
 
Table 3. Soil degradation aspects and soil descriptors, as included in the proposed Soil Monitoring Law (SML), 
and the corresponding indicators presented in this report and in the EUSO Soil Degradation Dashboard. 

Soil degradation aspect 
(SML) 
Salinization 
Soil erosion 

Electrical Conductivity 
Soil erosion rate 

Soil descriptor (SML) 

Indicator in EUSO Dashboard 

Secondary salinization risk 
Water erosion 
Wind erosion 
Tillage erosion 
Harvest erosion 

Post fire recovery 
Distance to max SOC level 
Peatland degradation risk 
not yet included in the dashboard 
Phosphorous excess 
Copper excess 

Mercury excess 
Zinc excess 
Cadmium excess 
Arsenic excess 
not yet included in the dashboard 

Loss of soil organic carbon 

Soil Organic Carbon concentration 

Subsoil compaction 

Bulk density in subsoil 

Excess nutrient content in soil 
Soil contamination 

Extractable phosphorus 
Concentration of heavy metals in soil 

Concentration of a selection of or-
ganic contaminants 

Reduction of soil capacity to 
retain water 

Soil water holding capacity of the soil 
sample 

not yet included in the dashboard 

Excess nutrient content in soil  Nitrogen in soil 
Soil acidity (pH) 
Acidification 
Bulk density in topsoil 
Topsoil compaction 
Soil basal respiration 
Loss of soil biodiversity 
Total artificial land 
Land take and soil sealing 
Soil sealing 

Land take, Reverse land take, Net 
land take 

Source: JRC analysis. 

3.2  EUSO Soil Degradation Dashboard 

Nitrogen surplus 
not yet included in the dashboard 
Packing density 
Potential threat to biological functions 
Built-up areas 
Built-up areas 

not yet included in the dashboard 

The EUSO Soil Degradation Dashboard aims to be the main platform for gathering and 
disseminating indicators regarding soil health at EU-level, to provide a spatial visualisation of these 
data, and to suggest thresholds for unhealthiness. All 19 indicators presented in this report (Table 
1), are included in the EUSO Soil DegradationDashboard, and are there visualised in a 
comprehensive way. The dashboard was launched in March 2023, and recently updated in June 
2024.  

The EUSO Soil Degradation Dashboard consists of four key features: 

11 

 
—  Convergence of evidence map: the convergence of evidence map shows areas that are likely 

affected by soil degradation processes, as indicated by scientific evidence (Figure 2). A 
threshold value (Table 1) is used for each process, to estimate when soils can be considered 
unhealthy or healthy (i.e. respectively affected and not affected by the soil degradation 
process). For each pixel, the map indicates the number of soil degradation processes likely to be 
present. Although the map is subject to a degree of uncertainty and underlying assumptions, it 
provides, for the first time, an indication of where unhealthy soils may be located in the EU. The 
convergence of evidence map can be downloaded through the ESDAC-platform, as a multi-band 
layer with 20 bands (1 per soil degradation indicator plus the sum-up of all indicators). 

Figure 2. EUSO Soil Degradation Dashboard and its convergence of evidence map (indicating the number of 
soil degradation processes likely to be present) and speedometer (indicating the proportion of land likely to be 
affected by one or more soil degradation processes or by soil sealing in the EU) (Panagos et al., 2024a). 

Source: Panagos et al. (2024a). 

12 

 
 
—  Speedometer: the speedometer indicates the proportion of land likely to be affected by one or 
more soil degradation processes or by soil sealing in the EU. It is based on the convergence of 
evidence map. Results show that, based on the current available datasets, more than 60% of 
EU soils are likely to be affected by one or more soil degradation processes or by soil sealing 
and are thus considered unhealthy (Figure 2).  

—  Dependency wheel: the dependency wheel shows the extent of the overlapping area between 

groups of soil degradation processes of the convergence of evidence map. This diagram 
provides insights in the type and magnitude of soil degradation combinations occurring in the 
EU. 

—  Soil degradation indicators: for each individual soil degradation process, statistics and maps 
are presented through an interactive display where users can select the process and scale. 
Statistics and maps are available at national (NUTS 0) and regional level (NUTS 2). 

3.3  Results from the Dashboard and the proposed indicators 

Results from the EUSO Soil Degradation Dashboard show that more than 60 % of the EU soils are 
unhealthy (Figure 2). The dashboard also clearly shows that most unhealthy soils are subject to 
more than one type of soil degradation. The most prevalent types of soil degradation (Table 4) are 
the loss of soil biodiversity (33% of the EU, Figure 7), soil erosion by water (19% of the EU; Figure 
4), and the loss of soil organic carbon (14% of the EU; Figure 6). For some of the indicators, 
available datasets only cover a small fraction of the EU (e.g. post-fire recovery and peatland 
degradation risk), or only cover arable areas (e.g. tillage and harvest erosion) (Table 4). When 
looking only at the area for which data are available, the highest proportion of unhealthy soils are 
post-fire recovery (75% of the area with data), loss of soil organic carbon (53% of the area with 
data), and the loss of soil biodiversity (37% of the area with data) (Table 4).   

13 

 
 
 
Table 4. Data coverage and percentage (%) of healthy and unhealthy soils for each indicator. (1) Percentage of (un)healthy soils for area with data. (2) Percentage of the 
EU land and land cover classes covered by the data (percentages may differ due to different definitions of the land cover classes in the original studies). (3) Percentage 
of (un)healthy soils in the entire EU. 

Indicator 

% of (un)healthy soils 
for area with data 

Area covered by the data 

% of (un)healthy soils in the    
entire EU 

healthy 

unhealthy 

% of the EU covered 

Land cover classes covered by the data 

healthy 

unhealthy 

no data 

Water erosion 
Wind erosion 
Tillage erosion 
Harvest erosion 
Post fire recovery 
Copper excess 
Mercury excess 
Zinc excess 
Cadmium excess 
Arsenic excess 
Nitrogen surplus 
Phosphorus deficiency 
Phosphorus excess 
Distance to max SOC level 
Loss of soil biodiversity 
Packing density 
Secondary salinization risk 
Peatland degradation risk 
Soil sealing 

Source: JRC analysis. 

77 
94 
74 
97 
25 
98 
99 
99 
95 
99 
78 
79 
90 
47 
63 
98 
93 
70 
93 

23 
6 
26 
3 
75 
2 
1 
1 
5 
1 
22 
21 
10 
53 
37 
2 
7 
30 
7 

84 
23 
23 
23 
0.6 
87 
87 
87 
87 
87 
32 
40 
40 
26 
88 
87 
20 
7 
100 

EU land excl sealed and non-relevant areas 
EU arable land 
EU arable land 
EU arable land 
EU burned areas in 2017 
EU land excl sealed and non-relevant areas 
EU land excl sealed and non-relevant areas 
EU land excl sealed and non-relevant areas 
EU land excl sealed and non-relevant areas 
EU land excl sealed and non-relevant areas 
EU agricultural land 
EU agricultural land 
EU agricultural land 
EU arable land and permanent crops 
EU land excl sealed and non-relevant areas 
EU land excl sealed and non-relevant areas 
Mediterranean biogeographical region 
EU peatland areas 
EU land 

65 
22 
17 
22 
0.2 
85 
86 
86 
83 
86 
25 
32 
36 
12 
55 
85 
19 
5 
93 

19 
1 
6 
1 
0.5 
2 
1 
1 
4 
1 
7 
8 
4 
14 
33 
2 
1 
2 
7 

16 
77 
77 
77 
99.4 
13 
13 
13 
13 
13 
68 
60 
60 
74 
12 
13 
80 
93 
0 

14 

 
 
3.3.1  Soil erosion  

Soil erosion indicators included in the EUSO Soil Degradation Dashboard cover water, wind, tillage 
and harvest erosion and post-fire erosion. Soil erosion rates higher than 2 ton ha-1 yr-1 are 
considered unsustainable and thus unhealthy, as it exceeds average soil formation rates in Europe 
(0.3 – 1.4 ton ha-1 yr-1 (Verheijen et al., 2009)). In the dashboard, a convergence of evidence map 
showing all the erosion indicators can be selected (5 indicators and soil sealing) (Figure 3). 

In addition, for the individual soil erosion indicators, users can select different thresholds and can 
change the map and statistics accordingly. As such, the users can select thresholds that are 
applicable for their specific situation. The thresholds that can be selected are: 1 ton ha-1 yr-1 
(precautionary principle), 2 ton ha-1 yr-1 (default threshold, used in the convergence of evidence 
map), 5 ton ha-1 yr-1 (high erosion rates), and 10 ton ha-1 yr-1 (severe erosion).    

Figure 3. Cut-out of the convergence of evidence map showing the number of unhealthy soil erosion 
indicators.  

Soil erosion by water 

Source: JRC analysis. 

The EUSO dashboard uses a soil erosion model of Panagos et al. (2020), estimating the soil loss by 
water erosion for the year 2016 on all erodible lands in the EU. Erodible land includes agricultural, 
forests, grasslands, and shrubland. The model takes into account all factors controlling water 
erosion, such as soil erodibility, rainfall characteristics, topography, soil coverage by vegetation and 
soil management. The model results presented in the dashboard show that ca 23 % of the relevant 
EU land has erosion rates higher than the threshold (2 ton ha-1 yr-1), and are consequently 
considered unhealthy (Figure 4). 

15 

 
 
Figure 4. Map of the water erosion indicator, on which the threshold of 2 ton ha-1 yr-1 is applied.  

Soil erosion by wind 

Source: JRC analysis. 

Wind erosion depends on a range of factors including climate (e.g. speed of wind, soil dryness), the 
resistance of soil to wind erosion, soil roughness and vegetation cover. The EUSO dashboard uses a 
spatially distributed model of Borrelli et al. (2017) combining these factors. The model estimates 
the average annual soil loss rate due to wind erosion on arable land of the EU. 6 % of the EU arable 
land is considered unhealthy, i.e. having an erosion rate higher than 2 ton ha-1 yr-1. 

Tillage erosion 

Tillage erosion is a soil erosion process occurring in cultivated fields due to downhill movement of 
soil during tillage operations. The indicator used in the EUSO Dashboard consists of modelling 
results of Borrelli et al. (2023). This model takes into account the erosivity of tillage operations 
(how much soil displacement is caused by tillage) and the erodibility of the cultivated landscape (its 
susceptibility to be eroded, mainly depending on topography). Results show the average annual soil 
loss due to tillage erosion on EU arable land. 26 % of the EU arable land suffers from unsustainable 
tillage erosion (higher than 2 ton ha-1 yr-1) and are consequently considered as unhealthy.    

Harvest erosion 

Harvest erosion, or soil loss due to crop harvesting, is the loss of soil adherent to crops and of soil 
and rock fragments that are removed from the field during harvest. This degradation process is 
particularly marked for root and tuber crops, such as sugar beets and potatoes. The indicator used 
in the EUSO dashboard is based on an estimation of harvest erosion by Panagos et al. (2019), 
taking into account the occurrence of sugar beet and potato crops in the EU, the soil texture in 
which they are grown, and harvest erosion rates for these crops. Results show that ca. 3% of the EU 
arable land suffer from unsustainable erosion rates due to crop harvesting (higher than 2 ton ha-1 

16 

 
 
yr-1) and are considered unhealthy. During the period 2000-2016, harvest erosion is estimated to 
account for a soil loss of 14.7 million tons yr-1 on EU arable land (Panagos et al., 2019).  

Post-fire soil erosion 

Wildfires greatly impact topsoil physic-chemical characteristics. Moreover, burned soils have an 
increased risk for runoff and soil erosion. The indicator included in the EUSO dashboard that 
accounts for this post-fire erosion risk is based on the post-fire soil recovery indicator of Vieira et 
al. (2023). This indicator identifies a soil surface area in which vegetation cover is still bellow (i.e. 
not recovered) the pre-fire conditions from the latest wildfire, for all EU burned areas in 2017. Soils 
in this condition, having a post-fire recovery index below 1, are considered unhealthy. Currently, 75 
% of all EU burned areas in 2017 are in an unhealthy state.     

3.3.2  Soil pollution  

Soil pollution indicators included in the EUSO Soil Degradation Dashboard includes excess of copper, 
mercury, zinc, cadmium and arsenic. In the dashboard, a convergence of evidence map showing all 
the soil pollution indicators can be selected (5 indicators and soil sealing) (Figure 5). 

Figure 5. Cut-out of the convergence of evidence map showing the number of unhealthy soil pollution 
indicators. 

Copper excess 

Source: JRC analysis. 

Copper (Cu) is a micronutrient essential for plant growth, but in high concentrations it can create a 
potential risk to human health and soil functions. The copper concentration in soils depends on the 
complex interaction between climate, parent material, soil properties and external inputs from 
agriculture (e.g. fungicides) or industrial processes. The indicator included in the EUSO dashboard is 
based on a regression model of Ballabio et al. (2023) based on LUCAS topsoil survey data. The 
presented indicator shows Copper concentrations for all land cover types in the EU. The threshold to 
identify unhealthy soils was set at 100 mg kg-1. This threshold is used in Finnish and Swedish 
legislations (Ministry of the environment - Finland, 2007), and proposed by scientific studies 

17 

 
 
(Adriano, 2001; Baize, 1997). There is however no common agreement on copper threshold values 
for the definition of risk in the EU. In the dashboard itself, a lower threshold was used (50 mg kg-1) 
to replicate the proportion of LUCAS soil samples found to have high metal content. The spatial 
interpolation of maps tends to smooth outliers. The threshold of 50 mg kg-1 is also the lowest limit 
value for copper concentration in soil set in the EU Sewage Sludge Directive3. Currently, 2% of the 
EU soils have a concentration higher than the threshold, and thus are considered unhealthy. High 
copper concentrations have been measured mainly in vineyards and olive groves (Ballabio et al., 
2018). 

Mercury excess 

Mercury (Hg) is a toxic metal that can pose a significant risk to human health. Sources of mercury in 
soils can be natural (such as weathering of rocks) and anthropogenic (mining, coal combustion and 
metal industry activities). The indicator included in the EUSO dashboard is based on Deep Neural 
Network learning models using LUCAS topsoil samples (Ballabio et al., 2021). The presented 
indicator shows mercury concentrations for all land cover types in the EU. The threshold used in the 
dashboard was set at 200 μg kg-1. This threshold was chosen to replicate the proportion of LUCAS 
soil samples (1%) found to have high mercury content (defined in that case as 500 μg kg-1, a 
commonly used threshold and defined by Finnish and Swedish legislations (Ministry of the 
environment - Finland, 2007). Given that the interpolation model used in this layer tends to smooth 
the upper outliers, the threshold was lowered in order to show an area of an extent similar to the 
LUCAS observations. Currently, 0.8% of the EU soils have a concentration higher than the threshold, 
and thus are considered unhealthy. High mercury concentrations have been found close to gold 
mining, coal power plants, chlor-alkali plants and small-scale industries employing mercury 
(Ballabio et al., 2021). 

Zinc excess 

Zinc (Zn) is an essential element to sustain crop production and human health, but can be toxic 
when present in excess. The indicator included in the EUSO dashboard is based on LUCAS topsoil 
survey data and Random Forest model based on environmental drivers and land use (Van Eynde et 
al., 2023). The presented indicator shows Zn concentrations for all land cover types in the EU. The 
threshold used in the dashboard was set at 65 mg kg-1. This threshold was chosen to replicate the 
proportion of LUCAS soil samples found to have high Zn concentrations (i.e. 100 mg kg-1 (Mininni et 
al., 2015)). Currently, 1.5 % of the EU soils have a concentration higher than the threshold, and thus 
are considered unhealthy. The presence of Zn deposits and mining activities mainly explained the 
occurrence of relatively high Zn concentrations. The overall distribution of soil Zn in Europe is mainly 
explained by clay content, with lower Zn concentrations in coarser soils. Next to texture, low Zn 
concentrations were found in soils with low pH (e.g. Podzols), as well as in soils with pH above 8 (i.e., 
Calcisols) (Van Eynde et al., 2023). 

Cadmium excess 

Cadmium (Cd) is a naturally occurring toxic metal whose abundance, toxicity, bioaccumulation 
potential and its relative mobility can pose a significant risk to human health. The indicator included 
in the EUSO dashboard is based on LUCAS topsoil survey data and machine learning algorithms 

3 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:31986L0278  

18 

 
 
 
(Ballabio et al., 2024). The indicator shows cadmium concentrations for all land cover types in the 
EU. The threshold used in the dashboard was set at 0.7 mg kg-1. Soils that were estimated to have a 
cadmium concentration higher than this threshold were considered unhealthy. This threshold was 
chosen to replicate the proportion of LUCAS soil samples (5.5%) found to have high cadmium 
content (i.e. above 1 mg kg-1, the threshold defined by the Finnish Ministries of Environment (2007), 
Gawlick and Bidoglio (2006), and the EU Sewage Sludge Directive4). Given that the spatial 
interpolation model used in this layer tends to smooth the upper outliers, the threshold was lowered 
in order to show an area of an extent similar to the LUCAS observations (5.5%). Currently, ca 5% of 
the EU soils have a concentration higher than 0.7 mg kg-1, and thus are considered unhealthy. 
Natural factors influencing Cd levels include soil properties (pH, clay), topography, soil erosion, and 
leaching. Most important anthropogenic factors is phosphorus inputs to agricultural lands (Ballabio 
et al., 2024). 

Arsenic excess 

Arsenic (As) is a naturally occurring toxic heavy metal that is extensively used in industrial 
applications. In an agricultural context, the repeated application of arsenical products leads to 
elevated soil concentrations. The indicator included in the EUSO dashboard is based on a model 
approach using LUCAS topsoil survey data (Fendrich et al., 2024). The indicator shows the 
probability of exceeding 45 mg kg-1 arsenic concentration in the soil, and this for all land cover 
types in the EU. Soils that were estimated to have an exceedance probability higher than 5% were 
considered unhealthy. This threshold of 45 mg kg-1 was defined following the Belgium’s 1995 Soil 
Remediation Act.  

3.3.3  Soil nutrients  

Nitrogen surplus 

Nitrogen (N) is an essential nutrient for plant growth, and nitrogen-containing fertilisers and organic 
inputs are extensively used in agriculture. However, excessive nitrogen in soil is a major source of 
soil pollution, and has consequences for air, water quality and public health and contributes to 
greenhouse gas emissions. Nitrogen excess occurs when nitrogen inputs (e.g. fertilizer and manure 
application, bacterial N fixation and atmospheric deposition) exceed outputs (e.g. uptake by plants 
and harvest). The indicator included in the EUSO dashboard is based on agricultural data and a 
European biogeochemical model framework (Grizzetti et al., 2023). The indicator shows areas of 
agricultural land in the EU subject to nitrogen surplus (N input – N output). The threshold used in the 
dashboard was set at a nitrogen surplus of 50 kg ha-1 yr-1. Above this threshold, environmental 
impacts of nitrogen are considered to be significant (Grizzetti et al., 2023). Currently, ca 22 % of the 
EU-agricultural land have a nitrogen surplus higher than 50 kg ha-1 yr-1, and thus considered 
unhealthy. 

Phosphorus deficiency 

Phosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient for plant growth. Phosphorus deficiency, when phosphorus 
availability in soils are lower than needed for crops, is corrected by the application of phosphorus 
fertilizers or organic inputs. The indicator included in the EUSO dashboard shows the distribution of 

4 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:31986L0278  

19 

 
 
 
phosphorus concentrations in agricultural land in the EU measured in an Olsen soil extraction. This 
indicator is based on LUCAS topsoil survey data and a regression model (Ballabio et al., 2019). The 
threshold used in the dashboard was set at available phosphorus of 20 mg kg-1. Below this 
threshold, soils are considered to be at risk of phosphorus deficiency for crop production (Jordan-
Meille et al., 2012). Currently, ca 21 % of EU-agricultural soils have an available phosphorous below 
20 mg kg-1 and are thus considered unhealthy.  

Phosphorus excess 

When phosphorus inputs to soils (e.g. from inorganic fertilizers or manure) exceed crop demands, 
phosphorus concentrations increase in soils. P accumulation in soils causes environmental pollution 
through eutrophication, resulting in the degradation of water quality, biodiversity decline and high 
public health risks. The indicator used in the EUSO dashboard shows distribution of phosphorus 
concentrations in agricultural land in the EU measured in an Olsen soil extraction. This indicator is 
based on LUCAS topsoil survey data and a regression model (Ballabio et al., 2019), and this is the 
same indicator as used for the Phosphorous deficiency. The threshold used in the dashboard was 
set at available phosphorus above 50 mg kg-1. Above this threshold, soils are considered to have an 
excess in phosphorous with possible environmental risks, and thus are considered unhealthy. The 
threshold is based on the average of excessive phosphorus concentrations used by a number of 
European countries (Jordan-Meille et al., 2012). Currently, ca 10 % of EU-agricultural soils have an 
available phosphorous above 50 mg kg-1 and are thus considered unhealthy.  

3.3.4  Other soil degradation indicators 

Distance to maximum soil organic carbon level 

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is important for soil to provide many ecosystem services such as crop 
production, water and nutrient cycle and biodiversity. SOC levels vary greatly based on soil type, 
climate and many other factors. A SOC indicator that is useful for all soils and climate regions in 
the EU is therefore challenging to define. The indicator included in the EUSO dashboard shows the 
distance between the current level of SOC and a maximum level of SOC achievable in the medium-
long term on agricultural land. This maximum level of SOC is calculated as the SOC level that would 
be achievable if the land was kept under continuous grassland for 40 years without ploughing (De 
Rosa et al., 2024). The threshold used in the dashboard was set at a distance to the maximum SOC 
level of 60%. Soils are considered unhealthy if the distance that separates them from the 
maximum SOC level is more than 60% of the current SOC level. This threshold of 60% has been 
chosen as it provides a reasonable and pragmatic distance gap from the maximum SOC level 
achievable. Currently, in ca 53% of EU arable land the distance between the current and maximum 
SOC level is more than 60%, and thus are considered unhealthy (Figure 6). 

20 

 
 
Figure 6. Map of the indicator ‘Distance to maximum soil organic carbon (SOC) level’, on which the threshold 
of 60% is applied. 

Potential threat to biological functions 

Source: JRC analysis. 

Organisms living in soils (e.g. worms, fungi and bacteria) are important for soil functions and soil 
ecosystem services. Many factors such as land management or pollution can negatively affect soil 
organisms and their functions. The indicator included in the EUSO dashboard combines a set of 13 
potential threats preventing soil biodiversity from performing its biological functions. Examples of 
these threats are habitat fragmentation in natural and rural areas, land use changes or soil 
pollution. This indicator is based on an assessment of these 13 potential threats to soil organism by 
expert knowledge (Orgiazzi et al., 2016). A spatial proxy was assigned to each of the pressures in 
order to map the distribution of risk across the EU (Orgiazzi et al., 2016). Soils are considered 
unhealthy where the risk is estimated to be moderately high or high. Currently, in ca 37% of EU 
land the potential threats to biological functions are estimated to be moderately high or high, and 
thus are considered unhealthy (Figure 7). The soil biodiversity indicator is currently being refined, 
through analysis of the LUCAS Soil Biodiversity component dataset (Köninger et al., 2023; Labouyrie 
et al., 2023). Once the drivers of soil organism distribution in the EU have been assessed, indicators 
can be further refined.  

21 

 
 
Figure 7. Map of the indicator ‘Potential threat to biological functions’. Soils are considered unhealthy where 
the risk is estimated to be moderately high or high.  

Soil compaction 

Source: JRC analysis. 

Soils are porous and as such they can be subject to compaction. Soil compaction occurs typically on 
agricultural or forest soils through the use of heavy machinery or high stocking densities. Soil 
compaction reduces agricultural productivity, decrease water infiltration and accelerate run-off and 
risk of soil erosion. The indicator used in the EUSO dashboard shows the packing density, a proxy for 
soil compaction. Packing density is calculated based on bulk density and clay content (Panagos et 
al., 2024c). The threshold used in the dashboard was set at 1.75 g cm-3 (Jones et al., 2003; 
Păltineanu et al., 2015).  Soils that have a packing density higher than 1.75 g cm-3 are compacted 
and are considered unhealthy. Currently, 2.2% of all EU land have a packing density above the 
threshold and are thus considered unhealthy.  

Secondary salinization risk 

Secondary salinization occurs when the concentration of salts in soils increases as a result of non-
optimal or inappropriate irrigation. The use of poor quality irrigation water with excessive salt 
content or an overuse of irrigation can lead to an increase in soluble salts concentration in soils. 
This is especially the case in hot climates with low rainfall and where water evaporates more easily, 
leaving salts behind. The indicator included in the EUSO dashboard shows the presence of irrigation 
in the Mediterranean biogeographical region, based on Siebert et al. (2013). Areas in these 
Mediterranean climate zone where more than 30% is equipped for irrigation are considered 
unhealthy regarding secondary salinization. This threshold of 30% was chosen as from this scale 
substantial salinization is a significant risk. Currently, ca 7% of the Mediterranean biogeographical 
region is above this threshold and thus considered to be unhealthy. However, this indicator is only a 
first attempt to map where in the EU secondary salinization are likely to occur and comes with lots 
of uncertainties. Better indicators and datasets are needed to be able to better assess this risk.  

22 

 
 
Peatland degradation risk 

Peatlands consist of organic soils that are able to store significant amounts of carbon. A lot of 
peatlands in the EU are however degraded. One of the main anthropogenic pressures facing 
peatlands is drainage for agriculture and peat extraction. The indicator included in the dashboard 
shows peatlands under hotspots of cropland (i.e. density of cropland occurring within a fixed radius 
around peatland areas), and thus peatlands that are considered to be at risk of being degraded. As 
such, this indicators highlights where peatlands are likely to be degraded due to agriculture-related 
pressures. The indicator is based on the UNEP’s Global Peatlands Assessment (UNEP, 2022). 
Currently, ca 30% of the peatlands in the EU are under hotspots of cropland and thus considered at 
risk of being degraded. However, this indicator is only a first attempt to map where in the EU 
peatlands are under risk, and comes with a lot of uncertainties. Better indicators and datasets are 
needed to be able to better assess the actual state of peatlands in the EU. 

Soil sealing 

Soils are sealed by their covering with an impermeable material, buildings, constructions, roads, etc. 
Soil sealing is causing a loss of soil functions and ecosystem services. The indicator included in the 
EUSO dashboard shows the built-up areas in the EU. The indicator is based in the Impervious Built-
up 2018 data layer of the European Environmental Agency (EEA). Currently, 7% of EU land is 
sealed.   

23 

 
 
4  Discussion and planned updates 

Uncertainties linked to the selected indicators and thresholds 

The presented indicators all come with a certain degree of uncertainty and underlying assumptions. 
This includes uncertainties related to the scale, resolution, and method of assessment. In the 
upcoming years, EUSO and the Mission Soil projects will work on identifying and quantifying these 
uncertainties and on improving the included datasets.  

Especially the current indicators for peatland degradation, soil compaction and soil salinization 
come with a lot of uncertainties. Better indicators and better refinement of these datasets are 
needed to fully access and monitor these specific soil degradation processes. When such new 
indicators and datasets become available, the EUSO Soil Degradation Dashboard will be updated 
accordingly. Next, regarding the soil biodiversity indicator, spatial indicators of the richness and 
diversity of soil microorganisms and associated functional groups are currently being developed. 
When available, these indicators will be used to refine the soil biodiversity indicator currently 
included in the dashboard and in this report.      

Also the selected thresholds come with uncertainties, especially given the EU-wide thresholds. In the 
upcoming years, the EUSO and Mission Soil projects will also work on locally based thresholds. The 
goal is to come up with thresholds for different soil types given the land use, ecosystem and 
climatic context, where feasible.  

Collaboration with Mission Soil projects 

The EUSO will continue to work in close collaboration with the Mission Soil projects. The interactions 
will mainly be organised through the Mission Soil Cluster on Indicators and Monitoring, next to 
bilateral meetings and interactions during the EUSO Stakeholders Forum and EUSO Working Groups. 

This collaborative work will focus on the further development and refining of the indicator 
framework for soil health in the EU. This includes: 

—  Refining and updating datasets for the indicators. When new datasets for indicators will 

become available, the indicator list and the EUSO Soil Degradation Dashboard will be updated. 
For this, first focus will be on the knowledge gaps in the Mission Soil indicators and the 
descriptors of the SML. Currently, not all indicators of the Mission Soil Implementation Plan nor 
all descriptors in the proposed SML are yet included in the dashboard (Table 2 and Table 3). It 
is intended to fill these gaps in the upcoming years. 

—  Refining thresholds. This also includes adjusting thresholds to soil type, climatic context and 
ecosystem type. Such locally based thresholds will decrease the uncertainties and will increase 
the applicability of the proposed indicator framework to the local scale. For this, integration of 
the latest research outcome of the Mission Soil and other relevant projects (including results 
from field experiments) will be needed. 

24 

 
—  Developing a composite soil health index, replacing the ‘one out all out’ strategy currently 
used in the EUSO Soil Degradation Dashboard. Such a soil health index should combine all 
information from the individual indicators in one single index. In this index, soils that are highly 
affected by several soil degradation processes will have a lower score than soils that are only 
affected by one soil degradation process. This index should also take into account the actual 
value of the indicator, not only whether it is above or below a certain threshold. Ideally, the soil 
health index should take into account the pedo-climatic conditions. As a result, the soil health 
index will be a better and more nuanced representation of soil health in the EU.    

Soil health promoting management practices 

Activities are planned to identify a set of soil health promoting management practices including 
targets for their uptake. These activities will include collaboration with ongoing and future Mission 
Soil projects working on management practices promoting soil health. 

25 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5  Conclusions  

This report proposes a list of indicators for soil health at the EU-level. It also proposes thresholds to 
benchmark soil health for these indicators. Nineteen indicators are presented, representing the main 
soil degradation processes. These nineteen indicators represent the latest state-of-the-art of soil 
health indicators, for which published EU-wide geo-spatial data are available. The indicators, 
together with their thresholds, allow to monitor the state of soil health at the scale of the EU.  

The EUSO Soil Degradation Dashboard is the main platform for presenting these indicators. The 
dashboard, launched in March 2023 and updated in June 2024, provides a spatial assessment of 
the indicators and thus of unhealthy soils in the EU. The dashboard shows where current scientific 
evidence indicate areas that are likely affected by soil degradation. Results from the dashboard 
show that at least 60% of EU soils are unhealthy. The most prevalent types of soil degradation are 
the loss of soil biodiversity, soil erosion by water, and the loss of soil organic carbon.  

Further updates and improvements to the indicator framework require close collaborations with the 
Mission Soil and other relevant projects. Planned updates include (i) refining and updating datasets 
for the indicators and adding new indicators, (ii) refining thresholds, ideally adjusted to pedo-
climatic context, and (iii) developing a composite soil health index. The Mission Soil Cluster on 
Indicators and Monitoring will be crucial for these collaborative works. 

Overall, the presented indicator framework is a useful tool to monitor soil health in the EU. In 
addition, the EUSO Soil Degradation Dashboard provides a comprehensive and easily 
understandable platform for this framework. Together with the planned updates, the presented 
indicator framework can be a significant contribution towards reaching the objectives of the Mission 
Soil.  

26 

 
 
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List of abbreviations and definitions  

Abbreviations 

Definitions 

cm 

Cu 

EEA 

EU 

EUSO 

G 

ha 

JRC 

Kg 

centimetre 

Copper 

European Environmental Agency 

European Union 

EU Soil Observatory 

gram 

hectare 

Joint Research Centre 

kilogram 

LUCAS 

Land Use/Cover Frame Area Survey 

Mg 

SML 

N 

P 

SOC 

UNEP 

yr 

Zn 

µg 

milligram 

Soil Monitoring Law 

Nitrogen 

Phosphorous 

Soil Organic Carbon 

United Nations Environment Programme 

year 

zinc 

microgram 

30 

 
 
List of figures  

Figure 1. The Specific Objectives (bottom) and Indicators (right) of the Mission Soil Implementation 
Plan. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 

Figure 2. EUSO Soil Degradation Dashboard and its convergence of evidence map (indicating the 
number of soil degradation processes likely to be present) and speedometer (indicating the 
proportion of land likely to be affected by one or more soil degradation processes or by soil sealing 
in the EU) (Panagos et al., 2024a). ........................................................................................................................................... 12 

Figure 3. Cut-out of the convergence of evidence map showing the number of unhealthy soil 
erosion indicators. ............................................................................................................................................................................... 15 

Figure 4. Map of the water erosion indicator, on which the threshold of 2 ton ha-1 yr-1 is applied. . 16 

Figure 5. Cut-out of the convergence of evidence map showing the number of unhealthy soil 
pollution indicators. ............................................................................................................................................................................ 17 

Figure 6. Map of the indicator ‘Distance to maximum soil organic carbon (SOC) level’, on which the 
threshold of 60% is applied.......................................................................................................................................................... 21 

Figure 7. Map of the indicator ‘Potential threat to biological functions’. Soils are considered 
unhealthy where the risk is estimated to be moderately high or high. ............................................................... 22 

31 

 
 
List of tables  

Table 1. Soil degradation indicators included in this report and in the EUSO Soil Degradation 
Dashboard, and their respective thresholds, data sources and links to the Mission Soil 
Implementation plan. ........................................................................................................................................................................... 9 

Table 2. Mission Soil indicators, as included in the Mission Soil Implementation Plan, and the 
corresponding indicators presented in this report and in the EUSO Soil Degradation Dashboard. ...... 10 

Table 3. Soil degradation aspects and soil descriptors, as included in the proposed Soil Monitoring 
Law (SML), and the corresponding indicators presented in this report and in the EUSO Soil 
Degradation Dashboard. ................................................................................................................................................................. 11 

Table 4. Data coverage and percentage (%) of healthy and unhealthy soils for each indicator. (1) 
Percentage of (un)healthy soils for area with data. (2) Percentage of the EU land and land cover 
classes covered by the data (percentages may differ due to different definitions of the land cover 
classes in the original studies). (3) Percentage of (un)healthy soils in the entire EU. ................................. 14 

32 

 
 
 
 
 
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