A long journey towards
protecting soil biodiversity
Luca Montanarella
European Commission

Soils across European National borders: Building a
common understanding of European soil properties
Montanarella, L., Jones, R.J.A., Grimm, M., Hollis,
J.M., Jones, A.R. & Daroussin, J. (2001). Soil Map for
Europe: Soil classification according to the World
Reference Base for Soil Resources, large format map
(1065mm x 965mm) scale 1:4,500,000. DG-JRC,
European Commission

The first of a long and successful series
Soil Atlas of Europe, European Soil Bureau
Network European Commission, 2005, 128 pp
Office for Official Publications of the European
Communities, L-2995 Luxembourg

 Overall objective is the protection of
soil functions and sustainable use
of soil, based on the following guiding
principles:
 Prevention of soil degradation
 Restoration of degraded soils
 Sets out the four pillars of EU soil
policy
 To be implemented by MS
 2012 Report from the Commission on
the implementation of the STS
COM(2012)46
The Soil Thematic strategy, COM(2006) 231
Awareness
raising
Research
Legislation
Integration
in other
policies

Soils deliver multiple services (soil functions as identified in the
Soil Thematic Strategy COM(2006) 231):
1. Biomass production, including in agriculture and forestry;
2. Storing, filtering and transforming nutrients, substances and water;
3. Biodiversity pool, such as habitats, species and genes;
4. Physical and cultural environment for humans and human activities;
5. Source of raw materials;
6. Acting as carbon pool;
7. Archive of geological and archeological heritage.

First ever Atlas of Soil Biodiversity published in
occasion of the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity
S. Jeffery, C. Gardi, A. Jones, L. Montanarella, L.
Marmo, L. Miko, K. Ritz, G. Peres, J. Römbke and
W. H. van der Putten (eds.), 2010, European Atlas
of Soil Biodiversity. European Commission,
Publications Office of the European Union,
Luxembourg

• Established in Wageningen in 2011
• Founding members:
• Colorado State University – USA
• Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) – The
Netherlands
• University of Manchester – United Kingdom
• Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH) –
Switzerland
• European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) - EU

Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas
Orgiazzi, A., Bardgett, R.D., Barrios, E., Behan-Pelletier, V.,
Briones, M.J.I., Chotte, J-L., De Deyn, G.B., Eggleton, P.,
Fierer, N., Fraser, T., Hedlund, K., Jeffery, S., Johnson, N.C.,
Jones, A., Kandeler, E., Kaneko, N., Lavelle, P., Lemanceau,
P., Miko, L., Montanarella, L., Moreira, F.M.S., Ramirez, K.S.,
Scheu, S., Singh, B.K., Six, J., van der Putten, W.H., Wall,
D.H. (Eds.), 2016, Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas. European
Commission, Publications Office of the European Union,
Luxembourg. 176 pp.

Map of global distribution of soil biodiversity

Map of potential threats to soil biodiversity

Monitoring biodiversity in soils in the European Union
Orgiazzi and Panagos, Global Ecology and Biogeography, 2018Orgiazzi et al., European Journal of Soil Science, 2018

Soils are a cross-cutting theme within the European Green Deal
The
European
Green
Deal
Mobilising industry
for a clean and circular economy
Preserving and restoring
ecosystems and biodiversity
Leave no one behind
(Just Transition)
From ‘Farm to Fork’: a fair,
healthy and environmentally
friendly food system
Building and renovating in an
energy and resource efficient way
Accelerating the shift to
sustainable and smart mobility
Increasing the EU’s Climate
ambition for 2030 and 2050
Supplying clean, affordable
and secure energy
Financing the transition
A zero pollution ambition
for a toxic-free environment
A European
Climate Pact
The EU as a
global leader
Mobilising research
and fostering innovation
Transforming the
EU’s economy for a
sustainable future
And leave
No one behind

The European Green Deal
The
European
Green
Deal
• EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 in March
2020
• Follow up with concrete measures in 2021 to
address the main drivers of biodiversity loss
• A new EU Forest Strategy in 2020
• Measures to support deforestation-free value
chains from 2020
• A new EU Soil Thematic Strategy in 2021
Preserving and restoring
ecosystems and biodiversity
A European
Climate Pact
The EU as a
global leader

15
Recommendations by the Mission Board for Soil Health and Food
Caring for soil is caring for life – Ensure 75% of soils are healthy by 2030 for healthy food, people,
nature and climate
https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/caring-soil-caring-life_en
EU Soil Observatory
Monitoring data and indicators

16
https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/eu-soil-observatory
Missing
Available
Implementation
Operational EU soil
monitoring system
supporting soil related
EU policies fully
integrated with National
soil monitoring systems
in MS
 EU soil status reporting (in
collaboration with EEA)
 Soil pollution indicators (Zero
Pollution Strategy)
 indicators in relation to the soil
aspects of the European Green
Deal including the Farm to Fork,
Biodiversity and Climate
Change Strategies
• Integration with EU MS’s National
soil monitoring systems
• ESDAC as the primary soil knowledge
hub for the EU and global data
• Coordination of EU-wide and global
sampling surveys
LUCAS Soil since 2009, Africa in 2020
• Modelling and indicator
development
Future
deliverables
Target
FPI ESTAT CLIMA ENV AGRI DEVCO SANTE
Stronger Europe in the World
• Comprehensive Strategy on Africa
European Green Deal
• Biodiversity Strategy 2030
• Zero Pollution Strategy
Protecting our European Way of Life
• Cooperation towards Sustainable Growth
European Climate Law Farm to Fork strategy’s international dimensions

A long journey with the help of
many colleagues:
Thank you to all of you for all your
help and support!