{"id":495,"date":"2023-10-24T12:29:12","date_gmt":"2023-10-24T10:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iuss.org\/?p=495"},"modified":"2023-10-26T10:13:15","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T08:13:15","slug":"iuss-alert-214","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iuss.org\/alert\/iuss-alerts-2023\/iuss-alert-214\/","title":{"rendered":"IUSS Alert 214 (July-August 2023)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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 <\/p>\n

IUSS News<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The European Law on Soil Monitoring<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Edoardo A.C. Costantni<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

President of the International Union of Soil Sciences<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

On July 5, 2023, the European Commission published the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on soil monitoring and resilience (Soil Monitoring Law) COM(2023) 416 final 2023\/0232 (COD).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Background: In April 2002, the Commission announced its intention to develop a Soil Protection Strategy and prepare the ground for a European soil legislation proposal. Subsequently, in 2006, the Commission adopted an initial proposal, but heated political debates took place in the EU Council under different presidencies. Ultimately, an agreement was not reached due to a minority of five Member States. As a result, the Commission withdrew its proposal in 2014. Meanwhile, soil degradation in Europe has worsened. Currently, 4.2% of the territory has been urbanized, mainly at the expense of agricultural land. Furthermore, soil degradation is compromising the long-term fertility of agricultural land. It is estimated that between 61% and 73% of agricultural land in the EU is affected by erosion, organic carbon loss, nutrient excesses (primarily nitrogen and phosphorus), compaction, or secondary salinization (or a combination of these threats). All of this causes serious environmental and economic damage. The Commission estimates that soil compaction alone can reduce crop yields by 2.5% to 15%. Additionally, over one billion tons of soil are lost annually due to erosion. Without sustainable soil management and actions to regenerate soils, it is feared that compromised soil health will become a central factor in future food security crises. Contaminated soils also affect food security. For example, around 21% of agricultural soils in the EU contain concentrations of cadmium in the topsoil that exceed the established limit for groundwater.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The European Commission believes that collective action is necessary, also because soil degradation costs the EU a total of around 74 billion euros per year. The directive falls within the framework of the European Green Deal and contributes to achieving the ambitions set by the EU Soil Strategy for 2030. The EU Soil Strategy is a key outcome of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and establishes a framework and concrete measures to protect and restore soils and ensure their sustainable use. It also sets a vision and objectives to achieve healthy soils by 2050, with concrete actions by 2030. The aim of the proposed Directive is to contribute to addressing major social challenges, such as:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

– Achieving climate neutrality and becoming resilient to climate change<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

– Reversing biodiversity loss and fulfilling international commitments on biodiversity<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

– Reducing pollution to levels no longer considered harmful to human health and the environment<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

– Fulfilling international commitments on neutrality in soil degradation<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Specifically, the implementation of the proposal should ensure that soils throughout the EU are healthy by 2050 and managed sustainably to avoid further deterioration. The objective of this Directive proposal is to stop soil degradation, thereby ensuring that soils can provide multiple ecosystem services to meet environmental, social, and economic needs, while reducing soil pollution to levels no longer considered harmful to human health and the environment.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The operational objectives, on the other hand, are to establish measures to stop soil degradation and regenerate soil health, provide an effective framework for ensuring the implementation of the Directive, particularly through the obligation for Member States to assess soil health.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The directive establishes measures related to soil monitoring and evaluation; sustainable soil management; inventory and remediation of contaminated sites.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It is useful to remember that the Directive defines ‘soil’ as the top layer of the Earth\u2019s crust situated between the bedrock and the land surface, which is composed of mineral particles, organic matter, water, air and living organisms; while \u2018soil health\u2019 means the physical, chemical and biological condition of the soil determining its capacity to function as a vital living system and to provide ecosystem services.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The main activities that Member States will have to carry out are as follows:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(1) Defining soil health and establishing territorial soil districts, delineated based on soil type, climatic conditions, environmental zone, land use or land cover.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(2) Soil health monitoring: Member States will have to establish a monitoring framework based on soil districts. The monitoring framework will be based on soil health descriptors and criteria. A soil is considered healthy when the values of all soil descriptors meet the established criteria.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(3) Sustainable soil management: Member States will need to define sustainable soil management practices to be gradually implemented on all soils, as well as the practices that negatively impact soil health, which have to be avoided. Based on the outcome of soil health assessments, they will also need to establish regeneration practices to be gradually implemented on unhealthy soils. Member States should establish mechanisms to recognize the efforts of landowners and soil managers in maintaining soil in healthy conditions, including soil health certification.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Regarding the reduction of soil consumption, Member States must avoid or minimize the loss of soil’s capacity to provide ecosystem services, including food production, by reducing the area affected by urbanization, selecting areas where the loss of ecosystem services can be minimized, and implementing urbanization in a way that minimizes negative impacts on the soil. Member States must also compensate as much as possible for the loss of soil’s capacity to provide ecosystem services caused by urbanization through appropriate interventions.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(4) Identification, registration, investigation, and assessment of contaminated sites.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(5) Restoration (regeneration) of soil health and remediation of contaminated sites.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The selected soil descriptors for assessing soil health play a crucial role in the implementation of the directive. Each descriptor has a threshold indicating the soil’s health status. The descriptors common across the EU are salinization, erosion, organic carbon, and subsoil compaction. At the Member State level, the descriptors are nutrient content, contamination, and water retention capacity. Other descriptors without threshold criteria are acidification, surface soil compaction, biodiversity, and urbanization.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The water retention capacity descriptor is particularly interesting and innovative. The estimated value for the total water retention capacity of a soil district should exceed a minimum threshold per hydrographic basin or sub-basin. The minimum threshold will be determined by the Member State at the soil district and hydrographic basin or sub-basin level to mitigate the impacts of periods of drought and of flooding due to heavy rainfall. Actually, healthy soils can retain up to 25% of their mass in water, contributing to the prevention of disaster risks and acting as long-term reservoirs for recharging groundwater. The natural water storage capacity of resilient soils, wetlands, and forests exceeds what could be achieved through costly new artificial reservoirs.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The criteria used to assess soil health are also interesting, although they may not fit well with Mediterranean conditions. The carbon\/clay ratio > 1\/13 is too high for Mediterranean soils, which are often clay-rich. However, in this case, Member States can adjust the threshold based on their conditions. Adjustment is not provided, though, for soil erosion, where the threshold between healthy and unhealthy soils is set at >2 tons\/ha\/year. This means that most Mediterranean soils cultivated even on gentle slopes are considered unhealthy. However, the criterion does not consider soil erosion caused by land leveling, slope modeling, and earth movements, which are activities responsible for significant soil losses, especially prior to planting tree crops.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Commission expects that the proposed Directive will bring significant environmental benefits and improve soil health, with positive effects on water and air quality, biodiversity, climate, and food benefits.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It is also expected that the implementation of the proposal will create numerous opportunities for SMEs in terms of growth (e.g., investigation and remediation of contaminated sites, soil health consulting services, soil analysis laboratories) and innovation in designing and implementing sustainable soil management and restoration measures. Furthermore, the implementation of soil monitoring should create opportunities for research and development in companies providing soil surveys.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The directive includes some indicators to monitor its implementation:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

– Number of soil health monitoring points.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

– Proportion of EU territory where soils are in good health.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

– Measures of sustainable soil management adopted.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

– Measures of regeneration implemented.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

– Number of potentially contaminated sites registered in dedicated national registers.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

– Number of potentially contaminated sites investigated.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

– Number of contaminated sites remediated or properly managed.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The proposed directive will enter into force after its adoption, but there will be a 2-year transition period for Member States to adopt and notify the laws, regulations, and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this directive. After the end of the transition period, Member States must establish adequate governance and a soil monitoring framework, including the determination of sampling points and the adoption of methodologies to establish soil districts and establish a register of potentially contaminated sites. It is also expected that coordinated action at the EU level will address potential distortions in the internal market and unfair competition among businesses, as some Member States have less stringent environmental requirements.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

However, the directive allows Member States considerable flexibility to identify the most appropriate measures and adapt the approach to local conditions. This is considered crucial to ensure that regional and local specificities in terms of soil variability, land use, climatic conditions, and socio-economic aspects can be adequately considered.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The estimated private costs of implementing sustainable management and restoration of agricultural and forest soil range from 28 to 38 billion euros per year. It is also estimated that 29 billion euros (distributed over 15 years) will be required for identifying and investigating contaminated sites, and 24.9 billion euros (distributed over 25 years) for remediation of contaminated sites.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Overall, the annual benefit derived from the costs avoided due to soil degradation is estimated at 550 billion euros, excluding contamination, which has an estimated benefit of 220 billion euros per year. During the evaluation period until 2060, the Commission calculates a public and private benefits-to-cost ratio of 1.7 for the implementation of the directive.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond these positive and significant economic estimates, the Directive has the indisputable merit of drawing the attention of policymakers and public administrators to soil health, upon which the health of European citizens also depends. It represents a historical step forward in achieving public awareness of soil health, and it is certainly hoped that it will be approved by the European Parliament.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The soil science community is immensely grateful to all those who have worked tirelessly for many years to achieve this significant outcome. We also acknowledge the contributions of soil scientists from all over the world, who have helped establish the knowledge foundation for this directive.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The directive remains open to adjustments, which can be based on the results of its application. Therefore, a further significant contribution from soil scientists will be needed in the coming years.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0Technical University of Munich (TUM)<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0invites applications for the position of Professor in \u00bb\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>Soil Systems Science<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0\u00ab W2 Tenure Track Assistant Professor (with tenure track to W3) or W3 Associate\/Full Professor; to begin as soon as possible.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Scientific environment: The professorship will be assigned to the TUM School of Life Sciences, located at the interdisciplinary campus Freising-Weihenstephan.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Responsibilities: The responsibilities include research and teaching as well as the promotion of early-career scientists. We seek to<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

appoint an expert in the research area of soil systems with a focus on the development of sustainable land use strategies, e.g., with respect to soil carbon and nutrient storage, in an agricultural, forestry and\/or urban context. Teaching responsibilities include courses in the university\u2019s bachelor and master programs, specifically in the areas of forestry and resource management and agricultural sciences.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Please send your application no later than\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>18th October 2023<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0to the\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>Dean of the TUM School of Life Sciences<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span>, Prof. Ingrid K\u00f6gel-Knabner, via our recruitment portal:\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>www.recruit.tum.de<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

IUSS Centennial 2024<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Centennial Celebration and Congress of the IUSS 100 years of soil science – past achievements and future challenges<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Invitation from the organizers: Sara Marinari, Giuseppe Corti, Edoardo A.C. Costantini<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe custodian of soil science will celebrate its centennial contribute to the nature and human wellbeing in 2024.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The event will also empower the linkages with different disciplines, policy makers, stakeholders, institutions, and associations to effectively address civil society needs within agriculture, forestry, environment, urban planning, energy, education, and other societal issues.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The celebration will occur on May 19th and will be followed by two intense days of congress, with plenary and parallel scientific sessions. Both soil scientists and specialists from other disciplines will participate to each session, focusing on past achievements and future challenges.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The congress will be followed by technical\/scientific excursions that will range from short local to long trips, spanning from Alps to Sicily.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A pre-congress visit to Villa Lubin in Rome, the historical place where the IUSS was founded, is scheduled on May 18th.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We are looking forward to welcoming you to Italy\u201d.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sunday, 19 May 2024 to Tuesday, 21 May 2024<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Florence, Italy<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Website:\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>https:\/\/centennialiuss2024.org\/<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Download:\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>media\/iuss_2024_brochure.pdf<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

GENERAL THEMES<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n