Unsustainable land use and population pressure are major drivers of soil degradation. The threats to soil health include loss of soil organic matter, biodiversity, and the soil itself through erosion. We are at a crossroads in history in our attempt to preserve European and global soil resources.
Soils are on the one hand part of the solutions to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, while on the other hand 60–70% of EU soils are unhealthy, mainly because of unsustainable management practices. In the last 150 years, half of the topsoil on the planet has been degraded due to erosion, compaction, desertification, acidification, and loss of soil organic carbon and 5 primary nutrients; further, because of changes in global land use and climate, soil erosion might increase up to 60% in the next 30 years.
