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Monitoring the state of European soils

Objective

Specific Objectives:
Objective 1: Soil Monitoring Network Analysis of existing Soil Monitoring System at different level (National, Regional). Analysis of consistency of data, soil sampling method, georeferenced plots, reiterations of measurements, soil analytical method. Design and structure of the monitoring system and definition of Guidelines. Preparation for eventual soil reporting. Support the elaboration of the Soil Monitoring Network through the harmonisation of methods and measurement strategies.

Objective 2: Co-ordination of technical working groups Co-ordination of technical working groups being established by DG ENV and WG on Soil Monitoring of ESBN (European Soil Bureau Network). Representation of JRC within the inter-service working group on soil protection.
Objective 3: Policy relevant soil data Maintain, update and develop EUSIS (European Soil Information System) to be the key repository of information on European soils. Dissemination of policy relevant information derived from EUSIS (Web, CD, etc.). In support of FOCUS (Forum for the Co-ordination of Pesticide Fate Models and their Use) redesign and extension of the Focus Information System to include Groundwater Scenarios and provide FOCUS Help Desk to the Focus User Community. Harmonise and integrate the existing data layers in a single multi-layered system of information on European soil threats combining information on local scale with information at catchment and at European scale. This Action will contribute directly to support ERA and Enlargement. Training initiatives are embedded in a number of objectives identified above and will draw particularly on networking activities within the European Soil Bureau Network. In the context of ERA this network will represent a scientific and technical reference system providing EU-wide soil related data and information. Anticipated milestones and schedule March: Report on existing soil monitoring systems.

April: Stakeholder meeting on soil monitoring. June: Organisation of the 4th European congress on Regional Geoscientific Cartography and Information Systems, Bologna, Italy; specific session on floods and related data needs. October: European Conference on Soil Erosion and Soil Organic Matter. November: New version of the European Soil Database for general public distribution.
Planned Deliverables:
Report to DG ENV on existing soil monitoring systems. European Manual of Procedures for Soil Monitoring. Co-ordination of research and development programmes of horizontal standards, production of test materials, and organisation of inter-laboratory tests in consultation with relevant CEN TC's (collaboration with Action 120 and Action 68 in the context of Horizontal). Co-organisation of the soil erosion and organic matter conference with DG ENV and preparation of proceedings from the conference. Reports from the working groups. New version of the European Soil Database (version 3) including updated soil profile information, updated pedotransfer rules, extended coverage and groundwater information layer. New CD-ROM of European Soil Database for public distribution. Draft of the European Soil Atlas both printed and on CD-ROM. Updated Focus Information System. Continuing of the FOCUS Help Desk.
Summary of the Action:
The main Tasks of this Action are: to contribute to the development of a Community soil monitoring system that will form the basis for a European soil monitoring legislation, including harmonisation of measurements; to develop an integrated database combining information on the major threats to European soils, together with information sources relating to key waste streams having an impact on soils. Rationale The Communication from the Commission "Towards a Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection" (COM(2002) 179 final) clearly identifies major threats to soils in Europe. Current actions to address soil protection and reverse the current trends of soil degradation are based on incomplete information. The necessary improvement of the information base on soil threats can be achieved through the establishment of a European Soil Monitoring Network as a new component of the European Soil Information System. Such a network will be used not just to ensure soil protection itself, but as a measure of the effectiveness of other protection policies and as a tool for their improvement where necessary. This will require the set-up of interfaces to other sectors such as air, water, waste, forest, agriculture and climate change.

Call for proposal

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Coordinator

Institute for Environment and Sustainability
EU contribution
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Address
Via E. Fermi 1
21020 Ispra
Italy

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Total cost
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