Soil quality - Infopage

Mapping of soil conditions and CAP contribution to soil quality preservation.

Background information

Soil is essential for life and represents the key element to grow crops that feed people and animals. Agricultural practices influence soil viability, while agriculture is heavily dependent on soil quality. The dashboard includes a graph on quantity of soil organic matter, which is a key component to keep soil fertility and to accumulate carbon. It also includes a map on the risk of soil erosion, which can be a major source of degradation.

Crop diversity is important to keep the soil viable: the related graphs show agricultural statistics on the number of crops across Member States. The other graphs are related to CAP interventions directed to soil quality: the share of agricultural land under rural development contracts includes actions to improve soil management and to prevent soil erosion. The greening obligation on crop diversification (expressed both in number of beneficiaries and areas) aims to keep an overall minimum diversity on arable land.

To know more on environmental challenges facing agriculture and rural areas, click here.

In case data are missing for some Member States, EU totals are calculated with the available information.

Graph: Soil organic matter in arable land Unit: Mega t & g/kg

Indicator(s) used in the graph:

Type
Name
Parameter
Code
Unit
Source
Impact
IMP_12 Soil organic matter in arable land
total
IMP_12_1a
Mega tons
Joint Research Centre
Impact
IMP_12 Soil organic matter in arable land
mean
IMP_12_1b
g kg-1
Joint Research Centre

Mapping with legend(s) in the graph:

Legend
Code/Formula
Total organic carbon
IMP_12_1a
Mean organic carbon
IMP_12_1b

Map: Share of UAA in severe risk of soil erosion by water (%)

Indicator(s) used in the graph:

Type
Name
Parameter
Code
Unit
Source
Context
C.42 Soil erosion by water
share of estimated agricultural area affected by moderate to severe water erosion (>11 t/ha/yr)
CTX_ENV_42_2b
% total agricultural area
AIR, Eurostat: FSS

Notes:

  • UAA: Utilised agricultural area
  • Data are displayed here at Member State level. A MAP at Nuts3 level is available here.

Graph: Share of land under contracts to improve soil

Indicator(s) used in the graph:

Type
Name
Parameter
Code
Unit
Source
Result Pillar II
R.10 Percentage of agricultural land under management contracts to improve soil management and/or prevent soil erosion (focus area 4C)
R.10_PII
%
AIR, Eurostat: FSS

Notes:

  • The agricultural land under management contracts to improve soil management (focus area 4C) is reported by Member States to the Commission in the Annual implementation reports (AIR) of Rural Development programmes. The denominator (total Utilised agricultural area) refers to the figure of the closest year in the Farm Structure Survey (Eurostat).
  • It should be noted that a number of management contracts have multiple effects, which means that the same area may count toward other focus areas and priorities, for example in relation to biodiversity and water management.

Graph: Crop diversity on EU farms - Share of farms classified by number of arable crops (%)

Indicator(s) used in the graph:

Type
Name
Parameter
Code
Unit
Source
Result Pillar I
RPI_11 Crop diversity
total
RPI_11_6a
%
Eurostat
Result Pillar I
RPI_11 Crop diversity
total
RPI_11_7a
%
Eurostat
Result Pillar I
RPI_11 Crop diversity
total
RPI_11_8a
%
Eurostat
Result Pillar I
RPI_11 Crop diversity
total
RPI_11_9a
%
Eurostat
Result Pillar I
RPI_11 Crop diversity
total
RPI_11_10a
%
Eurostat

Mapping with legend(s) in the graph:

Legend
Code/Formula
0 crop
RPI_11_6a
1 crop
RPI_11_7a
2 crop
RPI_11_8a
3 crop
RPI_11_9a
>3 crop
RPI_11_10a

Notes:

  • Based on the Farm Structure Survey (Eurostat).

Graph: Farms with 1 arable crop by size class (%)

Indicator(s) used in the graph:

Type
Name
Parameter
Code
Unit
Source
Result Pillar I
RPI_11 Crop diversity
<10ha
RPI_11_7c
Number
Eurostat
Result Pillar I
RPI_11 Crop diversity
10ha - 30ha
RPI_11_7d
Number
Eurostat
Result Pillar I
RPI_11 Crop diversity
30ha - 100ha
RPI_11_7e
Number
Eurostat
Result Pillar I
RPI_11 Crop diversity
>=100ha
RPI_11_7f
Number
Eurostat

Mapping with legend(s) in the graph:

Legend
Code/Formula
<10ha
RPI_11_7c
10ha-30ha
RPI_11_7d
30ha-100ha
RPI_11_7e
>=100ha
RPI_11_7f

Notes:

  • Based on the Farm Structure Survey (Eurostat).

Graph: Share of CAP beneficiaries subject to crop diversification due to greening

by size class of arable land

Indicator(s) used in the graph:

Type
Name
Parameter
Code
Unit
Source
Output Pillar I
OID_00_1 Direct payments (DP)
total
OID_00_1
Number of beneficiaries
CATS
Output Pillar I
OID_07 Crop diversification
total
OID_07_1a
Number of farmers
ISAMM_GREENINGS
Output Pillar I
OID_07 Crop diversification
with 2 crops
OID_07_1b
Number of farmers
ISAMM_GREENINGS
Output Pillar I
OID_07 Crop diversification
with 3 crops
OID_07_1c
Number of farmers
ISAMM_GREENINGS

Mapping with legend(s) in the graph:

Legend
Code/Formula
with 2 crops
OID_07_1b
with 3 crops
OID_07_1c
not subject to crop diversification
OID_00_1 - OID_07_1a

Notes:

  • CATS is the Clearance of Accounts Audit Trail System, i.e. the database used for audit, based on information received from Member States.
  • ISAMM is one of the data systems used by Member States to send their notifications to the European Commission. It is used to extract output indicators (uptake data) on greening.
  • Crop diversification is one of the greening requirements introduced in the 2013 CAP reform. This requirement applies to farmers with over 10 ha of arable land. More info here.

Graph: Farms with 3 arable crops or more by size class (%)

Indicator(s) used in the graph:

Type
Name
Parameter
Code
Unit
Source
Result Pillar I
RPI_11 Crop diversity
<10ha
RPI_11_4c
Number
Eurostat
Result Pillar I
RPI_11 Crop diversity
10ha-30ha
RPI_11_4d
Number
Eurostat
Result Pillar I
RPI_11 Crop diversity
30ha-100ha
RPI_11_4e
Number
Eurostat
Result Pillar I
RPI_11 Crop diversity
>=100ha
RPI_11_4f
Number
Eurostat
Result Pillar I
RPI_11 Crop diversity
<10ha
RPI_11_5c
Number
Eurostat
Result Pillar I
RPI_11 Crop diversity
10ha-30ha
RPI_11_5d
Number
Eurostat
Result Pillar I
RPI_11 Crop diversity
30ha-100ha
RPI_11_5e
Number
Eurostat
Result Pillar I
RPI_11 Crop diversity
>=100ha
RPI_11_5f
Number
Eurostat

Mapping with legend(s) in the graph:

Legend
Code/Formula
<10ha
RPI_11_4c + RPI_11_5c
10ha-30ha
RPI_11_4d + RPI_11_5d
>30ha
RPI_11_4e + RPI_11_5e + RPI_11_4f + RPI_11_5f

Notes:

  • Based on the Farm Structure Survey (Eurostat).


Graph: Share of land subject to crop diversification due to greening (arable land) (%)

Indicator(s) used in the graph:

Type
Name
Parameter
Code
Unit
Source
Context
C.18 Agricultural area
total utilised agricultural area (UAA)
CTX_SEC_18_1
1000 ha UAA
Eurostat: apro_cpsh1
Context
C.18 Agricultural area
share of arable land
CTX_SEC_18_2a
% of total UAA
Eurostat: apro_cpsh2
Output Pillar I
OID_07 Crop diversification
Total
OID_07_2a
Number of hectares of arable land declared
ISAMM_GREENINGS

Mapping with legend(s) in the graph:

Legend
Code/Formula
2015
OID_07_2a/(CTX_SEC_18_1 * 1000 * CTX_SEC_18_2a)
2016
OID_07_2a/(CTX_SEC_18_1 * 1000 * CTX_SEC_18_2a)

Notes:

  • ISAMM is one of the data systems used by Member States to send their notifications to the European Commission. It is used to extract output indicators (uptake data) on greening.
  • The source for the arable land area and the Utilised agricultural area (UAA) is the crop production statistics (Eurostat).
  • Changes in AT between 2015 and 2016 are due to the withdrawal of an equivalent practice to crop diversification, applied in 2015 and not anymore in 2016, implying an increase of the area subject to standard crop diversification.