The new EU soil monitoring law will generate better monitoring and data on soil health, creating incentives for nature-based solutions to restore healthy soils.
The EU has a new law on soils, aiming to have all our soils in a healthy condition by 2050. The newly minted Soil Monitoring Directive [1] establishes a unified approach that requires EU member states to monitor and progressively improve soil health. The directive places responsibility on member states to establish soil monitoring systems and implement measures to improve soil health. The monitoring will be organised in soil districts that cover one or more soil units. This structure will help ensure that it is clear which government bodies are responsible for monitoring which areas.
It is important to note that the law does not set any direct obligations on farmers or foresters. That said, member states are encouraged to use the new soil monitoring data in support of their farmers and foresters by providing independent advice, training activities, and capacity building. Established EU programmes are already used to support soil actions by farmers and foresters, notably support through the strategic plans of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). With the new data, it will be easier to measure and compare the impacts of different practices and trends and adjust policies and funding accordingly.
This law represents a sea change in our understanding of EU soils. It requires member states to define unique soil units according to soil type, climate, and environment. In each unit, it must be possible to pinpoint the share of degraded soil with an accuracy of 95% or more. Furthermore, the units must match what member states count under the LULUCF regulation, so that the data can be directly used to account for soil carbon sinks. Member States must assess soil health against sustainable target values and against trigger values which flag when soils are dangerously unhealthy [2].
Soil must be monitored for soil organic carbon, soil compaction (topsoil and subsoil), pollution (heavy metals, PFAS, certain pesticides and their residues, and certain organic contaminants). The law for the first time requires monitoring of soil biodiversity, in the form of fungi and bacteria (measured by DNA metabarcoding).
Member states can go further and establish additional soil descriptors and indicators, for example to address regional concerns such as water quality. Together, these actions will enable more informed and timely soil conservation and protection actions.
So, what does the law mean for nature-based solutions?
Nature-based solutions offer cost-effective ways to restore healthy soils, such as reversing soil compaction, increasing soil organic matter, and removing contaminants, whilst delivering social and economic benefits. For example, regenerative agriculture promotes practices for healthy soils including diversified crop rotations, cover crops, minimum tillage, and landscape features and permanent vegetation elements that stop soil erosion. The law will significantly improve the information we have on soil organic carbon, which is also an indicator under the new EU nature restoration regulation. This will be useful to roll out policies to help farmers and foresters to adopt more soil-friendly practices, such as carbon certification and nature-friendly labels.
In cities and peri-urban areas, contaminated land often remains unused but could offer space for nature and people if the pollution is contained or removed. Nature-based solutions offer cost-effective and nature friendly ways to reduce soil pollution. The law requires member states to identify potentially contaminated sites and manage them to eliminate risks to human health and the environment, in compliance with the “polluter pays” principle. This will provide a stimulus for nature-based solutions to soil contamination. The law also introduces land-take mitigation principles, with a focus on soil sealing (the covering of soil with impermeable material such as concrete or asphalt) and soil removal (the removal of topsoil during activities such as construction). This will open up space for nature-based solutions in urban and peri-urban areas.
Desertification is when soils are degraded to the point where they cannot support enough plant growth for food production and other ecosystem services from land [3]. Land vulnerability is increasing with climate change and human pressures. There is already a close link between soil erosion, land abandonment and depopulation in Mediterranean regions. Nature-based solutions offer a pathway to the interlinked social, economic and environmental change that is needed to reverse this process.
The Soil Monitoring Law is an opportunity! Member states should use the next three years to implement the rules at national level with nature-based solutions in focus and in full synergy with their planned nature restoration measures.
References
[2] AI4SoilHealth (2025) Brief: Europe Adopts its First Soil Health Law: Creating a Common Ground for Europe’s Soil Resilience. https://ai4soilhealth.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Europe-Adopts-its-First-Soil-Health-Law-Creating-a-Common-Ground-for-Europes-Soil-Resilience_F.pdf
[3] IEEP (2025) Brief: The increasing threat of desertification to Europe. https://ieep.eu/publications/the-increasing-threat-of-desertification-to-europe/
Author: IEEP
