Main goal of the Soil Monitoring Law
The overall objective is to establish a coherent, harmonised EU framework for monitoring and assessing soil health across all Member States, with the long-term aspirational goal of achieving healthy and resilient soils by 2050.
Key aims include:
- Monitoring and assessing soil health in a comparable way across the EU
- Reducing soil contamination to levels no longer harmful to human health and the environment
- Continuously improving and maintaining soil health
- Preventing and addressing all forms of soil degradation (erosion, loss of organic carbon, compaction, salinisation, sealing, loss of biodiversity, etc.)
- Supporting soil resilience so soils can continue to deliver essential ecosystem services (food production, climate regulation, water retention, biodiversity, etc.)
Important note: The 2050 goal of healthy soils is aspirational (non-binding). The Directive does not impose new obligations directly on farmers or foresters.
2. Who is involved?
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| EU Member States | Main implementers. Must transpose the Directive into national law (by Dec 2028), establish soil districts & competent authorities, set up monitoring frameworks, carry out assessments, and report to the Commission. |
| National competent authorities | Designated by each Member State (one or more per soil district) to organise monitoring, assessment and reporting. |
| European Commission | Coordinates, provides guidance, supports LUCAS Soil programme, establishes a digital soil health data portal (with EEA), and reviews implementation. |
| European Environment Agency (EEA) | Helps manage the digital soil health data portal and supports data harmonisation. |
| Landowners & land managers (farmers, foresters) | No new legal obligations. Member States must support them with advice, training, and access to funding to improve soil health. |
| Research & scientific community | Contribute knowledge, methods, living labs (via EU Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe”), and data. |
| National soil surveys / monitoring networks | Critical technical partners (see next section). |
How National Soil Survey can contribute to the implementation of the Soil Monitoring Law
As a specialised organisation with decades of experience in soil survey, mapping, laboratory analysis and monitoring we at National Soil Survey is well positioned to support the practical implementation of the EU Soil Monitoring Law (Directive (EU) 2025/2360) at national level.
We can contribute in the following concrete ways:
- Building on existing expertise and infrastructure
We already carry out detailed field soil surveys, systematic sampling, laboratory analyses and digital soil mapping. These activities can be directly aligned with the new EU monitoring requirements, helping to avoid duplication and reduce implementation costs. - Supporting the design of soil districts and soil units
Our knowledge of local soil types, land use patterns and regional variability allows us to assist competent authorities in defining homogeneous and practical soil units — a key requirement of the Directive. - Providing high-quality data for key soil descriptors
We routinely measure parameters that are central to the SML, including soil organic carbon (and related conversions), particle-size distribution / clay content, bulk density, pH, contamination indicators and other physical and chemical properties. We can also support the development of reliable transfer functions between national methods and the EU reference methods. - Helping establish and maintain monitoring networks
We have practical experience in the construction and maintenance of soil monitoring networks and can contribute to the design of representative sampling schemes that meet the statistical requirements of the Directive. - Assisting with data harmonisation and reporting
Through our GIS and digital soil mapping capabilities we can help convert existing and new data into formats suitable for national reporting and for the future EU digital soil health data portal. - Supporting landowners and land managers
In line with the Directive’s emphasis on support rather than new obligations for farmers, we can provide science-based advice, soil health assessments and practical recommendations that help improve soil resilience on the ground. - Contributing to capacity building
We can participate in training, knowledge exchange and technical support activities aimed at strengthening the national system for soil health monitoring and assessment.