Indicator
Soil erosion
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Description
- 105 million ha., or 16 % of Europe’s total land area (excluding Russia) were estimated to be affected by water erosion in the 1990s.
- Some 42 million ha. of land were estimated to be affected by wind erosion, of which around 1 million ha. were categorised as being severely affected.
- A recent new model of soil erosion by water has estimated the surface area affected in the EU‐27 at 130 million ha. Almost 20 % is subjected to soil loss in excess of 10 tonnes/ha./year.
- Increased variations in rainfall pattern and intensity will make soils more susceptible to water erosion, with off-site effects of soil erosion increasing.
- Increased aridity will make finer-textured soils more vulnerable to wind erosion, especially if accompanied by a decrease in soil organic matter levels.
- Reliable quantitative projections for soil erosion are not available.
Reference information
Source:
EEA – Climate change, impacts and vulnerability in Europe 2012
Published in Climate-ADAPT Jun 07 2016 - Last Modified in Climate-ADAPT Dec 12 2023