Cardiff Lends Expertise to EUROSION Soil Network 2026

Key Points

• Cardiff University is contributing expertise to EUROSION, the first pan-European dynamic soil erosion monitoring network.
• EUROSION unites 24 partners from 13 countries to establish a large-scale research and innovation project.
• The project relies on 14 monitoring sites stretching from Norway to Tunisia, functioning as open-air laboratories.
• These sites cover water, wind, and farming-related erosion processes.
• Soil erosion threatens key processes like nutrient cycling, food provision, and water purification.
• Better monitoring and analysis of on-site and off-site effects of erosion is essential, as stated by the multi-national team.
• On-site effects include loss of topsoil and reduced soil fertility on the affected land.
• Off-site effects involve sediment entering rivers or dust from wind erosion impacting surrounding areas.
• Dr Zhuoli Zhou from Cardiff University’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences explains these impacts in detail.
• The network will provide valuable data to understand erosion impacts and support effective land management across Europe.
• Aims include expanding, improving, and harmonising existing data, knowledge, and monitoring approaches.
• Advances will enable assessment of soil erosion status and trends across geographies and over time.
• The initiative promotes best practices to agricultural land managers and decision-makers to reduce soil erosion.

Cardiff (Cardiff Daily) April 1, 2026 – Cardiff University is lending its scientific expertise to EUROSION, a groundbreaking pan-European network designed to monitor soil erosion dynamically across the continent. This unique initiative brings together 24 partners from 13 countries, establishing the first large-scale research and innovation project of its kind with 14 monitoring sites from Norway to Tunisia serving as open-air laboratories for water, wind, and farming-related erosion processes.

Soil erosion poses a major threat to essential soil functions, including nutrient cycling, food provision, and water purification, necessitating improved monitoring of its on- and off-site effects, according to the multi-national team behind the project.

What is EUROSION and Why Was It Launched?

EUROSION, formally the European Soil Erosion Monitoring and Modelling Network for Sustainable Agricultural Land Management, officially kicked off with a meeting in Wageningen, Netherlands, from 20 to 22 January 2026. As reported in coverage by ISRIC – World Soil Information, partners from across Europe gathered to initiate a five-year collaboration aimed at developing a dynamic, pan-European system for monitoring and modelling soil erosion.

The project addresses the urgent need for harmonised data on erosion, which affects ecosystem services profoundly. Dr Zhuoli Zhou, from Cardiff University’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, explains:

“On-site effects refer to impacts on the land where erosion occurs such as loss of topsoil and reduced soil fertility. While off-site effects are impacts elsewhere, for example sediment entering rivers or dust from wind erosion affecting surrounding areas.”

This network will provide valuable data to better understand these impacts arising from soil erosion processes, supporting more effective land management across Europe, Dr Zhou added.

The European Commission’s CORDIS platform details that EUROSION tackles erosion’s threat to nutrient cycling, food production, and clean water access through robust monitoring and prevention measures.

How Will the Monitoring Network Operate?

The project relies on 14 monitoring sites stretching from Norway to Tunisia, acting as open-air laboratories to cover water, wind, and farming-related erosion processes comprehensively.

Sessions at the Wageningen kick-off meeting focused on monitoring networks, harmonised measurement methods, modelling frameworks, data infrastructures, and policy relevance, as noted in the ISRIC report.

EUROSION aims to expand, improve, and harmonise existing data, knowledge, and monitoring approaches, enabling partners to assess soil erosion status and trends across geographies and over time.

As outlined on CORDIS, this will be achieved by:

(i) creating a robust multi-scale monitoring network composed of EUROSION partners and complementary stakeholders; (ii) elaborating a monitoring scheme using harmonised methods for up-to-date, reliable data; (iii) developing interrelated wind-water-tillage process-based erosion models to quantify erosion from local to EU scale and estimate management practice impacts.

These efforts will culminate in a user-friendly, interactive, open-access platform for policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders to visualise dynamic erosion maps and conduct further research.

The International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC) supports EUROSION by contributing to the harmonisation, preparation, and integration of soil datasets at European scale, according to their coverage.

Wageningen University & Research emphasises the project’s focus on 12 specific Monitoring Nodes representing European erosion hotspots and key agricultural areas.

What Are the Impacts of Soil Erosion in Europe?

Erosion is a major threat to processes involving soil, such as nutrient cycling, food provision, and water purification, with better monitoring required for its on- and off-site effects.

The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) reports that soil erosion amounts to 1 billion tonnes per year across the EU, with 24% of EU soils affected by water erosion, mainly in cropland, potentially rising 13-25% by 2050.

Unsustainable water erosion impacts about 32% of agricultural land, while tillage erosion from mechanical soil agitation significantly affects cultivated fields; other forms include wind erosion and crop harvesting.

Eurostat’s agri-environmental indicator notes that agriculture drives soil erosion by water, with 11.6% of erosion-prone land (43 million hectares) affected by moderate or severe erosion (>5 tonnes/ha/year) in the EU-27 in 2016, down 1.6 percentage points since 2000.

Agricultural areas and natural grassland comprise over 80% of affected erosion-prone land, with 17.9% impacted (a 2.6 pp decrease since 2000), thanks to improved management, though 35 million hectares remain vulnerable.

Land management practices like reduced/no tillage, cover crops, and plant residues decreased the C-factor for Europe by 19.1% on average in arable land, with reduced tillage having the largest effect.

Who Are the Key Partners and Contributors?

Cardiff University provides critical expertise through researchers like Dr Zhuoli Zhou, who highlights the network’s role in data provision for land management.

The 24 partners span 13 countries, with the kick-off in Wageningen underscoring Dutch involvement via ISRIC and Wageningen University.

EUROSION collaborates closely with local stakeholders, EU policymakers, and the JRC, implementing in 12-14 monitoring nodes.

What Best Practices Will EUROSION Promote?

The team states that assessing erosion trends will help reduce soil erosion by promoting best practices to agricultural land managers and decision-makers.

EUROSION will deliver reliable estimates and validated indicators, providing recommendations on best management practices with tailored cost-benefit analysis.

This enables science-based trade-offs for soil-related policies, including the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

The JRC notes that CAP Strategic Plans support sustainable soil use via mandatory and voluntary measures; for 2023-2027, 47% of European farmland (up from 15%) receives support for soil improvement or degradation avoidance, including water erosion.

How Does Cardiff University’s Role Fit In?

Cardiff lends expertise to this unique scientific network setup to better understand soil erosion in Europe, as per the project’s announcement.

Dr Zhou’s explanation of on- and off-site effects underscores Cardiff’s contribution to clarifying erosion’s multifaceted impacts.

“So, this network will provide valuable data to better understand these impacts arising from soil erosion processes, supporting more effective land management across Europe,” Dr Zhou stated.

What Broader Context Supports This Initiative?

Past efforts like the European Soil Data Centre (ESDAC), established in 2006, host 88 datasets and 6000 maps for harmonised soil information.

HoliSoils and other projects have pushed for harmonised forest soil data, aligning with EUROSION’s goals.

A 2010 ESDAC project collected erosion data from national institutions, building foundational knowledge.

The EUROSION platform will enhance these by offering dynamic, validated indicators for policy and practice.