World’s Soil Resources

This is due to the country’s geo-morphological conditions with more than 60 percent of the territory occupied
by mountains. As a consequence, urban sprawl and land consumption occurs in restricted areas, with resulting
high pressures on the environment.
Overall, the Austrian soils are in a good condition, but their ecological functionality is at risk from diffuse
and local accumulation of pollutants, intensive use of land, sealing and erosion. The more affected areas are
located in the Alpine region, where forest soils are threatened by air deposition, and in urban areas, where
sealing and contamination put urban soils under a growing pressure. Sealing is also present in rural areas due
to the increasing urban sprawl and new road construction. In arable land, According environmental measures
within Cross Compliance in arable land a treatment of the soil is prohibited, if the soil is water-satisfied. Soil
erosion is higher on steeper slopes and land under permanent crops (vineyards, orchards), as well as on land
cultivated with maize, sugar beet, potatoes and vegetables.
The use of heavy machinery, especially in case of wet soil conditions, often results in the compaction of the
topsoil, which can reach in some cases the subsoil layer. Soil compaction mainly occurs in areas with intensive
agriculture and, locally, in other areas due to forest management activities. According environmental measures
within Cross Compliance in arable land a treatment of the soil is prohibited, if the soil is water-satisfied.
Floods happen occasionally in the floodplains of eastern Austria after extraordinary weather conditions
(heavy rainfalls) whereas landslides occur quite often in the alpine regions with steep slopes. Adequate
management measures for the protection of forests and afforestation, as well as technical engineering
measures, are being implemented to prevent the consequences of such events and reduce the risks.
Salinization is found in the areas around the lake Neusiedl, which is located in the north-eastern part, at
the Hungarian border. Salinization is causing problems only in small areas with intensively managed and
irrigated agricultural soils. Information on decline of organic matter is scarce. Some areas of arable land show
low organic matter content. The evaluation of the Austrian environment programme for agriculture (ÖPUL)
concerning organic matter contents in soil showed positive trends.
Contamination from heavy metals is mainly due to long-range trans-boundary air pollution, especially in
forest soils due to the high filter capacity of vegetation cover and the barrier effects of the Alps to air mass
circulation. Contamination by heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants can also be found in restricted
areas originating from different sources, e.g. local industrial sources, traffic especially near bigger population
centres or agricultural sources.
The restructuring of the industrial sector and in particular the decline of the heavy industry in the 1990s
did not have observable effects on environmental pressures. Despite the decrease of the overall production,
the contribution of this sector to the overall emissions is still considerable. Adverse effects of soil degradation
are still to be expected, despite the continuing improvement in the implementation of regulations and the
reduction of pollutant emissions, since many pollutants (e.g. heavy metals) are accumulating in the soil. The
major indirect impacts are on biodiversity and the quality of groundwater resources.
Status of the World’s Soil Resources | Main Report Regional Assessment of Soil Changes
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in Europe and Eurasia