Summary: Soil is a non‐renewable resource that requires constant monitoring to prevent its degradation and promote its sustainable management. The ‘Land Use/Cover Area frame statistical Survey Soil’ (LUCAS Soil) is an extensive and regular topsoil survey that is carried out across the European Union to derive policy‐relevant statistics on the effect of land management on soil characteristics. Approximately 45 000 soil samples have been collected from two time‐periods, 2009–2012 and 2015. A new sampling series will be undertaken in 2018, with new measurements included. The organization for the 2018 sampling campaign represents an opportunity to summarize past LUCAS Soil achievements and present its future objectives. In 2009–2012 and 2015, LUCAS Soil surveys targeted physicochemical properties, including pH, organic carbon, nutrient concentrations and cation exchange capacity. Data from 2009–2012 (ca. 22 000 points) and derived output (more than 20 maps) are available freely from the European Soil Data Centre website. Analyses of samples collected during 2015 are ongoing and data will be available at the end of 2017. In the 2018 LUCAS Soil sampling campaign, additional properties, including bulk density, soil biodiversity, specific measurements for organic‐rich soil and soil erosion will be measured. Here we present the current dataset (LUCAS Soil 2009–2012 and 2015), its potential for reuse and future development plans (LUCAS Soil 2018 and over). LUCAS Soil represents the largest harmonized open‐access dataset of topsoil properties available for the European Union at the global scale. It was developed as an expandable resource, with the possibility to add new properties and sampling locations during successive sampling campaigns. Data are available to the scientific community and decision makers, thus contributing to both research and the development of the land‐focused policy agenda. Highlights: LUCAS Soil consists of soil physicochemical and biological properties data from Europe. Harmonized and open‐access dataset allowing inclusion of soil in large‐scale inter‐disciplinary assessments. LUCAS Soil has a broad pool of users from scientists to policy makers, and applications from map validation to modelling. LUCAS Soil confirms the need for open‐access and a large‐scale dataset for soil properties.

Copper (Cu) distribution in soil is influenced by climatic, geological and pedological factors. Apart from geological sources and industrial pollution, other anthropogenic sources, related to the agricultural activity, may increase copper levels in soils, especially in permanent crops such as olive groves and vineyards. This study uses 21,682 soil samples from the LUCAS topsoil survey to investigate copper distribution in the soils of 25 European Union (EU) Member States. Generalized Linear Models (GLM) were used to investigate the factors driving copper distribution in EU soils. Regression analysis shows the importance of topsoil properties, land cover and climate in estimating Cu concentration. Meanwhile, a copper regression model confirms our hypothesis that different agricultural management practices have a relevant influence on Cu concentration. Besides the traditional use of copper as a fungicide for treatments in several permanent crops, the combined effect of soil properties such as high pH, soil organic carbon and clay, with humid and wet climatic conditions favours copper accumulation in soils of vineyards and tree crops. Compared to the overall average Cu concentration of 16.85 mg kg^-1, vineyards have the highest mean soil Cu concentration (49.26 mg kg^-1) of all land use categories, followed by olive groves and orchards. Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) combined with kriging were used to map copper concentration in topsoils and to evidence the presence of outliers. GPR proved to be performant in predicting Cu concentration, especially in combination with kriging, accounting for 66% of Cu deviance. The derived maps are novel as they include information about the importance of topsoil properties in the copper mapping process, thus improving its accuracy. Both models highlight the influence of land management practices in copper concentration and the strong correlation between topsoil copper and vineyards.

Approval for glyphosate-based herbicides in the European Union (EU) is under intense debate due to concern about their effects on the environment and human health. The occurrence of glyphosate residues in European water bodies is rather well documented whereas only few, fragmented and outdated information is available for European soils. We provide the first large-scale assessment of distribution (occurrence and concentrations) of glyphosate and its main metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) in EU agricultural topsoils, and estimate their potential spreading by wind and water erosion. Glyphosate and/or AMPA were present in 45% of the topsoils collected, originating from eleven countries and six crop systems, with a maximum concentration of 2mgkg-1. Several glyphosate and AMPA hotspots were identified across the EU. Soil loss rates (obtained from recently derived European maps) were used to estimate the potential export of glyphosate and AMPA by wind and water erosion. The estimated exports, result of a conceptually simple model, clearly indicate that particulate transport can contribute to human and environmental exposure to herbicide residues. Residue threshold values in soils are urgently needed to define potential risks for soil health and off site effects related to export by wind and water erosion.

Bottom–up estimates from long‐term field experiments and modelling are the most commonly used approaches to estimate the carbon (C) sequestration potential of the agricultural sector. However, when data are required at European level, important margins of uncertainty still exist due to the representativeness of local data at large scale or different assumptions and information utilized for running models. In this context, a pan‐European (EU + Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Norway) simulation platform with high spatial resolution and harmonized data sets was developed to provide consistent scenarios in support of possible carbon sequestration policies. Using the CENTURY agroecosystem model, six alternative management practices (AMP) scenarios were assessed as alternatives to the business as usual situation (BAU). These consisted of the conversion of arable land to grassland (and vice versa), straw incorporation, reduced tillage, straw incorporation combined with reduced tillage, ley cropping system and cover crops. The conversion into grassland showed the highest soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration rates, ranging between 0.4 and 0.8 t C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, while the opposite extreme scenario (100% of grassland conversion into arable) gave cumulated losses of up to 2 Gt of C by 2100. Among the other practices, ley cropping systems and cover crops gave better performances than straw incorporation and reduced tillage. The allocation of 12 to 28% of the European arable land to different AMP combinations resulted in a potential SOC sequestration of 101–336 Mt CO₂ eq. by 2020 and 549‐2141 Mt CO₂ eq. by 2100. Modelled carbon sequestration rates compared with values from an ad hoc meta‐analysis confirmed the robustness of these estimates.