When soil becomes sealed: What is sealing all about?

By Arild Vågen, CC BY-SA 4.0. 

You’ve probably noticed sealed surfaces in your surroundings - such as parking lots, buildings, cycle paths, or tennis courts. But have you ever thought about what the soil beneath these surfaces looks like? Before we show you an example, we invite you to take a moment to reflect on what is meant by soil sealing. 

Would you like to see how soil sealing looks like from below ground in Austria – check this 3D soil profile out!

Soil sealing is recognised as one of the major soil threats in Europe. The ongoing trend of increasing urbanisation is a key driver, resulting in land take and the artificial sealing of soils at the expense of functional soils that provide essential ecosystem services. Remember? You learned about ecosystem services in Module 1. 

For you to understand what soil sealing is, you need to get familiar with closely related concepts. This topic is however only about anthropogenic soil sealing.