Environment Pesticides pollute 70 percent of European soils
Pesticides are not only harmful to birds, bees and insects: according to a new study, the use of pesticides also damages beneficial soil organisms such as bacteria, fungi, nematodes and protozoa.
28.01.2026, 17:00
SDA
70 percent of European soils are contaminated with pesticides, as the study by the University of Zurich and nine other research institutes shows. The results were published in the journal Nature on Wednesday.
For the study, the researchers investigated the effects of 63 pesticides on the soil. To do so, they took 373 soil samples from fields, forests and meadows in 26 European countries.
Active substances against fungi were identified most frequently. However, they also found herbicides and insecticides in the soil.
The research team found most pesticides in agricultural fields, but they also found traces of them in forests and meadows where pesticides are not normally used.
