Soil-sensitive insights into land-system change : vulnerability and ecosystem services losses under artificialisation in Wallonia

Land-system change is one of the central planetary boundaries, yet its monitoring and assessment often remain limited to land-cover data. This presentation moves beyond a purely surface-based perspective by integrating soil properties into the analysis of artificialisation in Wallonia (Belgium) between 2007 and 2019. Using cadastral land-use data combined with a soil-based capacity matrix, the study quantifies the extent of land take, characterises the soils most affected, and evaluates the resulting losses in ecosystem service (ES) delivery.
Results indicate an average annual land take of 19.65 km², primarily at the expense of croplands but also disproportionately affecting marginal and sensitive soils. Although these soils are often undervalued due to their limited agronomic productivity, they provide essential regulating and cultural services, such as water quality regulation, flood mitigation, and erosion control. Their artificialisation therefore represents a critical risk for ecosystem integrity.
This research demonstrates the necessity of incorporating soil-specific data—physical, chemical, and biological indicators—into ecosystem service and land-use planning frameworks. By highlighting the ecological functions of marginal soils, it contributes to current debates on No Net Land Take (NNLT) policies and underscores the need to refine the definition of artificialisation in European contexts.

This contribution sits at the intersection of ecosystems and land-system change, as it examines how artificialisation alters soil-based ecological functions. It also bridges land-system change and the food system, by revealing cropland loss due to artificialization over the years.