Land is a non-renewable resource with limited availability and, therefore, a very important issue is the preservation of useful properties of land and comprehensive and sustainable land use. The process of land and soil degradation (decline of properties) leading to the formation of degraded land have been observed due to the influence of various economic activities and environmental conditions.

Soil samples in 349  sampling plots were obtained within the LUCAS project in 2009; from these, 205 soil samples were collected in agricultural lands (grasslands, arable lands, grasslands overgrown by trees and shrubs), and 133 soil samples were obtained in forests (deciduous, coniferous and mixed forests), as well as 7 soil samples–in scrublands.