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4.2.4.        Land use change

Area of urban land and soil sealing

Extended soil sealing causes serious environmental impacts. These include lower infiltration and groundwater recharge, drinking water quality problems in underlying groundwater bodies due to accumulation of urban pollutants, faster rainfall-runoff processes leading to more frequent and intense flooding. As a result of soil sealing, the soil can no longer perform many of its ecological functions in and above ground. Urban sprawl and expansion of transport infrastructure also causes fragmentation of landscapes and disturbance of ecosystems (EEA, 2019e, 2020d, 2019f).