A comprehensive set of activities aimed at maintaining, restoring and rational using the earth's surface and soil. It include the preservation of soil and land functions in environmental, economic, social and cultural terms, including food and biomass production, the storage and transformation of nutrients, substances and water, the protection of biodiversity, the provision of raw materials and elements reservoirs. Protective actions include preventing soil degradation, including erosion, humus decline, compaction, salinization, and acidification, as well as limiting soil sealing and minimizing built-up areas.

Land surface protection involves the preservation or creation of biologically active surfaces, counteracting mass movements of earth, and unfavorable changes in the natural area. An integral part of protection are repair and reclamation activities, enabling the restoration or enhancement of natural and utility functions of areas transformed by human activity.

• Act of 27 April 2001, the Environmental Law
  Place of publication: (Dz. U. z 2025 r. poz. 647, z późn. zm.)