DIN EN ISO 25177:2011-09

Traditionally, descriptions of soils and their environment were carried out as parts of soil survey and soil inventories, the purpose of which was to describe the pedogenetic context of the soil and assess applied aspects, principally agronomic potentials. Today, many soil observations are made as part of much wider environmental studies, and include analysis for objectives such as the following: - the identification of human influences on the soils, with particular attention being paid to the negative effects of these influences (for example, pollution and physical deterioration); - land protection within the context of "sustainable" agriculture; - the prediction of the fate of contaminants introduced into the soil; - the assessment of the consequences resulting from changes in the use of the soil; - the development of spatial data bases (used in the context of GIS). Therefore, this International Standard is based on aspects of the traditional approach to soil description (for example, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) "Guidelines for soil description", 1990). The descriptions of soils and sites alone are not sufficient. Field and laboratory measurements (physical, chemical and/or biological) must accompany these descriptions. Care must be taken in the selection of sites, the methods of sampling and the number of samples. It is therefore imperative that this standard be considered in the context of other International Standards developed within the framework of standardization work of ISO/TC 190 "Soil quality".