EN ISO 23611-6:2013

This part of ISO 23611 provides guidance for the design of field studies with soil invertebrates (e.g. for themonitoring of the quality of a soil as a habitat for organisms). Detailed information on the sampling of themost important soil organisms is provided in the other parts of this International Standard (ISO 23611-1 toISO 23611-5).This part of ISO 23611 is used for all terrestrial biotopes in which soil invertebrates occur. Basic information onthe design of field studies in general is already laid down in ISO 10381-1. This information can vary accordingto the national requirements or the climatic/regional conditions of the site to be sampled.NOTE While this part of ISO 23611 aims to be applicable globally for all terrestrial sites that are inhabited by soilinvertebrates, the existing information refers mostly to temperate regions. However, the (few) studies from other (tropicaland boreal) regions, as well as theoretical considerations, allow the conclusion that the principles laid down in this part ofISO 23611 are generally valid, References [4], [6], [40], [21].This part of ISO 23611 gives information on site-specific risk assessment of contaminated land, study ofpotential side effects of anthropogenic impacts (e.g. the application of chemicals or the building of roads), thebiological classification and assessment of soils in order to determine the biological quality of soils, and longtermbiogeographical monitoring in the context of nature protection or restoration, including global change (e.g.as in long-term ecological research projects).