Environmental assessment of soil for monitoring : Volume IVb: Prototype evaluation : pilot studies

The ENVASSO Project (Contract 022713) was funded under the European Commission 6th Framework Programme of Research, 2006-8, with the objective of defining and documenting a soil monitoring system appropriate for soil protection at continental level. The ENVASSO Consortium, comprising 37 partners drawn from 25 EU Member States, reviewed almost 300 soil indicators, identified existing soil inventories and monitoring programmes in the Member States, and drafted procedures and protocols appropriate for inclusion in a European soil monitoring network of sites that are geo-referenced and at which a qualified sampling process is or could be conducted. This volume (IVb), a companion to the summary results (Volume IVa) of testing 22 indicator procedures in 28 Pilot Areas in the Member Sates, describes each pilot area study in detail. These Pilot Area study reports adhere to a standard reporting template to aid comparison and evaluation. They represent a wide range of soil-landscapes from the north to the south of Europe, some of which are transnational, and also represent the most comprehensive investigation of indicator performance at European level.