Soil archives store a representative subset of soil samples, which makes it possible to use one sample for various purposes, including research, thus reducing the long-term costs of in situ monitoring. In addition, soil archives make it possible to re-evaluate soil samples taken in the past in the context of the present for the purposes of an improved understanding of long-term soil change, or for other research purposes, including medical research. The Commission, including services such as the JRC, and the Member States should ensure that a representative subset of soil samples is well preserved in physical archives and remains available for further research and innovation. Where Member States undertake such archiving, a representative subset of soil samples should be stored in dedicated soil archives at least for two monitoring cycles. It should be possible for Member States to decide to transfer a representative subset of their soil samples to the Commission’s dedicated soil archive.
Text as published in the Official Journal, reproduced verbatim (including any typographical quirks of the source). For the authentic version, see EUR-Lex.
