BENCHMARKS soil sampling protocol: Guidelines for agricultural and forest experimental sites

Symanczik, Sarah; Lori, Martina; Bacq-Labreuil, Aurélie; Basile, Angelo; Beriot, Nicolas; Berlin, Alexander; Bünemann, Else K.; Cheval, Pénélope; Cunha, Luis; David, Felix; Di Lonardo, Paolo; Götzinger, Sophia; Grahmann, Kathrin; Hofman, Jakub; Mäkipää, Raisa; Möller, Julia; Reis, Filipa; Sanén, Taru; Törmänen, Tiina and Creamer, Rachel (2025) BENCHMARKS soil sampling protocol: Guidelines for agricultural and forest experimental sites. Natural resources and bioeconomy studies, no. 39. Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) .

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Summary

To evaluate soil health, a diverse set of biological, chemical, and physical SHIs is proposed. To optimize soil samples for subsequent analyses, SHI-compliant sampling protocols are implemented, aligning with the BENCHMARKS sampling scheme.
For baseline site characterisation, soil samples will be collected using BENCHMARKS protocols for bulk soil, bulk density, earthworms, and mesofauna. Depending on site-specific challenges, additional samples may be collected using protocols tailored to plastic sampling or hydraulic property sampling. The document also provides detailed guidelines on sample processing, shipping, and storage tailored to each soil sampling protocol. Lastly, it outlines the SHIs recommended for assessment both in the laboratory and directly in the field.

EPrint Type:	Report
Keywords:	soil sampling protocols, soil sample processing, sample storage, Abacus, FiBL10207, BENCHMARKS sample shipment, soil health indicators, laboratory analysis
Agrovoc keywords:	Language Value URI English soil sampling http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_25271 English protocols http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_c6f4f99b English soil health -> soil quality http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_a9645d28
Subjects:	Soil > Soil quality > Soil biology Knowledge management > Research methodology and philosophy > Specific methods
Research affiliation:	Austria > AGES GmBH Switzerland > FiBL - Research Institute of Organic Agriculture Switzerland > Soil > Nutrient management Switzerland > FiBL - Research Institute of Organic Agriculture Switzerland > Soil > Soil quality > Soil functions Czech Republic > Other institutions Czech republic Germany > Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research - ZALF European Union > Horizon Europe > BENCHMARKS France > INRAe - Institut national de recherche pour l’agriculture, l’alimentation et l’environnement France > Other organizations France Italy > CNR - National Research Council Finland > Luke Natural Resources Institute Portugal Netherlands > Wageningen University & Research (WUR) Germany > Other organizations Germany
Horizon Europe or H2020 Grant Agreement Number:	101091010
ISSN:	2342-7639
ISBN:	978-952-419-062-6
Related Links:	https://www.fibl.org/en/themes/projectdatabase/projectitem/project/2319, https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101091010
Deposited By:	Ellenberger, Maura
ID Code:	56751
Deposited On:	11 Feb 2026 13:13
Last Modified:	11 Feb 2026 13:16
Document Language:	English
Status:	Published
Refereed:	Not peer-reviewed

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