CEN/TC 444’s Role in Shaping Soil Monitoring Standards for the EU

The European Soil Monitoring Law (SML) is on its way, and standardization plays a crucial role in its implementation.
At HAL24K Agri, we strongly believe in this connection between legislation, practice, and innovation. Our mission: to make the soil data of tomorrow useful for the policy decisions of today.

In July 2024, the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission organized a pivotal workshop in Ispra, Italy. The goal: to harmonize soil pollution data across Europe in preparation for the upcoming Soil Monitoring Law (SML). The event brought together several major European research projects — including SOILWISE, ISLANDR, ARAGORN, and EDAPHOS — and invited experts such as Frank Lamé, Chairman of CEN/TC 444.

CEN/TC 444 – Environmental Characterization of Solid Matrices (amongst which soil) is responsible for the development and maintenance of European Standards, which is done in close cooperation with ISO/TC 190 – Soil Quality. Currently, CEN/TC 444 is responsible for some 190 European Standards, of which around 130 are (also) relevant for soil.

The workshop resulted in a JRC-report * for which the Chairman of CEN/TC 444 is one of the co-authors. The report underlines the importance of European standardization, which is in line with the Annex I and II of the SML. Annex I and II define the soil characteristics that are to be monitored by the EU Member States and refer for that to – partly outdated – ISO standards. The logic behind that is that those methods were chosen in the Land Use and Coverage Area frame Survey (#LUCAS) program. Recognizing the importance of using the same method in subsequent monitoring rounds to avoid changes over time related to the measurement method, the reference to these ISO standards in the SML is understandable. At the same time, this should not hinder the application of more modern methods; certainly not when equivalent European standards are available. Therefore, Annex II of the SML now states “If a CEN methodology is available, it is preferred over the reference methodology. In this case the initial reference methodology is considered as an equivalent methodology.”

It underlines the importance of the work of CEN/TC 444 and the necessity to build on a close relationship between CEN/TC 444, EC, JRC, and the European soil projects. Because even as there are some 130 European standardized methods available, there are still topics that need to be covered. Like a standard for the determination of PFAS in soils, which is expected to be published by the end of this year or early 2026. An essential aspect in the development of standards, also for the SML, is that a standard is ‘fit for purpose’. This implies that the policy goal for which a method is used, is translated into the correct technical specifications of the standard. E.g. is a very precise and expensive method necessary when the requested results are only used to get a rough idea on the soil quality, or the other way around. This calls for discussion and cooperation between the EC, JRC, European soil projects in which new approaches are developed, and CEN/TC 444.

From our side we’re committed to make this a success!

🔗 Read the full JRC report here: