This document provides standard procedures for the collection, handling and storage of soil for subsequent biological testing under aerobic conditions in the laboratory. It applies to the collection, handling and storage for assessing the effects of soil on microorganisms, invertebrates (e.g. survival, reproduction, growth, behaviour) and plants (e.g. development, growth). This document is not applicable to the handling of soil where anaerobic conditions need to be maintained throughout.


This document describes how to minimize the effects of differences in temperature, water content, and availability of oxygen on aerobic processes as well as the fractionation of soil particles to facilitate reproducible laboratory determinations[1][2].


This document is mainly applicable to temperate soils. Soils collected from extreme climates (e.g. permafrost, tropical soils) can require special handling.


NOTE This document does not provide standard procedures on the collection, handling and storage of soil organisms when assessing the structure and function of soil organism communities in the field. Such standard procedures are provided in ISO 23611‑1 to ISO 23611‑6.