Soil and subsoil protection is closely linked to the chemical and physical quality of water, as the two components are often in close contact with each other. Suffice it to say that if one of the two phases is heavily polluted, the one in contact with it will be the same. This implies that depending on the use or type of land, reference is made to different maximum acceptability limits to define the conformity of the aforementioned land. The new Environmental Code (Legislative Decree No. 152 of 2006) defines the maximum limits of acceptability of the pollutants for each type of contaminated site taken into consideration, defines the frequencies of monitoring, the management methods and intervention in cases of pollution in progress and environmental restoration.

The analysis of soils intended for agronomic use is of fundamental importance for monitoring the quality and improving their agricultural performance. For this purpose, chemical and microbiological laboratory analyses are carried out to define their salubrity.

For the chemical-physical characterization of agricultural soil, Ministerial Decree 13/09/1999 defines the “Official methods of soil analysis” to be used.

Sampling should represent the entire site under analysis, so it is advisable, where possible, to implement the different sampling techniques known today (the most common is the conical heap). The optimal quantity to be presented in the laboratory is 1-4 kg inside a clean container (glass jars with a ring or 1L plastic bottles with a cap underneath). If the analysis of volatile compounds is foreseen on the sample, it would be good to use glass containers with a cap underneath and make sure to completely fill the container in order to avoid leaving too much head space where the volatile compounds can accumulate.

Each sample delivered to the laboratory must be accompanied by the accompanying document, without which the Laboratory will not proceed with the acceptance of the sample.

This document can be completed at the time of delivery of the sample to the Laboratory.
However, to speed up the sample acceptance procedure, please download the form by clicking on the button below