Status and outlook of ecological soil classification and assessment concepts

This article provides an outlook for the further development of ecological soil classification and assessment systems, based on the insights of an international group of authors working on the development of such systems for their respective governments. It is shown that a lot may be learned from the assessment of the quality of aquatic ecosystems. Parallel to the approach applied there, an approach based on extensive monitoring and ecological insights is proposed for soils. The article also contains recommendations for research to be done to derive optimal terrestrial monitoring networks, derivation of descriptions of reference locations, derivation of ecological quality criteria, the development of indicators, and an optimal exchange of data.