ABSTRACT
In 1985, the German Federal Environmental Agency and the Commission of European Communities launched the Euro-Soil Project. The method for identification of representative soils should be chosen based on the fact that the limited number of soils to be used for testing ought to represent both a maximum area of the European Community and the wide variability of relevant parameters responsible for sorption processes in soils. In detail, three basic requirements have to be fulfilled: representativity of soil characteristics; representativity with respect to frequency distribution; and regional representativity. Soils and vegetational cover interact in manifold ways; therefore the main types of plant communities and of land use patterns in the European Community must be taken into account. The Euro-Soil concept offers several advantages which could be profitable for the implementation of a multinational and interdisciplinary program on pesticide research.
