Within this department, the Institute carries out fundamental and applied research of public interest at national and international level, independently or, as appropriate, in collaboration with other institutes, in the field of soil science and its interface with related areas: agronomy, environmental sciences, agricultural engineering, meteorology, hydrology, geology, information technology, remote sensing, sociology and rural development, etc.
The Institute’s research and development activities take into account the requirements and recommendations of the Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection COM(2006)231, the activities of the International Union of Soil Sciences, those of the European Soil Portal developed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European standards and directives included in the Water Framework Directive and the concepts of cross-compliance in the Common Agricultural Policy, as well as other international conventions (the Kyoto Protocol, the Convention to Combat Desertification and Land Degradation, etc.) in which soil is included as a subsystem.
The Department comprises the following laboratories:
