ISO 11074:2015 defines a list of terms used in the preparation of the standards in the field of soil quality. The terms are classified under the following main headings:

- general terms (terms relating to soil, soil materials, land, and sites);

- description of soil (soil characteristics, soil water, properties of soils and substances, processes in soil, contamination, pollution, background content);

- sampling (general terms, sample types/sampling type, sampling stages, execution of sampling, quality control samples, sample pretreatment);

- terms relating to the assessment of soils (quality, assessment of soil and sites with respect to risk, hazard and exposure, soil protection);

- remediation (general terms, principal remediation types, engineering-based methods, process-based treatment methods);

- soil ecotoxicology.