Comparison of modern and traditional methods of soilsorption complex measurement : the basis of long -term studies and modelling

Abstract

This paper presents the correlations between two different analytical methods of assessing soil nutrient contents. Soil nutrient content measurements measured using the flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS ) method, which uses barium chloride extraction, were compared with those of the now-unused Gedroiz method, which uses ammonium chloride extraction (calcium by titration, magnesium, potassium and sodium by weighing). Natural forest soils from the Ukrainian Carpathians at the localities of Javorník and Pop Ivan were used. Despite the risk of analysis errors during the complicated analytical procedure, the results showed a high level of correlation between different nutrient content measurements across the whole soil profile. This allows concentration values given in different studies to be linearly recalculated on results of modern method. In this way, results can be used to study soil’s chemical changes over time from the soil samples that were analysed in the past using labour-intensive and time-consuming methods with a higher risk of analytic error.

Keywords

• gedroiz
• flame atomic absorption spectrometry
• base cations
• soil analysis
• natural forest
• sorption complex