SPADA Meeting Book

Methods for determining soil characteristics should be selected from standardized 184 procedures, preferably the ISO methods listed in the Handbook of Soil Analysis (3). Most 185 of these methods are performed at agricultural analytical laboratories across the nation 186 (Table 2). When submitting a soil for analysis, it is recommended the laboratory’s soil 187 preparation steps are utilized and the laboratory is alerted prior to sending the soil if it is 188 not from the local region. Most analytical laboratories will calibrate instruments for soil 189 characteristics specific to their region. If sending a soil from another part of the nation or 190 the world, alerting them to the possible differences will allow them to tailor their methods 191 towards the expected characteristics of the sample. For example, soil pH varies greatly 192 with more acidic soil typically found on the east coast and more basic soils in the western 193 U.S. Alerting the laboratory that a soil may have a different pH than typically found in 194 the local region will ensure they calibrate the pH probe correctly for the soil. Additional 195 tests often offered by these analytical laboratories include CEC, moisture content, and 196 water holding capacity. Samples to be submitted to a laboratory for chemical and 197 physical characterization should be sterilized by autoclaving (see Section 8.7) with the 198 understanding that this impacts culturing and assessment of heat labile materials. 199 Alternatively, there are field test kits available for determination of soil moisture and 200 other parameters. 204 content over time. Although free RNA degrades rapidly, encapsulated RNA (e.g., RNA 205 viruses) can be very stable. Additionally, many vegetative forms of bacterial pathogens 206 201 202 203 7.1.2 Microbiological Characterization The microbiological stability of soil samples can be gauged by measuring RNA

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