Soil Core Sample Collection for Water Retention Property Analysis

Abstract

Source:
Alessia J. Marchesan¹, Guillermo Hernandez Ramirez<sup>1

1</sup>Renewable Resources, University of Alberta.
 

This video demonstrates the technique for collecting a soil sample for hydraulic property analysis. The sampling area is cleared, and the top crust is evacuated. The sampling ring is then placed into the soil to collect the sample. The ring with the sample is then cleaned, labeled, packed, and transferred undisturbed for analysis.

Protocol

1. Sample collection

NOTE: A diagram of the research protocol workflow is represented in Figure 1. Proper sampling visualization is depicted in Figure 2.

1. Identify a representative area of ground to take the sample and clear plant material or other debris on the surface of the soil.
    NOTE: A representative area for the present study includes soil that was directly involved in crop management practices.
2. Excavate the top few centimeters above the desired sampling depth (approximately 5 cm below the surface soil) to remove unwanted soil surface crusting or debris.
3. Place the metal sampling ring level on the excavated surface of the soil, with the sharp side of the metal sampling ring on the soil surface.
4. Place the hammering holder on top of the metal sampling ring so that it fits level and is well set.
5. Using a rubber mallet, gently hit the top of the hammering holder repeatedly until the top of the metal core is in line with the soil surface.
6. Remove the hammering holder from the top of the metal sampling ring.
7. Remove the metal sampling ring from the soil. To ensure the integrity of the sample, dig around the metal sampling ring, then place a shovel underneath the sample to remove the core from the soil.
8. Once the metal sampling ring is removed from the soil, carefully extract the metal sampling ring from the surrounding bulk soil that may be attached to the sample.
9. Level the soil on the top and bottom of the metal sampling ring with a trowel or knife, and place plastic covers on both ends of the ring.
10. Place sample labels on the metal sampling ring with laboratory tape and a permanent marker.
11. Wrap the sample in bubble wrap or other protective material, then place it in a plastic bag with the corresponding sample label.
12. If sampling will include a lower depth in the soil profile, place another metal sampling ring at the bottom of the previous excavation and repeat steps 1.3-1.10.
13. Gently place the sample in a hard cooler or plastic bin, and ensure that the sample is not disturbed during transportation.
14. Store the sample container in a refrigerator of approximately 4 °C until the analysis is performed with the hydraulic property analyzer instrument.
15. Execute a campaign on the collected soil cores using the hydraulic property analyzer instrument to obtain physical and hydraulic data on the study soil.
16. Analyze the data in the hydraulic property analyzer software to obtain a comparison between each study soil (Figure 3).