Suolo - 2003 - A Field Guide to the Soil-landscapes of the Piemon

European Summer School on Soil Survey
7 The physical and chemical analysis
The analytical work was carried out according to the following phases:
1. Drying of the soil samples from the field surveys and sieving at 2 and 0.5 mm.
2. The topsoils and diagnostic horizons have been analysed for:
• Particle-size analyses by pipet method
• pH by potentiometric measure in soil dilution
• calcium carbonate by gas volumetric method (Dietrich-Fruehling)
• cation exchange capacity in BaCl2 at pH 8.2
• exchangeable calcium in barium and atomic absorption
• exchangeable magnesium in barium and atomic absorption
• exchangeable potassium in barium and atomic absorption
• organic carbon by acid-dichromate digestion (Walkley-Black).
Samples of topsoils have also been analysed for total nitrogen, by Kieldhal digestion, and
absorbable phosphorus, by Olsen method. On the argillic horizons a micromorphological
analysis was performed by thin sections and chemical determination of Fe forms by
dithionite-citrate and oxalate extraction.
8 References
IPLA, 1982. The Piemonte land use capability classification, Edition l'équipe, Turin.
IPLA, 2002. Fieldbook for soil survey and description, not published.
Munsell, 1992. Soil color chart. Macbeth, New York.
Carraro F., Bortolami G., Sacchi R., 1967. Notes for the Geological Map of Italy, 1:100,000.
Fg.43, Roma.
USDA, NRCS. 1998. Keys to Soil Taxonomy. Eighth edition.
Soil Survey Division Staff USDA, 1993. Soil survey manual. U.S. Government Printing Office.
World Reference Base for Soil Resources, FAO, 1998
Official soil analytical chemical methods, National Pedological Observatory, Rome, 1994
USDA, 1972. Soil survey laboratory methods and procedures for collecting samples. Soil
Conservation Service. Washington DC.
Soil Conservation Service, 1984. Procedures for collecting soil samples and method of analysis
for soil survey. USDA.
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A Field Guide to the Soil-landscapes of the Piemonte eastern plain