Dear colleagues,
Is the cation exchange capacity test on soil samples carried out in a short time after collection of samples ? Does homogenization&sieving of the soil sample affect the CEC results? What is the best condition to do it?
Regards,
Beste
Dear Beste,
Usually, it is appropriate to determine soil properties immediately after sampling. However, over time, some soil properties will change more than others. More volatile elements and biological indicators may tend to change rapidly . This may also depend on the storage conditions of the soil sample. If the samples have been stored under good conditions (free from extreme temperatures and moisture), it is possible that your CEC will not change significantly.
As for the lifetime of your samples (six months), i dont think it will pose a problem to your CEC results. There is very limited literature on this topic but most laboratory manuals provide guidelines for good storage of samples. see the link below.
https://extension.arizona.edu/sites/extension.arizona.edu/files/pubs/az1412.pdf.
I agree with Dr.Kogge that the CEC values may not appreciably change if the soil sample is processed and analysed after six months as one may estimate CEC by estimating exchangeable cations or by saturating the soil cation exchange sites with a particular cation (and displacing with another cation to estimate the index cation).
I agree too provided that the soil was either air dry or frozen to minimise decomposition of organic matter
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