I am currently doing my final year project on Geochemical analysis of peat samples. I will be looking at parameters such as major and trace elements plus anions and cations. Should i take samples from the surface (0-5cm) or take deeper samples using auger sampler?
Thank you for your time.
In my opinion, in addition to sampling from a depth of 0-5 cm, it is better to take a sample from a depth of 5-15 cm.
it is preferable to take deep sample . Surface samples not represent the actual case.
In my opinion, in addition to sampling from a depth of 0-5 cm, it is better to take a sample from a depth of 5-15 cm.
It depends on the history of the soil you are working on. If vegetables and crops were grown you can take sample from upto 15cm but if fruit trees were grown there you need to take sample in different layers upto 1m. I’m not sure about these numbers but you could basically like look upto it for details.
If you are looking for the dynamics of parameters in various depth then you should take depth wise samples like 0-5, 5-10, 10-15 and 15-30 cm. Of course it will depend on the the resources available with you and scope of your investigation. If you share some more details, I can suggest you better options. It will depend on the objectives of the study and emphasis given on specific parameters.
Good luck.
Regards
Dr. Satish
Satish Bhagwatrao Aher My objective are to compare the geochemistry difference between drained and natural peat swamp sediments. I will be looking at parameters such as the concentration of:
1. Major and trace elements
2. Major anions and cations
3. Cation exchange capacity
As you work on the peatland, are the surface samples sphagnum or grass (active root layer)? It is reasonable to compare the surface layers with the bottom layers for the metal concentration. If you can dated the peat layers, then the metal flux would be more valuable data.
As peat is not a soil, and as it is undergoing biogeochemical changes at shallow depths, sampling should be 15-30 cm.
you can take samples as 0-10cm, 10-20cm, 20-30cm so on...
or 0-5cm, 5-10cm and so on for better profiling of soil analysis results.
During my PhD study for soil mesofaunal study and related soil analysis, I had samples which were collected from three soil depth: 0-4, 4-8 and 8-12 cm. Below you can find my published paper in 2017.
Article Long-term succession of Collembola communities in relation t...
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