Here is a paper we did a long time ago on different types of samples for the top of aquifers.  We found to sample the very top, a skimmer worked best.  I don't know if this will work in your situation, but it may be worth a shot.

Thanks:) That is definitely useful and I will check how that works.

The Russian auger is not easy to work with in fibrous material in the top layer of a bog.  Could a carpenter's saw solve the problem? I used it a few times and found it useful as long as  the volume of the sample was not critical.

Thanks Sake,

indeed, the volume is critical for bulk density purposes. We are conducting a survey in order to quantify differences in magnitude of C and N, with the option for extrapolating C-densities in different peat land-use categories.

The carpenter's saw is a great idea and I haven't tried it yet. But I see one problem to extract an undisturbed sample of defined volume: How would you cut off an exact depth, when there is a high water table in the bog?

I came across the tin-quadrat method, where an evenly long quadrat of specified volume is inserted into the bog and the monolith is then extracted detaching it from the remaining peat by using a metal or tin plate to cut it off at a certain depth. That, however, is problematic, because it would involve excavating a pit next to the inserted quadrat to be able to cut off the monolith?!

Have you made experiences with the Wardenaar type of box sampler?

Hi Kilian,

I remembered having seen a method to take samples from a bog in Sweden for measuring hydraulic conductivity, developed by C. Malmström, published in 1939. I have it in my photocopy archive (just found it back). If you are able to read German (or one of your colleagues maybe?), I could make a scan for you and send it by email or WeTransfer, depending on the file size. Malmström used a saw and cut pieces of 5 cm thick. What you could do is wait until the water level in the bogs has dropped in spring. You could also use a spade to cut off your sawed monolith below the water table using a temporary pit next to the sampling spot and cut off the skew end after having lifted it from the bog. Simply use the saw again. Then measure the size and calculate the volume. To calculate the volume of the dry matter, you can dry your sample and use a specific mass of about 1.4 kg per cubic decimeter. If you need references for this, I can look up some (partly in German again!).

The Wardenaar sampler is completely unknown to me.

As far as the subsidence story is concerned: I have no reprints, but could send a pdf of the manuscript. I suppose you mean the article in Finnish Nature.

My email address is [email protected]

Great information, many thanks! Ich habe dir eine Email geschrieben.

Besten Dank,

Kilian