Soil Sampling and Shipping

Soil Sampling

Soil samples will be collected at the peak of the growing season from all of the plots prior to initiation of treatments (year 0), and again during treatment years 3, 10 and 20, and when a site is shut down. From each plot, collect two to three 10-cm-deep soil cores using a 2.5 cm diameter soil corer. Collect soil samples in the clipped strips used for destructive biomass sampling, after biomass sampling.

Litter and vegetation should be removed from the soil surface before collecting each sample. Composite and homogenize these sub-samples into a single sample for each 5x5 m plot (total of 30 samples that weigh roughly 300 g each). Please note, we need a minimum of 105g but around 200g is better. All soil samples should be double bagged in paper and allowed to air dry. Label each bag with the following information in permanent marker: date of collection, name of collector, name of sampling site, and block/plot/treatment identification.

Soil Sample Preparation 

1. Ensure the samples have air dried completely (in paper bags).
    
2. You MUST run each sample through a 2mm sieve to remove rocks, plant root fragments, break up large clumps of hardened soil, etc. Sending un-processed soil can lead to potential legal permitting issues because the US Department of Agriculture restricts the acceptance of plant materials (roots) and arthropods in our lab, especially from international locations.

3. Ensure each sample bag is labeled with the date of collection, collector, site, block, and plot. Then please follow instructions below to ship to University of Minnesota.

Shipping soils to the University of Minnesota 

Please follow these instructions exactly. Our permit is very specific about how soils should be shipped and handled.

1. Soils must be shipped by a bonded carrier (i.e. UPS or FedEx) to exactly this address:

Dr. Elizabeth Borer
1479 Gortner Avenue
140 Gortner Laboratory
Saint Paul, MN 55108
USA

2. Dried, sieved soil must be shipped in a "securely closed, watertight container (primary container) which should be enclosed in a second durable watertight container (secondary container)". Please pay close attention to these guidelines! Securely closed zip-top bags are acceptable watertight containers. Double-check that individual samples are labeled with site, block, plot, and date of collection.

3. Email Anita Porath-Krause (aporathk@umn.edu) to request a a PPQ form 550 and a soil permit
4. Attach the PPQ form 550 to the *exterior* of each shipped box
5. Include a copy of the soil permit *inside* each shipped box
6. Label the *outside* of the box “contents: USDA regulated soil samples”
7. Upon shipment, please email Anita Porath-Krause with the expected arrival date and any additional information about the samples (weights, general composition).