Open AccessSoil Carbonate Analysis Using the Solvita Compost Maturity Gel System
Author(s) -
Rogers C. W.,
Pristupa S.,
Dari B.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
agricultural and environmental letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.681
H-Index - 12
ISSN - 2471-9625
DOI - 10.2134/ael2019.10.0044
Subject(s) - compost , soil water , carbonate , calcium carbonate , soil test , chemistry , mineralogy , soil science , environmental science , agronomy , organic chemistry , biology
Core Ideas The Solvita compost gel system was well calibrated with calcium carbonate C. The Solvita compost gel system was highly correlated to the standard pressure calcimeter method. The Solvita compost gel system is an alternative method for inorganic C determination.Determination of inorganic carbon (IC) as calcium carbonate is important for soil fertility and soil health assessments in alkaline soils. Methods have been developed to determine IC, including the widely used pressure calcimeter method. We compared 19 alkaline soils using the pressure calcimeter method and the Solvita gel system, which was recently developed to measure CO 2 respiration. Results from the study indicated calibration curves for the Solvita gel system could be developed within an approximate range of 1 to 30 mg IC. Comparison of the Solvita gel system with the pressure calcimeter resulted in a near 1:1 relationship, where slight overestimation occurred when IC was less than 13 g kg −1 and slight underestimation above this level. The results of this study indicate the Solvita gel system can be considered as an alternative method for IC determination.