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A method of processing soil core samples for root studies by subsampling

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Abstract

Root studies are generally believed to be very important in ecological research. Soil coring is a valuable approach to root research, but it requires a very large amount of processing time. We present here a method for processing soil cores consisting of the combination and homogenization of several soil cores from a plot, with subsequent subsampling for root extraction. The required subsample size was determined for a topsoil and a subsoil sample from a groundnut field and was found to be 5–10% of the total soil sample. Advantages and limitations of the method are discussed.

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Schroth, G., Kolbe, D. A method of processing soil core samples for root studies by subsampling. Biol Fertil Soils 18, 60–62 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00336446

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