Soil Carbon Quality

MICROBIAL SOIL POTENTIAL TEST

Haney-Brinton* Test for Active Carbon, Biomass and N + P Mineralization Potential.
A new soil test procedure that provides an accurate measure of re-hydration CO2-burst, from which estimates of microbial biomass and potential C, N + P mineralization may be calculated. The test process measures two important parameters that have been shown to be highly correlated with C-turnover and N + P mineralization: 24-hr CO2-burst from dried, re-wetted soil (an indicator of microbial biomass), and water soluble-organic carbon (WSOC) and WSN; together, these parameters yield an accurate prediction of N + P release potential.

The test is useful for the following reasons:

• Accounting for soil microbial biomass
• Estimate N + P mineralization potential
• Reduce unnecessary N fertilization
• Monitor manure & compost effects on soils
• Evaluate quality of the soil OM pool.

Water Soluble Organic Carbon + Nitrogen Analyzer

for instructions on sampling soil contact: lab@woodsend.org

For published references to the new procedure see our Soil Information Section

*A joint project of Woods End Laboratories inc (ME) and USDA-ARS (TX)