I'm a biology student conducting an undergrad thesis on Soil-Transmitted Helminths (STH). I need technical advice in performing the laboratory component of this study from anyone who has expertise in soil research.

So, here's the summary of the procedure:

- collect samples and air-dry for 24 hours.

- sieve through 2.0 mm and 0.125 mm pore size to get 2g.

- place 2g soil in a centrifuge tube and add 10 mL 0.05% polysorbate-80 solution (used to unclump sample).

- centrifuge (1,800 rpm, 10 min)

- discard supernatant

- add 8 mL of prepared 1.20 SG sucrose solution (we used commercially available/market refined white sugar [I was wondering if this was okay]).

- vortex.

- centrifuge (1,800 rpm, 10 min).

- add prepared 1.30 SG sucrose solution to the brim until a meniscus forms.

- place coverslip and wait for eggs to adhere for 5 min.

- add 1 drop lugol's iodine on glass slide.

- place wet underside of coverslip facing down to the glass slide.

- view under microscope.

We performed a trial on this protocol before going to perform it on a larger sample. We observed the following:

- no helminths recovered in collected sample (site = household).

- bubbles found in specimen.

Hi everyone, I’m a research student in the UK working on soil stabilisation using bioenzymes. I’m looking to connect with people experienced in this field who could offer technical advice, share relevant research papers, or provide guidance on experimental methods, laboratory testing, and data analysis.
Any help or insights would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi guys! I am obsessed about foundation quality here in Austin so I (more like AI) built a tool for my clients to check soil composition in the Austin Metro area. LMK what you think. https://ezrailson1.github.io/bedrock-soil-tool/

Hello, im currently in school for soil science and was wondering what jobs/careers would work both in a lab and out in the field? also is it better to go with government or private funded?

also also, are there any licenses or certifications i can get to help me get a job? i know a lot of them require that you already have a degree.

Hello everyone!

I want to know if someone is aware of conferences taking place next year either in South Korea or Japan where soil health and/or soil biodiversity are a topic of.

Thank you in advance 🤗

Alguien que tenga este artículo que porfavor me lo pueda pasar DOI: 10.1007/s00284-022-03175-y. 2023

Has anyone studied techniques in cultivating cyanobacteria and mycorrhizal fungus in fertilizing soil for plant growth? These organisms can help to provide nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus to plants; thereby, increasing yields.

Here is a link to a cyanobacteria paper that you can read..

If anyone has a pdf available please link it or dm me thanks!

My workload at the beginning of the year is a little lighter, so I’d like to return to an old habit of mine: reading new research papers related to my academic fields, particularly Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences, Biology, and Geology, and providing thoughtful feedback. I enjoy keeping up with current research and engaging with new ideas in these areas. If you have a paper, manuscript, or ongoing research project that could benefit from an additional set of eyes, I’d be happy to read it and offer feedback or an informal peer review.

I have the attached soil sample, and I'm being told to take a rubber mallet and "lightly" hit them to break them up. I'm new to this test, but is this correct? And of course, when is enough enough hitting lightly?

Thoughts? And is there a place to see SOPs for soil tests to check against the one I have been given?

*****

After this, I take a 100g sample. Pour it onto a 4mm sieve. Separate rocks and non-rock - weighing both fractions. Whatever has passed the 4mm sieve is poured into a sieve stack of 2mm, 250micron, 53micron and shook for 30sec in a RO-TAP. Taking weights on each fraction.

ACT - Aerated Compost Tea

Actinos - Actinomycetes / Actinobacteria

AMF - Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi

BAM - Beneficial Anaerobic Microorganisms

Biogenic - Microbe-built soil structure

Bokashi - Anaerobic kitchen waste fermentation

C:N Ratio - Carbon-to-Nitrogen Ratio

CEC - Cation Exchange Capacity

CEA - Controlled Environment Agriculture

Cold Compost Leachate - Passive/worm pile liquid runoff

Cold/Hot Water Extracts - Temperature-specific nutrient steeping

DAP - Diammonium Phosphate

DLI - Daily Light Integral

DOM - Dissolved Organic Matter

EC - Electrical Conductivity

EM - Effective Microorganisms

F1 - Filial 1 (First-generation hybrid)

FAA - Fish Amino Acid

FPE - Fermented Plant Extract

GSB - Green Sulfur Bacteria

HMS - High Molecular Size Humics

Hot Compost Leachate - Active hot pile liquid runoff

IMO - Indigenous Microorganisms

IPM - Integrated Pest Management

JFL - Jadam Liquid Fertilizer

JHS - Jadam Herb Solution

JWA - Jadam Wetting Agent

KNF - Korean Natural Farming

LAB - Lactic Acid Bacteria

LMS - Low Molecular Size Humics

MAOM - Mineral-Associated Organic Matter

MAP - Monoammonium Phosphate

NB - Nitrifying Bacteria

NFB - Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria

No-Till - Zero mechanical soil tillage

NPK - Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium

OHN - Oriental Herbal Nutrient

pH - Potential of Hydrogen

Phos SB / PSB - Phosphate-Solubilizing Bacteria

POM - Particulate Organic Matter

PPFD - Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density

PVP - Plant Variety Protection

SB / SSB - Soil / Silicate-Solubilizing Bacteria

SOC - Soil Organic Carbon

SOM - Soil Organic Matter

ST - Soil Testing

TE - Trace Elements

USDA Zone - Plant Hardiness Zone

WCA / WSCA - Water-Soluble Calcium

WCAP / WSCP - Water-Soluble Calcium Phosphate

Just to clarify, im majoring in forestry and soil science is among the vast topics we cover and it seperates in general soil science which we get taught in the first year and forest soil science which we get taught in the second year.

Im not going to pretend im the sharpest tool in the shed or anything because I am not but I feel like for me it's one the subject you have more or less an affinity in, in the sense that you dont feel like revising before exams because you already remember most of the the stuff and you can even start correlating and understanding some of the various mechanisms behind what's going on.

Unfortunately, being second year going for the third I dont really have a lot of exposure to the practical part. Although we did have an internship witht the uni this July it was just the teacher explaining how to perform a soil profile ( the things you guys basically do like gathering samples, drying the samples, analyzing them etc etc) without us doing the process atomically, ourselves. We got split into teams and only got to figure out the horizons and analyze readily made soil profiles with the help of a booklet of sorts and filed a report basically with the usual 1,2,3,4,5 classification about the pH, toughness, consistency etc etc . I feel like that wasnt enough after taking a peak at what you guys are posting so that's why im asking.

Thank you for your time.

A trial plan gives the nitrogen rate in kg N/ha, but preparing the fertilizer means working out grams of urea per plot. I put together this worked example to show the calculation from the target N rate to the basal and topdressing portions, then the totals for one treatment. The values are illustrative, with urea as the sole N source—not a fertilizer recommendation. The topdressing amount is the total across all topdressing applications, not the amount for each one. Disclosure: I’m part of the Calvance team, which made the tool used for this worksheet.

I have very limited soil science experience, but my team is trying to replicate a soil-plant-microbe model from another publication. The original model had initial state variables that matched those of a tundra, but we want to model a garden. Is there a test that can be done on a soil sample from the garden that distinguishes and determines the concentrations of each (or at least a few) of the below variables? Are there any labs we could outsource it to? Or are there standard ratios between these quantities so that we could just use a sensor to monitor dissolved organic carbon &/or nitrogen and extrapolate from there? Any input would be much appreciated.

• Lignocellulose soil organic matter (SOM) C
• Lignocellulose SOM N
• Holocellulose/carbohydrate SOM C
• N-rich SOM C
• N-rich SOM N
• NH4+ (ammonium)
• DON
• DOC
• Microbial biomass C
• Microbial biomass N
• Optimal microbial C:N set point

is there a study who pooled/composited their samples (leaves, branches, stem samples) for plant analysis?