About our soil testing laboratory
High quality soil analysis is available at our laboratory at Alice Holt Research Station. We are responsible for the UK soil analysis in the European Soil Survey programme (BioSoil) and are involved in many other soil projects. We can also provide this soil analysis service to private customers.
The laboratory takes part in regular European Soil Proficiency Schemes and obtained very good results proving the quality of our data.
We have recently purchased the latest state of the art dual view optical emission spectrophotometer which gives us much lower limits of detection and better accuracy at trace levels.
Soil analysis is required for various interests such as:
Compost quality
(Tests 1, 4, 5, 7, 11 and 18 recommended).
Characteristics of compost need to be known in order to determine its quality as a soil improver. Assessing the compost quality is also part of the quality control in producing compost.
Soil nutrients
(Tests 18, 22 and 23 recommended).
In order for plants to grow, they need 13 mineral nutrient elements. These nutrients are stored in the soil and it is important to assess their concentrations; deficiency (or excess) can cause serious reductions in crop growth, yield and the quality of the crop produced. If those elements which are removed are not replaced then soil fertility will decline and the use of fertilisers would be required to restore adequate levels of those essential nutrients.
Sludges, organic manures, incinerator ash and wastes applied to land
Analysis of these materials gives levels of heavy metals and nutrients for by-products used for soil amendments. Sludges are used as fertilisers on agricultural land. In the UK there are statutory soil limits for 7 Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) to ensure compliance with EU legislation when sewage sludge is to be applied. These are the 'heavy metals' cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn). The total (acid extractable) content of each of these in soil is analysed. The regulations also link the level of these elements to pH which affects their availability to plants. The limits for PTEs are defined in the Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations 1989 and given in the DEFRA Soil Code. The Code advises that the same limits should be used to guide the application of other metal-containing organic manures and wastes applied to land.
Contaminated land
Contaminated soils need to be analysed to assess which contaminants are present and at what levels.
Forest health monitoring
An intensive long term monitoring programme of forest ecosystems was initiated in 1994 under European legislation after concerns of widespread decline of forests across Europe. This included some soil analysis.
Soil survey
The UK soil survey as part of the European Soil Survey (BioSoil) programme is assessing 167 forest plots by depths and horizons.
Climate change
Some research is assessing the impact of climate change on soil carbon storage.
2010 prices ALL INCLUSIVE
Analyses are performed on a regular basis. Response time is variable depending on work load.
If your required analysis is not listed below, please contact us as we have not listed all the tests available. We can also offer a discount depending on the number of samples sent for analysis.
| Test | Analysis | Price <5 samples | Price ≥5 samples |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moisture content (fresh soils) 105 °C (%) | £3.00 | £3.00 |
| 2 | Bulk density (kg/m3) | £3.95 | £3.95 |
| 3 | Normal preparation: air drying, sieving (crushing if necessary) to 2 mm | £4.00 | £4.00 |
| 4 | pH (in H2O or 0.01 M CaCl2) | £4.00 | £4.00 |
| 5 | Soil conductivity (µs/cm) | £3.50 | £3.50 |
| 6 | Water soluble Anions (F, Cl, NO2, NO3, PO4 and SO4) (mg/kg) | £18.00 | £18.00 |
| 7 | Water soluble Ammonium (NH4) (mg/kg) | £10.00 | £10.00 |
| 8 | Exchangeable Cations (BaCl2 extraction; Al, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na) (cmol(+)/kg) | £20.00 | £15.00 |
| 9 | Exchangeable Acidity (BaCl2 extraction) (cmol(+)/kg) | £10.00 | £6.00 |
| 10 | Combined tests 8 and 9 (cmol(+)/kg) | £28.00 | £19.00 |
| 11 | Aqua Regia extractable elements (Al, As, B, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Pb, S, Se, Sn, Sr, Zn, Zr) (mg/kg) | £32.00 | £20.00 |
| 12 | Ultra Trace levels Arsenic, Selenium, Tin and Antimony (As, Se, Sn, Sb) (µg/l-ppb) | £32.00 | £20.00 |
| 13 | Ultra Trace levels of Mecury (Hg) (µg/l-ppb) | £32.00 | £20.00 |
| 14 | Tests 11 and 12 or 11 and 13 | £52.00 | £32.00 |
| 15 | Tests 11, 12 and 13 | £72.00 | £44.00 |
| 16 | Acid Oxalate Extractable ions (Al, Fe) (% - mg/kg) | £16.00 | £14.00 |
| 17 | Soil ball milling for nitrogen and carbon analyses | £3.50 | £3.50 |
| 18 | Total Nitrogen and Total Carbon (TN, TC) (%) | £5.50 | £5.50 |
| 19 | Total Inorganic Carbon (TIC) (%) | £6.50 | £6.50 |
| 20 | Total Nitrogen, Carbon, Organic Carbon and Inorganic Carbon (TN, TC, TOC, TIC) (%) | £12.00 | £12.00 |
| 21 | Particle Size Distribution (% of clay, silt, sand) (%) | £35.00 | £35.00 |
| 22 | Ammonium Nitrate extractable ions (Ca, K, Mg, Mn, Na, S) (mg/kg) | £17.50 | £12.50 |
| 23 | Phosphorus available (P Olsen method or Melich III) (mg/kg) with ADAS index | £15.00 | £10.00 |
| 24 | LOI (Loss On Ignition) Organic matter/Organic carbon (%) | £7.50 | £4.50 |
| 25 | Other soil extractions | Contact us | Contact us |
View all our chemical analysis services prices including also plant and water analysis
