Volume 1.3 Soil sample pre-treatment
Soils in the landscape can be, by nature, quite heterogeneous both across a paddock and down the profile and all due care and attention needs to be employed to ensure that the sample taken in the field truly represents what was intended. While the laboratory does not always have control over the sampling process, every attempt needs to be taken to ensure that all subsamples and aliquots for analysis are fully representative of the sample presented to the laboratory. To do this, samples are required to be homogenised as much as possible, usually by reducing and conforming the aggregate size and thorough mixing.