The Soil Biochemistry Lab (a subdivision of the Department of Soil Biology and Biochemistry) of the Federal Research Centre V.V. Dokuchaev Soil Science Institute took part in the first Euro-Asian Interlaboratory Comparative Tests (ICT), which aim to provide metrological justification and methodological developments for assessing carbon stocks in soils.
The ICTs were organized by the Institute of Biology of the Komi Scientific Center of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences with financial support from the partner, PJSC PhosAgro.
The coordinator of the work is junior researcher Danilin I.V., with research engineers Stroykova M.N. and Grigoryeva I.I. as the executors. The team demonstrated their competence in quantitatively determining carbon content in soils using high-temperature catalytic oxidation method.
The Soil Biochemistry Lab (SBL) has been a member of RUSOLAN – the Russian Soil Laboratory Network under the auspices of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) within the framework of GLOSOLAN since 2023. The national network was launched on April 29, 2022, in a virtual format based on the Institute of Biology of the Komi Scientific Center of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The key objectives of GLOSOLAN and RUSOLAN include standardizing measurement methods, global, regional, and national training, sharing experiences, mutual assistance, and developing laboratory capabilities. Participation in the RUSOLAN network confirms the high qualifications of laboratory staff and regular quality control of measurement results conducted in strict accordance with established methodologies and standard operating procedures of GLOSOLAN. You can learn more about RUSOLAN participants, history, goals, and network tasks at this link.
As part of research and development work (“Study of macroaggregates, their organic matter, and microbial factors as soil stability factors”) and KIP NI (“Unified National System for Monitoring Climate-Active Gases”), the Soil Biochemistry Lab conducts measurements of carbon and nitrogen content of organic soil compounds, analyzes properties of organic matter in solid and liquid soil phases using molecular spectrometry methods (spectrophotometry, fluorimetry, infrared spectrometry), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and high-performance liquid chromatography.