Soil Nitrogen – Kjeldahl Method
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Standard operating procedure for soil nitrogen Kjeldahl method Standard operating procedure for soil nitrogen Kjeldahl method Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Rome, 2021 Required citation: FAO. 2021. Standard operating procedure for soil nitrogen - Kjeldahl method. Rome. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. 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Global Soil Laboratory Network GLOSOLAN-SOP-14 GLOSOLAN SOIL NITROGEN Version number : 1 Page 1 of 21 Kjeldahl method Effective date : 18 January 2021 SOIL NITROGEN Kjeldahl method VERSION HISTORY N° Date Description of the modification Type of modification All comments by RESOLANs and 01 18 January 2021 reviewers to the draft SOP were Finalization of the SOP addressed 02 03 04 Etc. Modify by Revision Approved Date Validated Date GLOSOLAN SOP Tech. W.G. By the Review 18 January 2021 18 January 2021 Global leader: Miriam Ostinelli, Argentina Panel Global Soil Laboratory Network GLOSOLAN-SOP-14 GLOSOLAN SOIL NITROGEN Version number : 1 Page 2 of 21 Kjeldahl method Effective date : 18 January 2021 Contents 1. Brief introduction to Kjeldahl nitrogen .................................................................................................. 3 2. Scope and field of application ............................................................................................................. 3 3. Principle ............................................................................................................................................... 4 4. Apparatus ............................................................................................................................................ 4 5. Materials .............................................................................................................................................. 4 6. Health and safety ................................................................................................................................. 6 6.1. Personnel safety ........................................................................................................................... 6 6.2. Chemical hazard ........................................................................................................................... 6 7. Sample preparation ............................................................................................................................. 6 8. Procedure ............................................................................................................................................ 7 8.1. Digestion ....................................................................................................................................... 7 8.2. Distillation and titration ................................................................................................................. 8 8.3. Spectrometric quantification ....................................................................................................... 10 9. Calculation ......................................................................................................................................... 10 10. Quality assurance/Quality control .................................................................................................... 11 10.1. Precision test ............................................................................................................................ 11 10.2. Trueness test ............................................................................................................................ 11 10.3. Control chart ............................................................................................................................. 12 11. References ...................................................................................................................................... 13 12. Appendix I. Spectrometric quantification (indo-phenol blue method) .............................................. 14 13. Appendix II.—Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................... 18 14. Appendix III.—List of authors .......................................................................................................... 18 15. Appendix IV.—Contributing laboratories ......................................................................................... 18 Modify by Revision Approved Date Validated Date GLOSOLAN SOP Tech. W.G. By the Review 18 January 2021 18 January 2021 Global leader: Miriam Ostinelli, Argentina Panel Global Soil Laboratory Network GLOSOLAN-SOP-14 GLOSOLAN SOIL NITROGEN Version number : 1 Page 3 of 21 Kjeldahl method Effective date : 18 January 2021 1. Brief introduction to Kjeldahl nitrogen Nitrogen (N) is considered the most important nutrient in agriculture due to its key role in the formation of proteins, DNA, RNA, etc. Soil nitrogen is present in organic or inorganic forms. The organic fraction constitutes most of the N in the soil (more than 95 percent of the total N) and is mainly composed of plant and microbial remains. The inorganic fraction (less than 5 percent of the total N) comprises + - - ammonium ions (NH4 ), nitrate (NO3 ) and very little nitrite (NO2 ). The organic fraction of N is a measure of the nutrient reserve in the soil and an indicator of its ability to release N through mineralization, so the analysis of N in soils dedicated to agricultural activity is useful for making decisions about the management of N nutrition in crops. - Monitoring N dynamics in soils is also important from an environmental perspective, since NO3 is one - of the main pollutants in groundwater and surface waters, whilst nitrous oxide as a by-product of NO3 application is a contributor to poor air quality and Greenhouse Gas emissions. The analysis method used to measure soil N will define the fraction of N to be quantified. + The organic N plus a fraction of inorganic N, which is in the form of NH4 , is commonly called total N (for the high percentage that both fractions represent) or Kjeldahl N (KjN), and are measured using the Kjeldahl method. This method includes a wet digestion of the soil sample to mineralize the N to NH4, which will be distilled and measured. + - - The inorganic forms of N (NH4 , NO3 and NO2 ) are generally determined by distillation or colorimetry of a soil extract, but N-NO3 can also be measured by potentiometric methods. The advantages of this method are based on its robustness, low initial cost of the equipment and extensive application. However, there