ABSTRACT
Sulfur is relatively abundant in the terrestrial environment and assumed to be the 15th most
abundant element (Arnhold and Stoeppler 2004). It is present in the soil in a variety of forms,
both organic and inorganic, and various valence states (Blanchar 1986), each having
different chemical, biological, and environmental significance. Various chemical analyses
have been proposed to measure the various forms of sulfur in soils, for different purposes
(e.g., soil genesis, plant availability, or environmental assessment). The relative success for
measuring different forms, however, is limited by available chemical quantification
methods. The most common basic measurements of soil sulfur forms are total, organic,
inorganic, and extractable (i.e., plant-available) sulfur.
