ABSTRACT
There are a variety of media that may require sampling or assessment for agronomic and environmental purposes. These include soils, waters, plants, air, and various by-products that may be applied to soils or that are present in the environment. Often an analysis is designed to determine the concentrations of contaminants or plant nutrients in a media sample. Other analyses determine basic chemical (e.g., pH or electrical conductivity), physical (e.g., soil bulk density), or biological (e.g., soil respiration, biological oxygen demand) properties that can, for example, be indicators of the suitability of soil for plant growth, or the suitability of water for human consumption or irrigation.
