LABORATORY ACTIVITIES
Department of Testing Laboratories provides quantitative analyses of forest ecosystems components, i.e. e. above all soil samples and humus, plant material and water.
- In water (mainly bulk open field, througfall, stemflow, soil water, surface water, drinking water) pH, electric conductivity, total alkalinity, cations of Al, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Zn, N-NH4+, anions of F-, Cl-, NO3-, NO2-, SO42-, PO43-, dissolved organic carbon and total nitrogen are determined.
- In plant material (e.g. leaves, needles, mosses, fungi, biomass) there is determined content of total nitrogen, total carbon and total sulphure, chloride, fluoride and these elements: K, Mg, Na, Ca, Fe, Al, Mn, Cu, Zn, Cr, Ni, As, Cd, Pb, P, B.
- In forest soils and humus content of total carbon, total nitrogen, N-NO3-, N-NH4+, total sulphure, chloride in aqueous leachate, pH in soil leachate (CaCl2, KCl, H2O), exchangeable acidity, moisture content, sample weight and these elements: K, Na, Ca, Mg, Al, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Cr, Ni, As, Cd, Pb, P are determined.
Results of analyses serve not only for forestry research but also for forestry practice especially in nutrition of forest stands, mainly of forest nurseries, in the areas of dis-turbed ecological conditions or in cases of stands damage by human activities. Laboratories also give data for the international programme ICP Forests and for study of influence of heterogeneous sub-stances in forest ecosystems. Workers of the laboratories cooperate with researchers in selection of suitable analyses, ensure their required accuracy and reliability as well as evaluation of results from analyses and define conclusions on their base.
The chief of the Department is Mgr. Kateřina Havlíčková, deputy chief is RNDr. Jana Matoušková, CSc.
Department of Testing Laboratories analyzed the total number of samples 2 701 in the year 2011, thereof 923 samples of water, 758 samples of plant material and 1 020 of soil samples.
QUALITY CONTROL
Working Ring Tests (WRTs) represent an essential part of the data quality assurance and control procedures in the FutMon Project. They are organized for almost all of the monitoring activities and the participation of laboratories funded by the project is mandatory. Department of Testing Laboratories participated in these working ring tests in the year 2011:
- 5thWorking Ring Test, Combined FutMon/ICP-Forest Water Ring Test 2011,
- 14th Needle/Leaf Interlaboratory Comparison test 2011/2012, Combined FutMon/ICP-Forest.
The laboratory reaches repeatedly excellent results in these working ring tests.
The laboratory as well successfully participated in the international interlaboratory comparison for the soil samples in the „International Soil-Analytical Exchange“ organized by Wageningen University (Enevironmental Science) in the Wageningen Evaluating Programs for Analytical Laboratories with the aim to guarantee yearly quality assurance for soil samples from year 2007.
- International Soil-Analytical exchange. ISE 2011.3, organizer WEPAL
Laboratories periodically participated in the interlaboratory comparison in the Czech Republic organized by CSlab Praha for the water samples.
- PT/CHA/2/2011, organizer CSlab
- PT/CHA/4/2011, organizer CSlab
These long terms obtained excellent results of the Department of Testing Laboratories in the interlaboratory comparison confirmed high quality of carried out analyses which are comparable with the other laboratories in the Europe.
