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Acetylene Reduction Measurements - Soil Cores Removed From Soil -

Measurements with soil cores removed from the field, or in green house grown plants in pots, can be made by enclosing the entire sample in a sealed container and injecting acetylene. The leaves of the plants may be cut off, or enclosed, or allowed to protrude from the assay chamber. Soil cores may fail to reduce acetylene immediately.

It has therefore been suggested that they be allowed to 'equilibrate' for 1 to 3 days after collection from the field before assay.

However, if they are kept and watered for several days, erroneously high estimates of in situ nitrogen fixation could result (van Berkum and Day, 1980).