On the determination of soil carbon

Summary Determinations of organic carbon on 12 carbonate-free terra rossa soil samples from Cyprus with the Walkley-Black method and the Allison reference method showed degree of carbon recovery with the Walkley-Black method ranging between 69.5 and 79.0 per cent. Determinations of organic carbon on 15 carbonaceous (21–28 per cent CaCO₃) alluvial soil samples with the method of Allison gave erratic results apparently because the carbonate could not be quantitatively removed prior to organic-C determination.Finally a rapid gravimetric method for estimating calcium carbonate in soils as refined by Bauer et al. ³ was tested on the 15 alluvial soil samples mentioned above and found as precise and as accurate as the Allison reference method.