Laboratory Information Manual Foreword

Laboratory data are critical to the understanding of the properties and genesis of a single pedon, as well as to the understanding of fundamental soil relationships based on many observations of a large number of soils. Development of both an analytical database and the soil relationships based on those data are the cumulative effort of a generation of soil scientists at the Soil Survey Laboratory (SSL).

Noteworthy were the efforts of Mr. Benny Brasher, retired SSL Research Soil Scientist, who was responsible for the design of the laboratory database and the Primary and Supplemental Characterization Data Sheets. His work has made possible the accumulation of analytical data for over 10,000 soil pedons.

Many project reports and scientific journal articles have been written that explain the use and significance of the data produced at the SSL. The need for a single comprehensive volume that compiles the accumulated knowledge of these laboratory data has been recognized for many years. Upon completion of the SSL Methods Manual (Soil Survey Investigations Report No. 42, 1992), Mr. Laurence E. Brown, former Analytical Staff Leader at the SSL, recommended that such a document be given high priority.

Dr. Rebecca Burt, editor of the SSL Methods Manual, is the author of the Soil Survey Laboratory Information Manual (Soil Survey Investigations Report No. 45, 1995). She has compiled the knowledge of laboratory data from reports and papers written by scientists both within and outside the SSL. She included numerous citations to help the user find greater detail in the analytical data of interest.

Many soil scientists from the National Soil Survey Center (NSSC) served as reviewers for the various sections of the manual related to their areas of expertise. Noteworthy were the efforts of Dr. Ellis G. Knox, former National Leader for Soil Survey Research, whose suggestions and comments added value to the technical merit of this manual.

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