The workshop was part of the broader efforts of the Argentinian Network of Soil, Water, and Plant Laboratories (RILSAV), which consists of 30 laboratories affiliated with the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA). RILSAV is a member of both GLOSOLAN and its regional counterpart for Latin America and the Caribbean, LATSOLAN  .Since 2006, RILSAV has been working on the harmonization of procedures for the analysis of agricultural soil. Over the years, with contributions from laboratories, universities and other research organizations, these protocols have been tested and validated and ultimately recognized as national standards by the Standards Study Committees of the Argentine Institute of Standardization and Certification (IRAM), promoting their adoption and implementation over the last 15 years.

With the launch of GLOSOLAN in 2017 and its activities on the harmonization of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and the inter-laboratory comparisons (PTs) launched at global and regional levels, laboratories demanded for a comparison between the information obtained with the national protocols developed in Argentina and the globally harmonized protocols published by GLOSOLAN.

The workshop allowed participants to analyze and test the robustness of the different procedures, both in relation to the interpretation of the text and its implementation in the laboratory - which is an essential step to advance with the comparison between the national and the global standard protocols.

The meeting was attended by representatives of those RILSAV laboratories committed to  participating in a collaborative PT exercise, which involvesthe use of the different procedures simultaneously. Authorities   from INTA, IRAM and GLOSOLAN were also present to support the workshop.

The workshop combined theoretical lectures alongside practical sessions in the laboratory, where Argentinian standards were compared with the corresponding GLOSOLAN SOP. The comparison focused on the following key soil parameters: oxidizable organic carbon by the Walkley and Black method, nitrogen by the Kjeldahl method, extractable phosphorus by the Bray-Kurtz I and Olsen methods, exchangeable basic cations and cation exchange capacity extracted with ammonium acetate at pH 7.

The observations collected helped define the critical points of each technique and addressed any potential issues that could arise when implementing the procedures. Finally, participants agreed on the procedural details to be adopted for the next PT schemes, which will enable Argentinian laboratories to collect information on the dispersion   of results obtained with the different procedures. This will provide elements for developing pedotransfer functions, facilitating the correlation between national standards and GLOSOLAN SOPs.

The outcomes of the workshop mark a significant step forward in ensuring that Argentinian laboratories are in line with international standards, enhancing the comparability and reliability of soil data across borders.

External URL:

• https://www.instagram.com/p/C_1Dr7MpH1f/?igsh=azUwdHpwYnJodzhy&img_index=10
• https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_3VnjPxNgw/?igsh=MTk2azljNHk0b2htZA%3D%3D