Preparation and Shipping of Soil Samples

PREPARING SOIL SAMPLES FOR SHIPPING

1. Ensure the samples have air dried completely (in paper bags).

2. You MUST run each sample through a 2 mm sieve to remove rocks and plant root fragments, break up large clumps of hardened soil, etc. Sending un-processed soil can lead to legal permitting issues because the US Department of Agriculture restricts the acceptance of plant material and arthropods in our lab, especially from international locations.

3. Label each bag with the date of collection, collector, site, block, and plot.

SHIPPING SOILS TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

Follow these instructions EXACTLY. Our permit is very specific about how soils should be shipped and handled.

1. Must be shipped by a bonded carrier (i.e. UPS or FedEx) to exactly this address:

Dr. Elizabeth Borer
1479 Gortner Avenue
140 Gortner Laboratory
Saint Paul, MN 55108
USA

2. Dried, sieved soil must be shipped in a "securely closed, watertight container (primary container) which should be enclosed in a second durable watertight container (secondary container)". Securely closed zip-top bags are acceptable watertight containers. Double-check that individual samples are labeled with site, block, plot, and date of collection.

3. Attach a PPQ form 550 [email Anita Porath-Krause to request] to the *exterior* of each shipment box.

4. Include a copy of the soil permit [email to Anita Porath-Krause request] *inside* each shipment box.

5. The *outside* of the box should be labeled “contents: USDA regulated soil samples”

6. If you have records for the shipment (weights, general composition), please include those as well.

7. Upon shipment, please notify Anita Porath-Krause (aporathk@umn.edu) of the expected arrival date of the soils, as well as any other necessary information about the shipment.