First NENALAB Meeting, 9-11 June 2020 (online)

1. Soil Characterization Lab
American University of
Beirut
Lebanon
Sandra Yanni, PhD

2. Laboratory profile
Facilities Notes
Surface area of the laboratory
(in m2)
57 m2 Chemistry side + Physics
side
Number of rooms in the
laboratory
1 Additional soil preparation
room and Atomic
Absorption room
Staff Notes
Number of laboratory staff 2 Lab manager + Research
assistant
Qualification of laboratory
staff (e.g. university degree)
PhD & MSc PhD – Animal Science
MSc – Soil Science
Is laboratory staff regularly
trained? If yes, how often?
Yes (no set
frequency)
Training on health & safety
Conferences/Technical
training

4. Laboratory profile
Analysis performed Number of samples
analysed per year
Notes
Chemical 500 – 1000 Soil, water, plant tissue
(research and service)
Physical 200 Soil (research and service)
Biological NA

5. Soil Analysis
Analysis
Chemical
Ca, Na, K Flame photometer
P (Olsen) Spectrophotometer
CEC, pH, EC
Micronutrients (acid and chelate
extractable) & Heavy metals
Atomic Absorption
Gypsum, Calcium Carbonate
Physical
Soil Hydrostructural characterization TypoSoil®
Soil water tension / water potential Hyprop® & WP4®
Soil Texture Hydrometer
Bulk Density
Clay minerals (XRD defraction)

6. Can you please tell us what your labs need the most
in terms of training and capacity building?
Novel & high-tech technology on:
• Plant tissue analysis
• Soil chemical and physical analysis specifically on
semi-arid calcareous soils
Laboratory needs

7. Can you please tell us what your expectations on
GLOSOLAN and NENALAB are?
• Sharing and verifying SOPs and techniques
• Introduction to new methodology
• Participation in verification/standardization tests
• Widening our academic network
Expectations from GLOSOLAN

8. Thanks for your attention