Rapid, Nondestructive Elemental Analysis of Tree and Shrub Litter

Elemental analysis of plant litter can provide insights into processes that underpin the health of environmental systems such as nutrient cycling and the movement of resources. For the first time, this study assesses the use of portable x-ray fluorescence technology to analyze the elemental content of plant litter collected from underneath perennial woody vegetation. Results indicate that calcium and potassium can be determined very accurately using the rapid analysis, because of their relative abundance in the samples and their heavier atomic weight compared to several other elements. Increasing the fluorescence count time per sample generally improved the quality of the analysis but not to the extent that any other element could be quantitatively determined. Portable x-ray fluorescence analysis is assessed as having merit for quantitative analysis of heterogenous litter samples for calcium and potassium in this instance, and qualitative assessment for other elements, in particular manganese and sulfur.