Fort Collins Biogeochemistry Laboratory

Fort Collins Biogeochemistry Laboratory

Two people kneeling by a stream surrounded by tall grass, one is holding a sampling tool, the other is writing in a notebook

Photo Credit

USDA photo by Alexis Neukirch

The Fort Collins Biogeochemistry Laboratory is a modern research facility operated by the Water and Watershed program at the USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station. Equipped with cutting-edge instrumentation and experienced staff members, the biogeochemistry lab conducts water, plant, and soil analyses for research and monitoring projects.

The laboratory specializes in high precision analysis needed to detect chemical changes in natural ecosystems. Instrumentation and analysis methods are regularly updated to meet evolving needs for research and monitoring associated with water quality, soil productivity, ecosystem disturbance, management and restoration, and climate change.

In addition to providing support for Rocky Mountain Research Station science, the laboratory assists other government agencies, academic institutions, and non-governmental research and monitoring groups. Current Forest Service collaborations include the Fraser Experimental Forest, Glacier Lakes Ecosystem Experiments Site, Air Resource Management Wilderness Lakes Monitoring Program, and the Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change Project.

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Analytical Options

Person in a lab using a pipet in a bottle of water and a yellow scale

Photo Credit

USDA photo by Alexis Neukirch

Stream, Lake, Precipitation, Soil solution (leachate) analyses

Dominant cation (calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, ammonium) and anion (chloride, fluoride, nitrate, sulfate, phosphate) concentrations: High-pressure liquid ion chromatography
Dissolved carbon and nitrogen: Catalytic combustion with infrared interception
Conductivity, pH and acid-neutralizing capacity: Automated titration with multiple sensors
Turbidity, colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM), excitation-emission matrices, and chlorophyll: Multiple wavelength fluorescence analysis
Organic matter lyophilization

Soil and Plant analyses

Nitrate and ammonium in soil extracts: Segmented flow injection with colorimetry
Total carbon and nitrogen mineral and organic soil and plant tissue: Combustion infrared analysis.
Biological oxygen utilization: Dissolved oxygen sensors
Gravimetric soil moisture, loss on combustion, soil texture and bulk density

We offer analyses customized for specific research and monitoring needs. If you are interested in scientific collaboration, sample analyses, or biogeochemical sampling and protocol advice, please contact Chuck Rhoades and Tim Fegel for further information.