Corer for Topsoil and Root Sampling
Topsoil and Root Corer. This easy-to-handle, sharp-edged soil corer is used to sample humus, topsoil and roots to a depth of ~20 cm. The sampler is inserted into the soil by twisting the corer head with the handles - cutting through humus and roots without the need for hammering. For deeper soil sampling and soil with high rock content, the classic VSI soil corer is recommended, and a shallow soil ring sampler may provide more accurate soil density data in mineral soil. However, the topsoil corer is the best choice for rapid sampling of humic and root-rich topsoil layers and is light enough to sample remote sites in a standardised manner. Because its smooth steel surface can be thoroughly cleaned/sterilised between sampling points, the stainless steel sampler RC-3050 is suitable for contamination-prone sampling, including soil microbiomes.
RC-3050 Topsoil & Root Corer - Specifications
The VSI Topsoil and Root Corer set RC-3050 includes:
- 30 cm-long topsoil corer, manufactured from stainless steel, other length on request
- Standard inner diameter of 50 mm (54 mm OD), other dimensions on request
- Bottom of corer tube bevelled (to the outside) and sharpened,
- Two fixed handles (at 25 cm from bottom; 10 cm long) to drive the corer in (by turning while pushing down with body weight) and pull it out,
- Plastic pusher with PTFE heads (one side fitting corer inner diameter, the other side smaller) to extract the sample, &
- Carrying and storage case.
Due to the low compression and shallow sample depth, soil samples are easily retrieved from the VSI topsoil sampler. Various corer (inner / outer) diameters and length are available - please enquire. The corers can be sharpened (honed) from time to time as required to cut through roots and humus without pushing down some sample material. The RC-3050 Topsoil Sampling Kit is supplied in a practical case for transport and storage.
Consider the use of soil rings / soil ring samplers if density-correct soil sampling is of particular importance.
Larger Soil cores to greater depth are ideally sampled with our large Soil Corer - even for heavy soils with some skeletal content.