18th Needle/Leaf Interlaboratory Comparison Test 2015/2016

Wien

2015

130 S. + Annex-Results

Monographie

978-3-902762-37-5

199488

53 laboratories in 25 countries participated in the 17th Needle/Leaf Interlaboratory Test, but only 46 laboratories submit results in time. A new system for qualification and re ]qualification started with the 11th test in 2009. This system was enlarged after the manual update in 2010 to all ICP ]Forests partners (see Konig et al. 2010, 2013, Rautio et al. 2010, 2013 Pitman et al. 2010). With the ring test report each participant get a qualification report, the download is possible on the webpage (http://bfw.ac.at/ws/ring_nadel.login). It has been decided to qualify the results of each parameter separately. If 50% or more (generally two, three or all four samples) of the results for this parameter for all the samples of the ring test are within the tolerable limits, the laboratory is qualified. Re ]qualification is mandatory for all ICP ]Forests laboratories, if monitoring results (foliage, litterfall, ground vegetation) will be submitted to PCC in autumn 2016 from the vegetation period 2015. New since the 14th Interlaboratory Test is the usage of maximum acceptable limits of quantification (LOQ). These limits are needed, because a lot of laboratories are using multi element methods (mostly ICP ]AES) with higher LOQs for some elements. But for evaluating and classification of the monitoring samples real measured results and lower LOQ are needed. A task was given from the 12th Expert Panel Meeting Foliage and Litterfall (Tallinn 2011) to the Working Group QA/QC in Laboratories to fix this problem. Maximum acceptable LOQs for mandatory and optional parameters for foliage, litterfall and ground vegetation were discussed and accepted in the 3rd Meeting of the Heads of the Laboratories (Arcachon 2011). This problem is more or less fixed now . only two laboratories submit higher LOQs than the maximum acceptable and failed for this sample/parameter.