I. Introduction
The research staff of the USDA Forest Service - Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory as well as the University of Georgia and other cooperating institutions have been archiving soil and plant tissue samples since 1970. Historically, scientists have been solely responsible for the collection, analysis, and long term storage of samples. In an effort to better organize and to make these valuable plant and soil samples more accessible, a sample archive was established at Coweeta in 1997. Online documentation below outlines the current policies and procedures for the addition to and usage of samples in the physical archive.

II. Facilities
Location of the archive is in the data vault located next to the Coweeta LTER Dormitory. The structure is a concrete and stone building designed to be fire and weather resistant. The interior consists of two rooms both of which have large doors with hermetic seals. The dimensions of both rooms are approximately 3m by 4m. Each room has numbered shelves that correspond to numbers in the archive database. The building is not used for drying, sieving or grinding samples, temporary storage, or for any purpose other than archiving of samples. It is recommended that all samples be stored in glass jars because there is no heat or humidity control available at this time.

III. Archival Procedures & Assistance
Currently housing over 17,000 samples, Coweeta LTER's sample archives are a resource available to researchers, visiting scholars, and students.  Please read the information provided below carefully. 

Inquiries and questions help from Coweeta LTER:
Please send inquiries to the attention of: Physical Archive Manager, Coweeta LTER - Jim Deal

Sample Preparation
Soil - all soil samples should be air dried and sieved to 2mm. They should be stored in glass jars with screw caps. Plastic bags are not recommended because they break down over time and are subject to rodent attack. Each sample jar will have a permanent label complete with sample ID and barcode.

Plant tissue - all plant tissue should be oven dried and ground to 1mm. Samples should be stored in glass jars or glass vials with screw caps. Exceptions would include tree cores which could be stored in plastic straws or mounted on wooden blocks to preserve the time sequence. Tree disks can be stored in large cardboard boxes and arranged so that air can flow around the samples.

Minimum recommended amount of sample to archive is 100 grams of soil or 20 grams of ground plant tissue.

Toxic Samples Policy
Toxic samples will not be accepted.

Submission of Samples:
Only samples with adequate documentation are accepted for permanent storage. The contributing scientist is responsible for ascertaining that permanent storage of each individual sample is desirable. Forms for the documentation of physical samples may be obtained from the Physical Archive Manager. When a scientist wishes to contribute a collection of samples for permanent storage, he/she should complete and submit the online Sample Form.  If the samples are accepted for permanent storage, the researcher will be notified, and the samples should be brought to the storage building at Coweeta.

The Physical Archive Manager will then assign barcodes and enter the documentation into the database.

Subsampling of Archives:
Subsampling of permanently stored samples will be restricted to 10% or less of the remaining material in each sample. Contributing scientists have unrestricted access to their samples as long as they remain associated with the Coweeta LTER project. However, they must inform the Physical Archive Manager of any subsampling. Other scientists who wish to use the permanent samples must complete and submit the online Subsample Form.  The Physical Archive subcommittee will decide if subsampling can be done. The Physical Archive Manager will exercise quality control over subsampling.