Soil & Water Monitoring

Recording pH and lead readings, and getting the right advice for your soil.

Lead becomes more mobile — and more likely to reach water — at the wrong soil pH. The Soil & water tab of the range's compliance hub records your sampling and gives pH-aware advice.

Recording a sample

The form is designed to be used on your phone, standing at the sample point:

1. Click Record a sample and choose soil or water.

2. Mark where it was taken — tap Use my location to drop the pin by GPS, or drag the pin on the map. Add a few words so you can find the spot again. The grid reference is worked out for you.

3. Enter the pH if you measured it — the −/+ buttons step in 0.1s from neutral.

4. Say what's happening about lead:

   • Not this time — a pH-only sample is fine.

   • I have a reading now — enter the mg/kg from your field kit or analyser.

   • Sample is going to a lab — save now and the sample is kept as awaiting results.

Lead concentration usually comes from a UKAS-accredited lab days or weeks after you take the sample — that's why the form lets you record the sample first and the result later. Pending samples show on the sampling history and in What needs doing on the Overview tab until you click Add results.

Reading the pH guidance

The panel reads your most recent pH and gives advice that branches — because the usual "test and add lime" rule is harmful at high pH:

Soil pH	Guidance
Below 6	Acidic — lead is mobile. Apply lime to raise pH and immobilise lead.
6 – 8	In the target range. Maintain conditions and keep monitoring; no liming needed.
Above 8	Do not add lime — at high pH liming can increase lead mobility. Use phosphate amendments and vegetative cover instead.

Adding lime to alkaline soil (above ~pH 8) can make things worse by mobilising lead. Always follow the guidance for the band you're actually in, rather than liming by default.

Setting a sampling schedule

Click Set a schedule to tell Range Mate how often this range should be sampled.

• Standard sites: at least every 12 months.

• Heavily wooded sites: tick "Heavily wooded" and the default drops to every 6 months.

The Next sample due card shows when sampling is due and flags it as Overdue once the schedule has passed (or immediately if you've never sampled). Overdue sampling also appears in What needs doing on the hub's Overview tab.

Take samples at multiple points across the affected area rather than relying on a single reading. All your samples are kept in the history and included in the evidence pack.