Influence of cation content on adenosine triphosphate determinations in soil.

Adenosine triphosphate in soil is measured by the luciferin-luciferase bioluminescence method. Cation exchange in the ATP extraction procedure is used to reduce the content of, e.g., Fe, Al, and Cations in extracts. The efficiency of the cation exchange is determined by measuring the concentration of Fe by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. The time dependence of the light emission from the bioluminescence process is investigated, and a method for correlating the ATP content and the light emission is proposed.