Incomplete dispersion of aggregates is a well‐known difficulty when analyzing soil texture of Andosols, particularly if no fresh soil material is available. To facilitate such investigations, several dispersion procedures were carried out on air‐dried samples rich in short‐range‐order minerals, originating from selected Andosol profiles (S Mexico). As a result, we propose an improved method based on a sequential chemical treatment with K oxalate, NH4 oxalate, and oxalic acid that reliably removes cementing agents and allows for a stable dispersion of soil particles after addition of Na pyrophosphate. This method was proved to be well reproducible and highly reliable for routine grain‐size determinations. The potential error caused by the inherent risk of dissolving primary minerals or fresh volcanic glass remains far beyond the analytical error resulting from the incomplete and irreproducible dispersion of highly resistant aggregates by other commonly used techniques.
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