“…The sorption effect depends on the sorption capacity of the suction cup, the tortuosity of the cup material, the composition of the soil solution, the sampling rate and the sample volume (Hansen & Harris, 1975;Levin & Jackson, 1977;Nagpal, 1982 ; Rasmussen et al, 1986; Grossmann et al, 1990). Usually solutes with concentrations greater than about 0.1 mmol, dm-' are not affected (El-Bassam, 1972;Wood, 1974;Sommer, 1976;Hetsch et al, 1979;Schmidt, 1985;Grossmann, 1988). At lower concentrations the sorption effect may be quite considerable, especially if, for example, a trace metal is adsorbed highly selectively.…”