The sols-ZC department, which the FEST team is a member, manages three analytical modules which bring together the equipment and know-how necessary for the physico-chemical characterization of tropical and temperate soils
![](https://fest-soil-ecology.fr/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Retractometre.jpg)
A retractometry lab with two retractometer which define the parameters characterizing the structure and storage capacity of soil water.
![](https://fest-soil-ecology.fr/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/spectromètres.jpg)
A infrared lab composed with two spectrometer (near-infrared spectroscopy and mid infrared spectroscopy) allowing qualitative and quantitative analyzes of the organic and mineral composition of different type of materials.
A technical platform in soil physics which offers a diversity of hydrostructural analyzes and composed of equipment allowing to determine the water retention capacity of soil, to measure the hydraulic conductivity in a satured and unsatured environment (Hyprop and Ksat), to measure apparent and real densities and determine the particle size.
![](https://fest-soil-ecology.fr/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/conductivité-1.png)
![](https://fest-soil-ecology.fr/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/granulometrie-methode-robinson-1024x688.jpg)
![](https://fest-soil-ecology.fr/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/presse-a-membrane-4-1024x714.jpg)