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Abstract
The indirect determination of the clay content in soils is based upon the close relationship between the total rubidium (Rb) and clay content in soils. X‐ray fluorescence spectrometry (X‐RF) is a well‐proven and favorite method for the determination of the total Rb content in geological samples. X‐RF analysis and aqua regia extraction are permitted for official analysis of heavy metals and nutritional elements in sewage sludges and soils for their disposal in Bavaria. The determination of Rb in the Westerhoff extract (0.43M HNO3), a standard method for available copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) in soils, which is moreover the basis for an indirect determination of the organic matter content according to a newly developed method, permits an estimation of the clay content distinctively superior to that of the manual sensoric method.