Soil Fertility in the Big Urban Woods

Zander Davis Science 2, Language Arts 2, 7th Grade 11/13/2012 Kelly Mann, Amanda Reding

Table of Contents Statement of Purpose.......................................................................3 Hypothesis.......................................................................................4 Research...........................................................................................5 Materials..9 Procedure...10 Observations and Results...11 Conclusion.17 Bibliography..18 Acknowledgements19

Statement of Purpose

While I was with my grandma in the Big Urban Woods School Forest, she pointed out to me that in one area of the BUW, understory plants werent growing very well. There was a lot of coal in the soil in that area, and my grandma said that this might be the cause of why there werent very many plants there. The purpose of this experiment is to find out if the coal really was the cause of the lack of vegetation.

Hypothesis

I hypothesize that the soil in the area of the BUW with the coal will not support plant life as well as soil in other areas of the BUW. Specifically, we think that the coal might affect the pH of the soil, because of a previous test on the pH that we have conducted.

Research
Soil: Digging Into Earths Vital Resource Chapters 4-19 Soil is essential to life on Earth, because no plants could survive without it, and no animals could survive without plants. Soil is made up of a combination of water, mineral particles, decomposed plant/animals, and air. Mineral particles are all the nonorganic material in the soil, and organic material is all of the decayed plant/animal materials in the soil. Sand, silt, and clay are the three varieties of nonorganic materials in the soil. Parent material is the original rock from which soil is formed. (Stille, 2005) Soil: Digging Into Earths Vital Resource Chapters 20-44 Soil naturally forms in layers, and when these layers are disturbed or overexposed, that causes erosion. The layers are called horizons, and they start off as bedrock, but slowly turn into soil as they break into smaller and smaller chunks. Erosion is bad for the soil. This is because it wears down and destroys the soil, and this causes there to be less and less soil for plants to grow in. Some causes of erosion are when we cut down trees and pull up grasses, thus exposing the soil to the elements. Erosion isnt the only way to damage soil. Other ways include putting chemical fertilizer on plants, and planting the same kinds of plants on a soil over and over. These are all reasons to try to prevent soil damage and erosion. (Stille, 2005)

6 Organic Soil Conditioners Organic matter in soil is very important to plant growth. This is because it contains many of the nutrients necessary to plant growth, such as nitrogen, sulfur, and carbon. When organic matter decomposes, the nutrients in it are released into an inorganic form that can be used by plants as nutrients again. Some different places for organic matter to be found could be compost, manure, sawdust, and sewage sludge. Manure from livestock is a very good fertilizer because of its high organic material level (a lot of nitrogen). Compost is a good fertilizer because it is made by decomposing different types of organic matter. Rotted sawdust is a good fertilizer for plants that grow best with a lot of carbon in the soil. Sewage sludge is good because it tends to be a good source of organic matter. (Schulte/Kelling, 1998) Garden Fertilization A soil test can tell you what kinds of nutrients you already have in your soil, what kinds you still need to put in it, and how much of each you might have or need. The three main nutrients that the most commercial fertilizers have in them are nitrogen, phosphate (phosphorus), and potash (potassium). If the soil test indicates that the pH of soil is too high (alkaline), it reduces the chances of plants being able to use nutrients such as phosphorus, iron, zinc, boron, and manganese. A vegetable may need an occasional fertilizer of nitrogen when its growing, but if too much nitrogen is absorbed, the plant part will be bigger, but the fruit will be smaller. In short, soil tests can be very helpful. (Schulte/Combs, 1998)

7 Soil Science Simplified, Chapter 8: Soil Fertility & Plant Nutrition Some things that are necessary for plant growth are carbon dioxide, water, and things called plant nutrients. Plants get water when it rains, carbon dioxide from the air, and plant nutrients from the soil. There are different kinds of plant nutrients. Some kinds are minerals, organic matter, and particular kinds of soluble ions in the soil. The pH of the soil can affect plant growth as well. The amount of nutrients in soil is usually at its highest when the pH level is in-between neutral and slightly acidic. There are 16 essential elements (these are elements that are very beneficial to plant growth) that can be in the soil; they are carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, sulfur, magnesium, iron, manganese, boron, chlorine, zinc, copper, and molybdenum. Carbon dioxide and water are converted into carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen through photosynthesis, and the other 13 elements are generally absorbed through the soil. Nitrogen comes from the atmosphere and goes through a process called nitrogen fixation so plants can use it. (Harpstead/Sauer/Bennet, 2001) The New Seed-Starters Handbook, pages 28-32 There are many factors that influence germination. Some of these factors are the condition of the seed, the presence of water, sufficient air, temperature, light, and soil conditions. The temperature of a seed can affect germination because different seeds require different temperatures to germinate. Different seeds require different levels of light when germinating. Some seeds need more darkness, and some need more light. There are different soil conditions that can affect germination. These are organic matter, salt, calcium, and leaf mold. Too much organic matter, leaf mold, or salt is bad, while a

8 lot of calcium is good for some seeds germination. There are many factors that can affect germination. (Bubel, 1998) Soil Properties Soil has three phases; the solid phase, the liquid phase, and the gas phase. The solid phase of soil is the way soil is right after it has been derived from the parent material of the soil. (The parent material is what the soil has been derived from. One example of parent material is bedrock.) Another term for the liquid phase is the soil solution. This is water with various soil substances and dissolved elements in it. The gas phase of soil is the gas and air in the pores of the soil. Different plant mineral nutrients have different levels of availability, depending on the pH of the soil. Overall, the neutral range, 7.0, is the most ideal pH for finding these minerals. The phases of soil and the pH of the soil are all important properties of the health of the soil. (Miller, 1999)

Materials
At least two sharpened pencils A notebook 18 plastic 16oz-20oz cups with holes in the bottoms Soil from BUW-about 1 gallon from each of the three sites: o Soil from the coal site o Soil from the disturbed site o Soil from the native soil site About 100 seeds of each type: o Allium o Zinnia o Cress o Helenium Waterproof tray big enough for all cups A supply of fresh neutral pH water A good light source-either direct sunlight or a plant light. A sheet of translucent plastic (must be translucent enough for light to get through) that is big enough to cover all cups while they are on the whole tray 2 different kinds of pH meters 1 Permanent Marker Camera Spoon to scoop dirt

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Procedure

1. Test pH of each soil type. 2. Retest pH with different pH meter. 3. Put 1 type of soil in 4 separate plastic cups. Fill to about 2 from the top of the cup. Repeat for all types of soil (total of 12 cups). 4. Take 1 plastic cup of each of the 3 types of soil and plant 10 seeds of cress in each one. 5. Repeat step 4 with each type of seed until each type of soil has a different type of seed in each cup. 6. Label each cup according to soil type and plant type. 7. Put cups in tray (organization optional). 8. Pour enough water into the tray so that there is about 2 cm of water in the tray. 9. Put tray underneath light source (if light source is electronic, turn off at night and back on in the morning). 10. Lay bubble wrap over cups. Remove bubble wrap after plants sprout. 11. Take notes 3 times a week. 12. Take pictures when taking notes. 13. Repeat step 8 when water in tray dries up. 14. Continue for about 2 months.

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Observations & Results

We have three main sources of data; our germination trials, our pH tests, and Dr. Spokas lab results. There were two germination trials to ensure reliable results. We did two pH tests for the same reason. Doctor Kurt Spokas is a soil scientist at the University of Minnesota, and he did tests on these soil samples for pH, as well as other things, like nutrition content.

12 Trial 1 Plants Cress First to sprout. Grew fast, as expected. Died quickly, as expected. Never sprouted in native soil for reasons unknown. This was a reason we decided to do a 2nd trial. Helenium Slower sprouting than cress. o Sprouted 2nd. Ended up with almost the same number of plants in each cup at the end of the experiment. Allium Zinnia Never sprouted. Most likely cause of this is that the seeds were dead. This was the primary reason we decided to do a 2nd trial. The slowest to germinate. (The last to sprout.) The slowest seeds to sprout were the ones in the native soil. The plants in the coal soil sprouted a little late; and last.

13 Soils Coal Soil 24 total plants sprouted by end of experiment. o 12 plants in cress. o 4 plants in helenium. o 8 plants in allium. Coal soil is the #1 soil for plants to sprout and grow in out of all of the soils used in this experiment, in this trial. Disturbed Soil 21 total plants sprouted by end of experiment. o 2 plants in cress. o 5 plants in helenium. o 14 plants in allium. Disturbed soil is the #2 soil for plants to sprout and grow in, in this trial.

Native Soil 11 total plants sprouted by end of experiment. o 3 plants in helenium. o 8 plants in allium. Native soil is the #3 soil for plants to sprout and grow in, in this trial.

14 Trial 2 Plants Cress Zinnia Was the second plant to sprout. Most of the seeds in the coal soil sprouted by the end of the experiment. Was the first plant to sprout. By the end of the experiment, almost every seed sprouted. Had the most plants in every soil at the end of the experiment.

15 Soils Coal Soil 18 total plants sprouted. o 10 plants in cress. o 8 plants in zinnia. The coal soil is #1 soil for plants to sprout and grow in out of my selection of soils, in this trial. Disturbed Soil 13 total plants sprouted. o 8 plants in cress. o 5 plants in zinnia. Tied with native soil for the #2 best soil for plants to sprout and grow in, in this trial. Native Soil 13 total plants sprouted. o 9 plants in cress. o 4 plants in zinnia. Tied with disturbed soil for the #2 best soil for plants to sprout and grow in, in this trial.

16 pH Tests

pH Test 1

In our first pH test of soils from the Big Urban Woods (B.U.W.), we were shocked! The results were very high alkaline, around 12 at the highest! The highest ph was from the coal soil! This was one of the main reasons for our hypothesis being that the coal was causing the pH to be very high, causing the plants to not be growing very well. Since this was so hard to believe that this was the actual pH, we decided to do a second pH test.

pH Test 2 & Dr. Spokas Results

This pH test yielded very different results. All of the pH measurements were almost the same; they all were about a 7. Since they differed so much from the previous test, we werent sure how accurate they were. About a week later, we received the lab results from Dr. Kurt Spokas. When we saw it, we were surprised to find that, on our second test, we were actually about as accurate as we could be! It turned out that the pHs of the soils were, in order from coal soil to disturbed soil to native soil, 7.2, 6.9, and 6.3!

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Conclusion

I originally thought that the coal was the factor that was causing the lack of vegetation in the area of the BUW with the coal. However, what we actually observed was that the coal was, in fact, the best soil for growing plants in. Our hypothesis that the coal might be affecting the pH turned out not to be true also, because the pH levels of the soil were actually quite normal. Therefore, we must conclude that the original pH test was a dud, or at least the pH meter was. The levels of the three main nutrients; nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, of the coal soil, were quite normal, and similar to the native soil. Therefore, we are forced to conclude that there must be some other unknown factor preventing the plants from growing. One possibility of the answer of this unknown factor could be lack of direct sunlight, as my grandma and I noticed when we examined the overall environment in the area of the coal soil. The cause of the lack of direct sunlight would probably be the tree cover (the shade provided by the thick foliage of the trees), because there was a lot of it. If I do any more experiments, I would probably hypothesize that the light would be the main cause of the lack of vegetation. If I would change what I did in any way, it would be that I would always take exact and descriptive notes, because I didnt always do that in this experiment.

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Bibliography
Nancy, B. (1998). The new seed-starters handbook. (pp. 28-32). St. Martin's Press.

Stille, D. (2005). Soil: Digging into earth's vital resource. Minneapolis, MN: Compass Point Books.

Harpstead, M., Sauer, T., & Bennet, W. (2001). Soil science simplified. (pp. 109-113). Iowa State University Press.

Schulte, E. E., & Combs, S. M. (1998). Garden fertilization. Informally published manuscript, A2304 University of Wisconsin-Extension, University of Wisconsin, .

Schulte, E. E., & Kelling, K. A. (1998). Organic soil conditioners. Informally published manuscript, A2305 UWEX University of Wisconsin-Extension, University of Wisconsin,

Miller, R. (1999, October). Soil properties. Arborist News, 56-59.

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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the following people for making this project possible: My Grandmother, Jennifer, for helping me a lot with my experiment and paper. My Mother, Barbara Porwit, for helping me a lot with my paper. My Grandfather, Joe, for helping me find resources for my research. Dr. Kurt Spokas, for helping me by doing tests on the soils and sending me the results for my experiment. My Aunt, Valerie, for helping me with my project a bit, and helping me a bit to get all of my other homework done. Bobby Griffiths, for helping me get all of my other homework done. My Science Teacher, Kelly Mann, for helping me complete all of my Science Fair. My Language Arts Teacher, Amanda Reding, for helping me complete all of my Science Fair Paper. All of my teachers that I have ever had, for putting up with me and helping me learn all of the things that I know today. My Dad, for giving me a ton of moral support.