Chris Volek, Christopher Sota, Anthony Morris

Tieren Salstrand

APES, Period 2

14 February 2017

SoilingourSelves:SoilsLabReport

Background:
-The purpose of this lab was to gain the understanding of the structure of soil in regards to
formation and chemical presence through thorough examination of permeability, texture,
porosity, and levels of nutrients from two different soil samples.
-Soil is vital to sustaining life on the planet, and without it and the other cycles such as the water
a rock cycles that contribute to soil formation, we would not be able to grow food, and other
resources created from soil and the nutrients found in soil would become obsolete.
-Soil is created through extremely long periods of time in which organisms, waste, nutrients, are
all recycled with help from rock, water, and other cycles. All soil begins as parent material that
eventually mixes in with the other layers of soil, and can be moved by water, and can take up
different compositions depending on organic and chemical presence.
-Typically, good soil has its best qualities when rich with humus and well balanced loam.
Plants also need phosphorus and nitrogen to grow, and soils with higher concentrations of these
such as soils containing fertilizers, can sustain more growth.
-The issue concerning the loss of soil is a growing phenomenon that is being caused primarily
through human operations. Farming in one place for too long, overgrazing, and weedkillers all
contribute to the decline in quality soils that we need to grow food. However, other methods of
use such as no-till farming and contour farming help conserve the soil by keeping the soil in
place and protected from movement from water and wind. Controlling water flow, such as in
contour farming, helps control the movement of soil in and out of an area.

Hypothesis:
From what our group could feel and examine first-hand, we predicted our soil would have high
porosity and medium permeability, higher concentrations of sand and silt, and low amounts of
clay. We expected our soil to hold a fair amount of phosphorus because of the dark colors and
rich physicality. Our soil also appeared to be a topsoil with considerable amounts of organics.
We thought the other soil (F) would have medium porosity, medium permeability, with more
clay and sand than silt. We also thought that the other soil may hold low supplies of potassium,
phosphorus, and nitrogen due to the dryness and lack of plant matter within the soil.
Conclusion:
In short our hypothesis stated that we believed we would have a rich nutritious soil
because of its dark color and abundant organic matter, while our class soil would be somewhat
barren and malnourished because of its light color and lack of organic matter. After some fairly
rigorous testing and analysis we found our hypothesis to be mostly true, although our soil was
seriously lacking in one nutrient-Nitrogen. We were able to test the soils through several
different activities. The first activity we did with our soil was the Soil Sieve Activity. This lab
required us to run our soil through several different sieves allowing our group to accurately
determine the different grain sizes of our soil and the percentages each contributes to the whole.
The last thing this lab contributed to our data was our ability to identify our dirt as a Sandy
Loam. Our second lab was all about porosity and permeability. Firstly the porosity of our soil
was 67% meaning it held 67% of its own volume of water. Secondly the permeability tests
showed that our soil had a retention rate of 7% and a drainage rate of 1.35 ml/sec. This shows
that water moves fairly freely throughout the soil making it good for moving nutrients. Our
third activity was soil chemistry so we could identify the nutrient components in our soil
(Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium). After this lab we discovered that our soil contained a
low nitrogen content while it carried high potassium and phosphorous content. This data,
although not exact shows us that our soil is best for crops like wheat. All these bits and pieces of
data can be considered dependent variables. The data was dependent upon other variables such
as the environment from which we acquired our soil or what fertilizers may or may not have
been added previously. This data, not specifically ours but those from other soils, can be rather
pertinent to the world of agriculture and environmental health. For example, if every farmer
conducted these tests, more accurately on their own soil and planted crops and cared for the soil
accordingly it could reduce soil degradation as well as increase yield. Effectively, if all of those
things were to occur we could have more sustainable farmland.

Analysis Questions:
1. Our soil had a low nitrogen content and a high phosphorus and potassium content. This
means that the best crop for our soil would be wheat, because wheat requires much less
nitrogen than the other two. To optimize our soil we would have to find a way to lower
the potassium and phosphorus values because wheat requires much less than what we
already have in our soil. I believe we could leave our nitrogen value alone as it is fairly
complementary to the necessities of wheat.
2. Soil could easily contain the optimal nutrients for a certain plant type and still be harmful
to it simply because of texture. For example if a soil is made up of too much clay, with
such tiny particles, the water will move very slowly throughout the soil and in some cases
can create a seal and block almost all water drainage.
3. We determined our soil to be a sandy loam which was a majority sand and silt. These
properties allowed for a fairly porous soil with a very low retention rate. The porosity and
 retention were due to the fact that our soil, despite looking fine and small, was actually
comprised of the larger of the three types of material.
4. One technique she could employ to reduce cost and improve yield is companion
cropping, this is where she plants two or more crops that help each other in different
ways. For example she could plant a crop that consumes a lot phosphorus along with a
crop that replenishes phosphorus into the soil. Similarly she could plant beneficial weeds,
these are plants that arent normally domesticated and are generally considered weeds by
themselves. However planted alongside a crop of your choice a weed could provide
nutrients and even in some cases provide a barrier for pests to protect your crop.
5. In this case Jeff is correct because, from a soil standpoint, a desert is one of the most
fragile ecosystems with a topsoil layer that can be as small as the thickness of your
fingernail. With such a small layer, and almost no organic material to draw nutrients
from, even the smallest disturbance can be disastrous for the ecosystem..
 Sources

"How Do the Properties of Soils Affect Plant Growth." Department of Environment and Primary
Industries, Victoria. Department of Environment and Primary Industries, n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2017.

"Soil and Plant Nutrition: A Gardener's Perspective - Cooperative Extension: Garden & Yard -
University of Maine Cooperative Extension." Cooperative Extension: Garden & Yard. N.p., n.d. Web.
14 Feb. 2017.

Withgott, Jay, and Scott Brennan. Environment: The Science behind the Stories. San Francisco:
Pearson, 2011. Print.