kallisra
Soil
After performing the soil test, I was able to determine that this soil is clay. It not only did not fall apart when I put it into a ball, but I was able to make a ribbon almost as long as my hand length. When testing for modifiers, it seemed to me that the soil was both gritty and smooth, but perhaps I am just confused what it means for the soil to be 'gritty.' If we're going by the stickiness factor, it wasn't sticky at all, but like a dough ball when you're about to make gingerbread cookies. The description in the capstone says that silt is not sticky, so I'm sure that that is the modifier. So putting these both together would make the soil be classified as "silty clay."
One thing I noticed closer to the Red Cedar River, is that there was quite of bit of sand there (but none as you moved further away from the water). When I was trying to collect a soil sample, I found a worm, which is actually underneath that bark in the picture to the left of where I took my dirt from. I also found some ants and killed a mosquito in the process. Because the soil composition was determined to be 'silty clay', I was actually surprised to find the worm, because I would imagine that it would be harder to move around (though the organism just seemed to be moving around on the surface of the ground). Then again, perhaps its presence is more necessary so that some nutrients could be moved around for the vegetation living there. However, there are not many smaller plants in the area, but mostly trees, which tells me that this soil content, worms and all, makes it difficult for smaller plants to obtain the nutrients and water it needs to survive.
The soil is most likely eroded, because of the incline that the land is on, any water that goes over the soil, will flow into the Red Cedar. Also, its clay content will most likely make it difficult for the water to absorb in the ground, because the particles are smaller and sit closer together. I had to use part of branch to obtain a sample myself, the dirt was so compacted. This again, would also explain why smaller plants and weeds have difficulty surviving in this area. This would be important for psychologists to think about when examining the different organisms that are able to live in this particular location. After all, before you even think about determining the different interspecific interactions going on in a certain environment, it is important to first look at the types of species that are located in the area and the abiotic pressures that are put on them. With this foundation firmly understood, it would really help to understand why certain interactions take place and not others.
Soil
After performing the soil test, I was able to determine that this soil is clay. It not only did not fall apart when I put it into a ball, but I was able to make a ribbon almost as long as my hand length. When testing for modifiers, it seemed to me that the soil was both gritty and smooth, but perhaps I am just confused what it means for the soil to be 'gritty.' If we're going by the stickiness factor, it wasn't sticky at all, but like a dough ball when you're about to make gingerbread cookies. The description in the capstone says that silt is not sticky, so I'm sure that that is the modifier. So putting these both together would make the soil be classified as "silty clay."
One thing I noticed closer to the Red Cedar River, is that there was quite of bit of sand there (but none as you moved further away from the water). When I was trying to collect a soil sample, I found a worm, which is actually underneath that bark in the picture to the left of where I took my dirt from. I also found some ants and killed a mosquito in the process. Because the soil composition was determined to be 'silty clay', I was actually surprised to find the worm, because I would imagine that it would be harder to move around (though the organism just seemed to be moving around on the surface of the ground). Then again, perhaps its presence is more necessary so that some nutrients could be moved around for the vegetation living there. However, there are not many smaller plants in the area, but mostly trees, which tells me that this soil content, worms and all, makes it difficult for smaller plants to obtain the nutrients and water it needs to survive.
The soil is most likely eroded, because of the incline that the land is on, any water that goes over the soil, will flow into the Red Cedar. Also, its clay content will most likely make it difficult for the water to absorb in the ground, because the particles are smaller and sit closer together. I had to use part of branch to obtain a sample myself, the dirt was so compacted. This again, would also explain why smaller plants and weeds have difficulty surviving in this area. This would be important for psychologists to think about when examining the different organisms that are able to live in this particular location. After all, before you even think about determining the different interspecific interactions going on in a certain environment, it is important to first look at the types of species that are located in the area and the abiotic pressures that are put on them. With this foundation firmly understood, it would really help to understand why certain interactions take place and not others.