gtorossian08
Torossian_g, zol355, 2011, soiltest, group_5
How does your soil’s texture aid or hinder water flow and the movement of nutrients?
My soil’s texture was silty clay loam. Since the particles are closer together than they would be for sand, the flow of water and nutrients is slower than it would be in sandy soil because there is less space between the particles for the water and nutrients to flow.
What types of organisms are in the area where you collected the soil?
There are flowers and grasses growing there. Squirrels, birds, worms, insects, rabbits, groundhogs, chipmunks, and sometimes deer are in the area too.
What effects do these organisms have on the soil’s qualities?
Worms assimilate atmospheric nitrogen into usable nitrogen for plants. Flowers and grass take up water and nutrients through their roots.
Is the soil you collected likely to be eroded?
Yes, when it rains, when animals dig into it, or walking over it can move it around.
How would its loss affect the current location?
Its loss would get rid of a place to live for many worms and insects, grass, and flowers. If the grass and the flowers are gone, they couldn’t be a food source for other organisms anymore either.
Where would it erode to in your site?
If the soil was eroded, it would probably be spread all around. It could either go uphill to the lawns near the area (which would take more energy and/or time to do), or downhill into the woods more.
How would its presence affect the location it moves to?
Wherever the soil moves too and accumulates at, it could make it harder for plants to grow in it and for organisms to move around in it (compared to the texture of the soil already there). This would happen because of how little space there is between the particles of soil.
As an ecologist why is it important to think about soil texture?
As an ecologist, it is important to think about soil texture because soil texture determines water and air flow underground. It is a major factor in determining the organisms that can live in the environment, and knowing where it would move to if eroded is helpful for figuring out how that area would be affected. Also, it’s important for ecologists to know what will happen to the area it is eroded from so they can predict how the area that lost the soil will respond to its loss.
Torossian_g, zol355, 2011, soiltest, group_5
How does your soil’s texture aid or hinder water flow and the movement of nutrients?
My soil’s texture was silty clay loam. Since the particles are closer together than they would be for sand, the flow of water and nutrients is slower than it would be in sandy soil because there is less space between the particles for the water and nutrients to flow.
What types of organisms are in the area where you collected the soil?
There are flowers and grasses growing there. Squirrels, birds, worms, insects, rabbits, groundhogs, chipmunks, and sometimes deer are in the area too.
What effects do these organisms have on the soil’s qualities?
Worms assimilate atmospheric nitrogen into usable nitrogen for plants. Flowers and grass take up water and nutrients through their roots.
Is the soil you collected likely to be eroded?
Yes, when it rains, when animals dig into it, or walking over it can move it around.
How would its loss affect the current location?
Its loss would get rid of a place to live for many worms and insects, grass, and flowers. If the grass and the flowers are gone, they couldn’t be a food source for other organisms anymore either.
Where would it erode to in your site?
If the soil was eroded, it would probably be spread all around. It could either go uphill to the lawns near the area (which would take more energy and/or time to do), or downhill into the woods more.
How would its presence affect the location it moves to?
Wherever the soil moves too and accumulates at, it could make it harder for plants to grow in it and for organisms to move around in it (compared to the texture of the soil already there). This would happen because of how little space there is between the particles of soil.
As an ecologist why is it important to think about soil texture?
As an ecologist, it is important to think about soil texture because soil texture determines water and air flow underground. It is a major factor in determining the organisms that can live in the environment, and knowing where it would move to if eroded is helpful for figuring out how that area would be affected. Also, it’s important for ecologists to know what will happen to the area it is eroded from so they can predict how the area that lost the soil will respond to its loss.