janderslee
Soil 1
a.) I found three types of soil at my site: 1) Sand, 2) loamy sand, 3) silty clay loam. I expected to find only sand because of the large cliff made of sandstone leading down to my site. But when I dug about 6 to 8 inches down in the location with several trees, I was surprised to find the silty clay loam.
b.) Because most of the site consists of sand and loamy sand, water and nutrients flow through it fairly quickly before the plants can pick it up while the soil consisting of silty clay loam is better able to hold water and nutrients.
would explain where the majority of plants in the area are very small. But the location with the silty clay loam, the soil is better able to hold water and nutrients which allowed the growth of the large Pine and Cypress trees.
c.) Where the sand and loamy sand was present, the vegetation consisted of only small low lying plants most likely due to the low water and nutrient content of the soil. On the other hand, where I found silty clay loam, there were numerous large Pine and Cypress tree's due to the retention of water and nutrients flowing through this system. This abundance has promoted the growth of much larger plants.
d.) The small plants in the area with sand help hold the soil together so that it doesn't all blow or erode away. The larger vegetation where the silty clay loam is present, help break up the clay so that it's not as compact as well as leave a small layer of decomposed biomass which is nutrient rich and promotes the growth of plants that could not previously grow there.
e.) The sand that I collected has a high probability to be eroded away down to the beach which is right next to my site at the bottom of another cliff. This erosion probably wont have much effect since the cliff that goes up the back side of my site is made of sand stone and will continue to supply it with new soil. As it erodes to the beach, the ocean will wash it away to a new location. The silty clay loam on the other hand has much less of a chance to be eroded since it is buried underneath roughly half a foot of loamy sand and nutrient rich top soil.
f.) It is important to think about soil texture as an ecologist, because different types of soil texture greatly influence the vegetation which grows on it. Beyond that, the type of vegetation that is present directly affects the type of animals that live there.
Soil 1
a.) I found three types of soil at my site: 1) Sand, 2) loamy sand, 3) silty clay loam. I expected to find only sand because of the large cliff made of sandstone leading down to my site. But when I dug about 6 to 8 inches down in the location with several trees, I was surprised to find the silty clay loam.
b.) Because most of the site consists of sand and loamy sand, water and nutrients flow through it fairly quickly before the plants can pick it up while the soil consisting of silty clay loam is better able to hold water and nutrients.
would explain where the majority of plants in the area are very small. But the location with the silty clay loam, the soil is better able to hold water and nutrients which allowed the growth of the large Pine and Cypress trees.
c.) Where the sand and loamy sand was present, the vegetation consisted of only small low lying plants most likely due to the low water and nutrient content of the soil. On the other hand, where I found silty clay loam, there were numerous large Pine and Cypress tree's due to the retention of water and nutrients flowing through this system. This abundance has promoted the growth of much larger plants.
d.) The small plants in the area with sand help hold the soil together so that it doesn't all blow or erode away. The larger vegetation where the silty clay loam is present, help break up the clay so that it's not as compact as well as leave a small layer of decomposed biomass which is nutrient rich and promotes the growth of plants that could not previously grow there.
e.) The sand that I collected has a high probability to be eroded away down to the beach which is right next to my site at the bottom of another cliff. This erosion probably wont have much effect since the cliff that goes up the back side of my site is made of sand stone and will continue to supply it with new soil. As it erodes to the beach, the ocean will wash it away to a new location. The silty clay loam on the other hand has much less of a chance to be eroded since it is buried underneath roughly half a foot of loamy sand and nutrient rich top soil.
f.) It is important to think about soil texture as an ecologist, because different types of soil texture greatly influence the vegetation which grows on it. Beyond that, the type of vegetation that is present directly affects the type of animals that live there.