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How does your soil’s texture aid or hinder water flow and the movement of nutrients?
I have found that the soil in the my plot is split into two main categories each serving the plot properly. The first mixture is loamy sand. This loamy sand is darker in color as the picture indicates. It is perfect for allowing the movement of water and nutrients through this area of the plot. It covers the portions that are wooded and grass covered. It have a small layer of topsoil that is composed of mostly organic matter. The second area is sandy clay loam. This portion of my plot is where the water flow occurs and the wetland exists. This soil is perfect for holding a body of water and allowing a movement of water to occur because of the lower levels of ground seepage. This will allow nutrients to be held within the water table and also allow a wetland to exist. This soil also acts a natural filter for the water as is leaks into the water table.
What types of organisms are in the area where you collected the soil?
It seems that there is only microbial activity within the sandy clay loam but there are several soil dwelling invertebrates in the loamy sand. I found several earthworms in the first three inches of soil.
What effects do these organisms have on the soil’s qualities?
Microbial activity allows for proper uptake of nutrients from plant roots and also allows the soil to be “filtered” by the microbes. The earthworms and other soil dwelling creatures act to help create fertilizer in the form of worm castings and waste. The soil is only enhanced by its relationship with these creatures.
Is the soil you collected likely to be eroded?
No, the area of my plot is very flat and contains a low area covered by wetland. This water could erode the soil but isn’t because it is not moving water.
How would its loss affect the current location?
If there was erosion then the entire area would be drastically effected. The wetland would not exist and the soil would be changed to a sandier mix.
Where would it erode to in your site?
If erosion occurred it would erode into the wetland filling it in and destroying its water holding ability.
How would its presence affect the location it moves to?
It would take the area that water currently fills and level the land creating a flat wooded area.
As an ecologist why is it important to think about soil texture?
Yes, the soil is what keeps a healthy environment. It allows vegetation to thrive or causes it to die. Soil is the first step to understanding how an ecosystem interacts with its primary producers.
-I determined my soil to be sandy clay. The soil soaks up the water, but also filters it through a lot, so I think that the soil at my site allows for good movement of water and nutrients into the soil.
-Organisms I saw in the soil were ants and worms. Grass and trees and weeds cover most of the ground and rabbits and raccoons and deer are also found around the ares.
-Plants utilize most of the nutrients in the soil. Worms and ants really help with nutrient transport in the soil. Rabbits and raccoons and deer eat the plant life and fertilize the soil with their feces.
-The soil I collected is not likely to be eroded because there's a lot of plants to utilize water from rain and there aren't any bodies of water in the are. Eroded soil would be really bad for the plants and animal in the area because the plants would become nutrient deprived so animals would probably leave to a different area to feed. The soil would erode to where the land dips inward and the water tends to gather. I do not think that it would have a big effect on that area.
-Soil texture can help determine what types of organisms are fitted for that environment, so soil texture can help predict what species may live in an area without having to closely observe that area.
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.
(a) Sandy Loam
(b) The sandy texture allows water to flow through the soil easily due to the greater amount of space between larger particles. This results in water flushing nutrients from the soil.
(c) Many aquatic plants grow in the water adjacent to where I collected my soil samples. On land there are various shrubs and trees growing nearby.
(d) Roots from the nearby trees and shrubs hold the soil together in tight clumps.
(e) The soil i collected is unlikely to be eroded due to the network of roots holding it in place, even near the surface. However, if it were to erode, the nearby trees and shrubs could lose their ability to anchor themselves and fall. The soil would most likely erode into the pond, which could result in increased turbidity and sediment buildup, affecting the pond's populations.
(f) As an ecologist, it is important to think about soil texture because it determines the types of organisms, especially plants, that are able to thrive in an area. It also gives an ecologist insight as to how events like rain and wind may affect an area.
1. As I was performing the soil experiment I decided to spray some water into it to see how the water flowed through the soil. I found that the soil soaked up the water and didn’t transport it anywhere. Therefore I feel that the water movement in this soil, and the nutrients, stays more in one place, soaking up the soil than flowing through the soil.
2. As I was digging up some soil it was difficult to find any types of organisms in this soil but I did happen to come across one decomposing organism, a worm. Therefore I would conclude that it would be difficult to find any type of organism in this kind of soil, but if I would have to venture a guess I would say decomposers are more likely to be found in these soils.
3. Decomposers have an effect on soil quality in good way because they help the soil break up allowing more energy to be transferred to the plants through water and nutrients, such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. Decomposers can also help break down any pollutants that may leak into the soil so that way the plants are less affected.
4. I would have to conclude that because there is silt in the type of soil I identified, then erosion is a possibility. It is hard to determine if the soil loss would have more of a negative or positive impact; because the soil type is limiting nutrient and water availability to the plants I would think this would be more positive for the plants so that way they are more exposed to the water/nutrient quantity. The soil would erode to the river because this soil is more on a downward slant, slanting towards the river. If the soil moves to the river then it would start to accumulate in that location causing the soil to eventually reach the surface. If this happens then I would think that it would make the river smaller causing the space the organisms live in to become compacted. This would cause the density of the population to become higher making the amount of organisms that can live within that area to decrease, as we saw in the last chapter.
5. As an ecologist it would be very important to think about soil texture because different populations live in different soil types and these different populations have a huge impact on the plants and organism that lives in that ecosystem. It would also be important because if you were trying to determine nutrient and water quality and quantity that the plants were obtaining, the first place to start is the soil; the soil determines the length of the roots of the plants.
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Silt Loam
After preforming the tests I determined my soil was silt loam. The fact that the soil is loose and had many organic particles mixed in with it causing open space, I believe that it would easily allow for water flow and movement of nutrients.
Many of the organisms in the area for plant life where cat tails, tall grass, small wild flowers, and several deciduous and coniferous trees at higher elevation. As for animals, most are insects, such as mosquitoes and gnats, frogs, several types of birds, and geese.
Most of the organisms bring nutrients to the soil through many ways such as decomposition.
I do think that this soil could be easily eroded because of the elevation of the area. The soil would follow gravity into the pond area and when that area was full it would start to follow the lowest elevation towards the street. The organic matter that is in the soil would be transported to the new location giving the area more nutrients
I did a soil test of my garden and just could not resist taking a picture of the results. It's like looking in to the soul of your garden. The results are a Neutral pH, medium potash, low nitrogen and medium phosphorous.
1.My soil texture was sandy loam. Sand particles are larger than silt or clay particles and therefore allow water to pass more quickly. Since my soil was not completely sand, but was in the loam category as well, this means that water did not flow as fast as it would had it been in the completely sand category. The movement of nutrients through my soil is similar to the water flow. The nutrients do not stay or remain in this soil type. This is because nutrients flow more quickly in my soil type than in other soil types such as clay loam.
2.There were many small plants and grassed in the area I collected the soil from. There were many insects, such as ants, in the area as well.
3.When the plants decay they add plant litter to the organic layer of soil. Their nutrients are passed on to the soil this way. As you can see from the picture, there is a lot of plant litter in the area. The same can be said of the insects, from their decaying bodies or from their wastes, more nutrients are added to the soil. The plants had short roots perhaps because of the sandy texture. Plants in clay texture do not have short roots because there is a risk of drowning since the soil texture does not allow much water movement.
4.Sandy soils can be eroded more easily than clay or silt because they have less adhesion than the other soil types. The roots and dead leaf litter covering the area might reduce the erosion of my soil by inhibiting the water flow. If my soil were to be eroded it will most likely flow towards the lake. This is because the area I collected was close to the lake, and from last weeks watershed project I learned that the water flows towards the lake in my plot due to the lower elevation of the lake. If my soil was eroded I do not think it would have a huge impact on the area it was eroded from because much of the area looked to be about the same type of soil. The soil would affect the lake by bringing the nutrients that were in the soil to the lake.
5.It is important to think about soil textures because soil textures can affect water flow, air flow, and the retention of nutrients. This can vastly impact and determine the types of organisms that live in the area. An example of this is the sandy soil within deserts. The soil does not maintain nutrients very well and also water flows too quickly through it. This is why only certain types of plants, such as cacti, can survive on this soil type.
a) What type of soil is at your site? Most kinds could be found here.
Loamy
b) How does your soil’s texture aid or hinder water flow and the movement of nutrients?
I think it aids in the flow of the nutrients because as the water flows down if it was raining the nutrients would seep into the soil and when enough is taken in it will continue to flow and spread everywhere.
c) What types of organisms are in the area where you collected the soil?
I noticed insects, worms, and birds
d) What effects do these organisms have on the soil’s qualities?
I think that the organisms clean the soil through filtering
e) Is the soil you collected likely to be eroded? How would its loss affect the current
location? Where would it erode to in your site? How would its presence affect the
location it moves to?
I think that there is a possibility of the soil eroding if it's in a very dry season but if it's moist i think it wouldn't erode. I wouldnt change much but will also erode into the pond.
f) As an ecologist, why is it important to think about soil texture?
Soil shows us and directs which way water will flow but will also show us what creatures can and do live around the area.
Since the soil is a silty clay loam, it contains 27-40% clay, which means that it hinders water flow though the soil. The soil does not drain well, but it retains nutrients well as they are not leached out by high levels of water flow. I found several worms in the soil that I dug up as well as a few chipmunks, squirrels and robins in the area. There were numerous plant types including large trees. The effects these organisms will have include dropping leaves and twigs that will become organic matter in the O horizon of the soil as well as nutrient extraction from the soil. Since the soil has a relatively high amount of clay, it will not erode easily. However, it is on a bit of a slope with water draining over to reach the pond. If it does erode, it could reduce the amount of nutrients available to the plants in that area and it will increase the level of the pond when it ends up there.
How does your soil’s texture aid or hinder water flow and the movement of nutrients?
Q: The soil is a wet soil type which has the ability to drain yet isn't a soil that is known for draining well, therefore it is more likely to hinder water and nutrient movement.
What types of organisms are in the area where you collected the soil?
Q: grasses, such as Reed's Canary grass, Orchard grass, Quack grass, cattails, few lily pads, frogs, treefoil, Red Winged Blackbirds, Willow tree
What effects do these organisms have on the soil’s qualities?
Q: Retain moisture, cool the soil, contribute organic carbon
Is the soil you collected likely to be eroded? How would its loss affect the current location? Where would it erode to in your site? How would its presence affect the location it moves to?
Q: No, this is a wetland area, the soil is not likely to erode. Therefore there should not be much movement of the soil and little affect on other areas.
As an ecologist why is it important to think about soil texture?
Q: Soil texture helps to determine what species will live in the area and how water will be utilized or moved or even flow. It's an important piece of all ecosystems. It is the foundation of growth of plants.
The soil testing machine wanders out .... it was operated by a control button attached to a lead ... it was kind of like taking it for a walk!
The soil absorbs a lot of water and is fairly airy so that water may seep into it easily. The soil is filled with small insects and worms while their are squirrels, deer, and raccoons in the area as well and plants grow in this soil. These organisms can aerate the soil and deposit organic material. The soil is surrounded by trees and plants making it unlikely to have very much erosion. Any soil loss would be quickly replaced by the high amount of organic material. Soil texture can determine what organisms exist in the area and how water moves through the area.
The soil in my location is a silt loam I believe. It had just rained, so the soil was fairly wet and dense. In terms of water movement, this type of soil is less sandy, so it holds more water. Also, the water infiltrates a medium distance down, not as much as sand but more than clay. Water movement horizontally is probably pretty difficult because of the density and composition.
There are a variety of insect organisms at the location, such as bees, beetles, ants, etc. Various birds as well as deer live here and domestic horses are very close.
These organisms affect the soil by the insects moving it around and helping nutrient flow. A beetle may dig deep, bring topsoil down and a bird may carry soil to a different location in it's claws, causing less dense soil.
The soil is fairly close to human interaction as well as sees interaction with animals regularly, so it is probably eroded. Movement of this soil could affect the surrounding plant life by changing water depth, nutrient content, etc. The same goes for the location it moves to. The length of roots may play a big factor because certain plants may not be able to take up water in soils that don't infiltrate deep enough.
a. Sandy loam
b. The soil at Lily Pond aids the movement of water and nutrients because even when moist, the soil does not hold together well, allowing water to move quickly and freely along with the nutrients.
c. I gathered my soil at a spot where there had recently been a landslide caused by erosion and so I took loose soil from the top where there were no organisms found within the soil but a lot of plant matter debris. I don't doubt that earthworms and isopods live in areas where the soil was recently disturbed, but none were found where I took my sample.
d. Earthworms and isopods consume plant matter and break them down into soil so these organisms overall improve the quality of soil and accelerate the decomposition process.
e. The soil that I collected does seem likely to erode as was evident in the fact that the soil I collected had recently collapsed due to erosion. Its loss from its original location damaged a well used path and left new soil to be exposed to the elements. The collapse also covered all plant life that had been present on the side of the hill. All eroded soil would fall either to Lily Pond itself, or to the paved path that edges the pond. Its new location would allow for the spread and establishment of nearby species.
f. It is important to think about soil texture because it allows for ecologists to gain a knowledge about what plants and other organisms survive best within that area, and how they interact, decompose and contribute to the water and nutrient cycle.
Since the area that I am observing is very flat a lot of the water is absorbed by the soil so this soil absorbs the water very well and this leads to a lot of sapling to start growing throughout the area. So this soil allows for the water to flow freely and for nutrients to move to different saplings that are located through the observing area. There were some worms in the area that I dug in but they immediately dug deeper in the soil so that they could not be seen. The tunneling of the worms could help with the aeration and permeability of the soil. Tunneling can also help break up the compact soil so that the water can flow more easily throughout the area. This better water flow can also help the plants that are growing in the area because they will able to receive water more easily. I believe that the soil could start to erode if there was enough water fall because the area is very flat so there isn't anywhere for the water to go except in the soil. So once the water table is full then the water will start to stand on top of the soil. This could lead to movement of the soil to different areas. The area that is leaves would be affected because it needs nutrient soil for the new sapling to grow on. So if it moves there might not be as much grow as before. The new location for the soil would have lots of nutrients for new sapling to grow on so there could a lot of new growth in the soils new location.
My Soil texture is sand. Water flows through sand very rapidly because of its particle size. This rapid movement effects the nutrients that are distributed. As discussed in lecture 1, rapid water movement through this soil can lead to leaching in which nutrients are removed from the soil. I found a lot of ants and scattered grass in the area I collected soil. The effects these organisms have on the soil is turn over. Because they move in and out or the soil they can cause turn over in the soil. This soil is not too likely to erode because this piece of land in particular has a lot of tress and vegetation who's roots help keep the soil in place. It is important to think about soil texture in order to understand what type of organisms lived in that environment, is currently living in that environment or could possibly live in that environment. It helps determine how suitable it is for living, and or agriculture and can help to see the types of effects weather has on it.
My soil sand which has a high porosity thus allows more water to travel through it at a faster rate. Due to this high porosity and fast flow of water, nutrients are unable to remain in the sand for very long, instead they pass through the sand with the water. In the area where I collected the soil, there are many different species of birds, such as seagulls, blue heron, swans, ducks and geese. The constant addition of waste products from the birds allows the sandy soil so maintain some small level of nutrients, allowing sparse areas of grass and weeds to grow. The sandy soil I collected is likely to be eroded because of its high porosity, the sand particles do not stick together and the fast water flow will move particles quicker. If the sandy soil was gone, the layers of soil under the sand would be exposed and might eventually get broken down until the soil texture in that area is vastly different from the original sandy soil. In the area where the sand moved to, the surrounding vegetation and other organisms would struggle because the sand doesn’t hold the water or nutrients needed for those organisms to thrive.
a. At my site, I found silty clay and silty loam.
b. Both of my samples were in the silt category, so they both allow the water to pass through slowly. I think it would aid the water and nutrient flow if there were a drought, but hinder it if there was a lot of rain, especially in the silty clay section.
c. There was a lot of grass and smaller plants in the area where I collected my soil. There were also these round seeds with little burrs on them. There were also a lot of snails.
d. I think the roots of the grass could take away nutrients from the soil, but when they decompose, they will add nutrients back into it. I think they may also help to absorb some of the excess water in the soil.
e. I don't think the soil here is likely to be eroded. If it did, I think it would fall into the surrounding lakes. This would perhaps raise the water level of the lakes, which could cause them to overflow onto the surrounding areas.
f. It is important to think about soil texture because soil is important in transporting water and nutrients to the ecosystem. If the soil is not healthy, then the primary producers will not be healthy, and so on up the food chain.
The top two pictures are of soil from a higher elevation. The lower picture is soil from a lower elevation at the bog area. The two are only separated by a road.
a) top: loamy sand bottom: loam
b) water and nutrients pass through the loamy sand easily but for loam more of the water and nutrients will be absorbed and stay.
c) top: birds bottom: lawn shrimp, flies
d) The birds will dig into the soil to find food. This might make the soil loose and allows water to run through it. The lawn shrimp live in the soil and are small so they are not changing the soil too much
e) The soils are unlikely to erode because there are so much vegetation and trees in the area.
f) Soil texture is important because it says a lot about what plants will do well in that environment and what organisms would want to live there.
The soil type determined after the testing of two samples was silty clay loam. It was very rich in organic matter and fertile, noticing the plants and life surrounding it. It was dark thick soil so it absorbs and contains a lot of nutrients after they are captured from the organic matter resting on the soil. Water and nutrients readily pass through this medium.
The organisms surrounding the sample of soil were plants and centipedes as well as roots and small twigs. The organic matter obviously supply the soil with nutrients as the dead insects would as well.
The soil collected was not likely to be eroded, it was in a low spot in the environment so it would only collect and gather in itself. More nutrients and soil is most likely eroded into the location where the soil sample was taken due to the levels of elevation surrounding the soil. The soil and nutrients would erode to that location during rain mostly as the wind would not greatly affect the spot the soil was taken from.
Ecologists find soil texture important to determine if the surrounding organisms are obtaining the needed nutrients. Soil texture is important to determine if the flow of nutrients and water is sufficient for life and to help determine which kind of life could be inhabiting that area.
A. My site has loam soil.
B. My soil is not too tight like dense nor too loose like sand, therefore water can flow pretty efficiently through it and bring along all the nutrients that water normally carries.
C. Grasses, trees, shrubs, flowering plants, insects, and larger animals like squirrels are found in my location where this soil is present.
D. The quality of the soil seems to be quite good since many organisms can survive in it. All of the plants that grow from it will provide the soil with richness once the plants die, decomposing and adding nutrients to the soil. The extensive system of roots through the soil likely aid in its quality as well, keeping it moist and fairly loose.
E. It is possible that the soil from my site can be mildly eroded by rainfall or by intense winds during a dry period. Loss of a great quantity of soil would certainly hinder plant growth, but this is unlikely due to the nature of its geographic location. If it will erode as a result of rainfall, the loam would travel down into topographically lower regions of the site where the soil should have a neutral or beneficial effect or it would trickle down into the gutters of the streets that perimeter the location where its affect would either be neutral or otherwise unwanted - say as a result of being drained into said gutters.
F. Soil texture is important for an ecologist to think about because soil in many cases houses primary producers which are greatly important to the chain of organisms that interact with one another at a given location. By knowing the texture of the soil, one can predict the type of plant life that will proliferate and thus be further able to make predictions about the type of herbivores, pollinators, or other organisms that will be present as well.
The soil in my area turned out to be a loamy sand due to its ability to form a ball but inability to withstand a “bounce” lol. This characterizes it as being made of large particles that create an environment susceptible to water loss due to the draining of water between the individual soil particles. Therefore, the nutrients in the water also probably drain through the soil quickly and escape the grasps of the many organisms in the soil.
The location where I grabbed the soil contained weeds, grasses, mosses, insects, worms, and some bushes. These organisms all directly or indirectly take nutrients from the soil and incorporate it into their life processes as anatomical features, metabolic energy, or storage molecules for future use (to name a few). In the end, they also give back everything stored within their body when they die and are decomposed by organisms in the soil.
The soil is most definitely eroded where I took the sample. It was clear that water flows down into the water basin and in the process washes out many of the decaying organic material and associated nutrients into the water source instead of allowing them to sink into the soil for those organisms. The location that receives all of these nutrients probably has a greater ability to sustain more biological life due to its higher concentrations of run-off nutrients from the surrounding areas.
The soil texture silt loam from my capstone area helps the movement of nutrients because it does not hold them like clay would and they do not drain as sand does.
The organisms in my capstone where I collected this soil is tree and plant litter, insect, bird and animal fecal matter, possibly decaying animals.
The organisms in my capstone area effects the soils qualities by adding nutrients to the soil like nitrogen that will help sustain the plantlife that grows here.
The soil that I collected is likely to be eroded because the sample taken was on a small hill with sparse vegetation even though the silt loam does not usually erode easily because of the smaller particle size. The loss in the current location would mean that it would not be able to sustain plant life. The soil would follow my watershed and erode downhill into the creek. The presence of the eroded soil will put a lot of sediment into the creek bed and this can cause problems with fish hatcheries.
As an ecologist it is very important to know the soil texture in the area they are working to know what nutrients are available to the organisms and vegetation in the area. This can tell an ecologist what types of vegetation and organisms can be supported in an area and how those organism will interact with the rest of the habitat.
a) Sandy clay loam was the type of soil found at my site, determined by ribbon length and by grittiness.
b) Since my soil sample was sandy clam loam, it is able to slowly aid water flow and the movement of nutrients.
c) Earthworms were in the area where the soil was collected.
d) Earthworms' activities improve soil's qualities through aeration, water retention, composition, and enrich soil nutrients.
e) No, the soil collected is unlikely to be eroded. Its loss would affect not only the earthworms, but all of the other tiny organism that live in the soil. If it were to erode, it would erode down the hill towards the sidewalk. This new location would thus become the new home for all of the organisms to live.
f) It is important to think about soil textures because it helps ecologist understand how different organisms live and interact in the same environment. It shows how the movement of water and nutrients are and how organisms are depended upon them to survive.