Long Term Experiments

Soil quality differences across the restored prairie will have big effects on which plant species thrive and overall biodiversity. In addition, our planting treatments should alter some of the initial soil qualities over time.  In this protocol, chemistry students will sample soils to measure variations in important soil properties. Our restored prairie has two subplots: Maroon and White. The Maroon subplot was seeded from the original soil from the court yard, while the White subplot was seeded from fresh organic soil. Another difference between the two plots is that the maroon subplot has direct sunlight, while the white subplot is  shaded for most of the day.

Plant biodiversity differences across the restored prairie will have big effects on the soil and biomass productivity. In addition, our planting treatments should alter some of the initial plant species.  In this protocol, environmental and biology science students will sample zones to measure plant biodiversity. Our restored prairie has two subplots: Maroon and White.