EQ: Does soil viutrievenre change if there is only fords vs if there is grass and fords?
The prairie right outside Free State High School is quite a beautiful place, full of space for science and learning. An article on the Free State Free Press website tells us that the prairie was originally planted by Ms. Schwarting and Dr. Alexander in 2013 with over 40 different plant species. It is divided into 18 different plots, six with just grass, another six with grass and forbs (flowered plants), and another six with grass and 2x forbs. While Ms. Schwarting, Dr. Alexander and others mostly aimed to preserve the land, they also hoped to see how the plots would change over the years. We decided to come up with a question to test as well. “Does the soil nutrients change if there is only grass vs. if there is grass and forbs?” While we originally hoped to test the soil for pH, phosphorus, and nitrogen, we had to change our plans due to the amount of time we had. We decided to just focus on pH.
We wanted to see how the pH differs depending on what plant is growing in the soil. According to the pH article on Britannica, pH is a measurement for acid. If the pH level is below a 7 it’s considered acidic and if it’s above a 7 it’s considered alkaline, or basic. “Acidic soils are often considered infertile… blueberries, will not thrive in alkaline soil” (Britannica). The article says that while many plants can not live in acidic soil, there are some that actually thrive in it. Based on this research, we can tell some plants may not need the same exact nutrients as another. Soil, nutrients, and pH are considered abiotic factors. This means that they are factors in the environment that are not alive. However, abiotic factors still have interactions and relationships with biotic factors (things in the environment that are alive). Soil and pH, for example, which are not alive, still impact which plants grow in an area, and in some cases, how well the plants grow. This therefore impacts the food chain within the ecosystem. Let’s take little bluestem for example. There is quite a lot of little bluestem planted out on the prairie. Little bluestem needs a pH of 7.0 or higher to grow (Greenfield Community College). If the soil had a pH level of 7.0 the little bluestem would be able to grow. If the soil had a 5.5 pH level, the little bluestem would not be able to grow. This would then impact the whole food chain. Animals, such as deer, which are herbivores, eat little bluestem (Greenfield Community College). If the little bluestem can’t grow, then the deer can’t eat it. This can make a difference in how many deer there are in one area, which could also impact how many animals there are of other species, too. It’s a chain reaction. This is an example of a trophic cascade, which is when an indirect interaction can have control over a whole ecosystem. In this case, it would specifically be how many there are of certain organisms on the prairie.
On the first day out on the prairie we collected soil samples. We collected soil from plots 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, and 18. We collected about ¼ cup of soil from quadrant A , roughly 1 cubic meter into each plot. We dug about 4 inches deep and placed it into labeled dixie cups. The second day we went outside and used pH testing kits and the cups of soil we collected. We then tested for pH in 6 of the cups and recorded our data. On the third day, inside, we tested the pH in the last 6 cups of soil and wrote all of the data from the pH balance.
In conclusion, our experiment tested the acidity of the soil in the plots at Lawrence Free State High School prairie. We tested 12 different plots and we found that soil tends to be more acidic when there is only seeded grasses, versus when there is grass and forbs. We did, however, encounter a few problems with the soil testing kits. The original plan was to test for pH, phosphorus, and nitrogen. The soil testing kits for phosphorus and nitrogen took 24 hours to register, and we had 12 cups of soil and only one test kit. Since we were not able to conduct the full experiment, there is not as much information as we would have liked, however, we used the information to the best of our ability, only being able to test for pH.
References
Jones, T. (n.d.). Little Bluestem – Outdoor Learning Lab. Greenfield Community College. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.gcc.mass.edu/oll/plants/little-bluestem/
pH | Definition, Uses, & Facts. (2022, September 27). Britannica. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/science/pH
Prairie restoration project connects KU and Free State. (2015, September 4). Free Press Online. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.fsfreepressonline.com/features/2015/09/04/prairie-restoration-project-connects-ku-and-free-state/