Purpose

The main concern of the study was to determine whether the body shop that previously stood where the garden is currently has majorly affected the soil composition (pH, moisture levels, and microbe biodiversity) and therefore the growth of plants in the garden. When constructing a building the first layer of soil is often removed to level out the terrain (Devigne et al., 2016). The microbe biodiversity that was present in the soil before the auto shop was built could have been disrupted during development altered the diversity. The development of the land from the auto shop could have also impacted the moisture content of the soil. It could make the soil rocky from the debris and unable to hold in as much moisture as it needs to help the plants growing in it (Sano et al., 1998). Another effect on the soil is the chemical components from the auto shop that have seeped through that could affect the soil pH and moisture content. There are also chemicals from gasoline and other parts of the cars such as brakes, tires, engines and that leave remanences behind such as Cu, Mn, and Sr (Kuklová et al., 2022). Since plants grow best in an optimal range, if the soil is too basic or acidic, it will hinder plant growth. 

The soil samples were collected on September 6th, 2023 from the Erie Street Garden in West Lafayette, Indiana. The two conditions that were collected from was the area of the garden where the library stood and where the fruit trees were. The library location represented the part of the garden that was undeveloped and the fruit tree location represented where the auto shop was located. A soil corer was inserted 6 inches into the ground to collect a total of three samples for each listed condition. The samples were placed into two labeled bags and placed in a freezer to store until further use.