SCI207 - Week 2 Lab Report - Kimberly Selby.docx

1 Properties of Soil: Agriculture and Water Availability Impacts Laboratory Kimberly Selby SCI 207: Our Dependence Upon the Environment Marc Hnytka 10/11/2023

2 *Use this template to write your lab report each week. Complete the sections below, pasting in all completed data tables, graphs, and photographs where indicated. Before you submit your report, run it through Turnitin using the student folder to safeguard against accidental plagiarism. Please delete this text along with all other template instructions before submitting your report. Title of Lab Goes Here Introduction Through this lab, we learn how to identify soil properties to make soil feasible for plants and crops to thrive. The soil type of an area becomes important when determining what type of crops or plants will grow there. For high-quality soil, organic materials must be present, so if there is none currently detected, we can add organic fertilizers so that the soil can have the highest levels of nutrients available for growth. Let's say we're planting an apple tree and want to determine whether the soil is suitable for it. Our first step will be to determine whether to add fertilizer or reduce the amount of acid in the soil so that it can grow properly. This lab was designed to show how soil types can differ from one another. It explains why certain plants or crops may not grow in certain soil types. It also shows how to determine what plants or crops will thrive in the kind of soil you have in your area. During one of my experiments, I found that water travels slower through clay than sand or my soil sample. Many plants or crops growing in clay may not receive sufficient nutrients from the water source before they become depleted. Sand passes water quickly, so crops could be overwatered, which could also cause them to die. Aside from testing soil for acids and harmful pollutants, this lab also taught me how to check the texture of soil.

3 Hypotheses Activity 1: I Predict there will be 60% sand, 30% silt, and 10% clay. I chose these amounts because North Florida soils are typically very sandy, and there is not a high presence of clay. Activity 2: I predict that Soil Sample A will be the most porous. I chose this sample because the soil texture is sandy loam. Sand and loam by themselves are porous, so mixed I think that it will be even more porous. We use this for potting soil for our plants and vegetables. Activity 3: I predict that Soil Sample A will be more acidic because it came from my yard, and it constantly rains in Florida, so the water moves through the soil faster because it has a more significant sand content, meaning the nutrients get washed through. Sample B will be the remaining clay from this lab, as most other soil areas near me would be the same as my yard. Activity 4: I predict that Soil Sample B will have more nutrients because I am using the remaining clay from this lab. I believe that the nutrients would be able to be stored longer in clay soil because it is not as porous as Soil Sample A, which is predominately sand. With Soil Sample A, with the amount of rain we get here, the nutrients would be washed through faster than the clay in Soil Sample B. Results Data Tables and Observations Data Table 1: Particle Size Distribution and Soil Type Depth of clay layer (cm) Depth of silt layer (cm) Depth of sand layer (cm) Total depth (cm) % clay % silt % sand Soil texture

4 Soil sample A 0.6 1.3 3.3 5.2 11.5% 25% 64% Sandy loam Data Table 2: Determination of Soil Porosity Time taken for first drop to emerge from column (s) Sand sample 29.9 seconds Clay sample 67.4 seconds Soil sample A 14.8 seconds Data Table 3: pH Comparison of Soil Samples Soil sample A Soil sample B (Location description: clay from lab) pH pH 5.0: very acidic pH 6.0: acid Data Table 4: Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potash Comparison in Soil Samples Nitrogen Phosphorus Potash Soil sample A N1: deficient P1: deficient K3: sufficient Soil sample B N4: surplus P4: surplus K0: depleted Graphs and Photographs

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