Erosion Lab Write-Up

Collaborators: Madison Carter, Taylor Cielo, JP Best

Introduction:
Erosion is the process of wind or water flow removing a portion of soil or rock of
the Earths crust and depositing it in another location. Erosion is either a natural or
human-induced process. Scientists are able to measure the amount of erosion is several
different ways such as measuring the amount of eroded rock or soil, measuring the
starting and ending material after it has been eroded, etc. When grass is planted, it sprouts
roots from the seeds, which, in some cases, are used to hold soil in place to prevent
erosion. The amount of erosion prevented can be tested and compared to the amount of
erosion when water is poured onto a bed of grass, or an area of soil with gravel on top.
Some areas of grass are protected by buffer zones. Buffer zones are protected areas
alongside watercourses and wetland that prevent contamination from surface runoff.
Buffer zones along streams and lakes are regulated because without buffer zones and the
prevention of runoff into the watercourses, an excess amount of soil or rock deposit will
be found in the streams and lakes, polluting the water and killing the living animals. In
this experiment, a certain amount of water is pour onto a bed of grass, soil and gravel and
the time, amount, and color of the water discharge is measured and recorded. The purpose
of this experiment is to compare the three different scenarios and to determine which of
the three erodes less.
Problem:
How does grass effect the movement of water in an ecosystem?
Hypothesis

If 100 mL of water is poured onto a bed of grass planted in soil in a 2 liter soda bottle,
then it will have the least amount of eroded material compared to a bed of only soil and a
bed of soil with gravel on top.
Parts of the Experiment:
Independent Variable- Grass and Soil
Dependent Variable- Amount of runoff and erosion
Control Group- Sample group with soil only
Experimental Group- Sample groups with soil, grass and gravel on top
Control Variables- Materials
Materials:

2 liter bottles, cut in half

Potting soil

Grass seed

Water

Pebbles, gravel or leaf litter

Procedure:
Sowing the seeds
1. Place soil in an empty 2L bottle that has been cut in half (see picture above).
Spread grass seed evenly throughout the soil.
2. Water grass seed every 3-4 days and allow it to sit near a source of sunlight or
under a plant grow lamp.
Testing the effects
1. When the grass has grown 2-4 inches in height, you are ready to test the effects.

2. Fill two more empty 2L bottles with soil. Cover one with a top cover of your
choice (gravel, pebbles, or leaf litter) and leave the other one alone as a control.
3. Place one of the bottles up on top of an elevated surface. Place an empty beaker
underneath the mouth the bottle.
4. Prepare a graduated cylinder with 100 mL of water.
5. Have a student start a timer and say GO. When the timer says go, pour the
water into the soil/grass.
6. Record the time, amount, and color of the water discharge in the table below.
7. Repeat for the other two bottles.
Data:
Bottle

Water collected (mL)

Time for water to

stop flowing (sec)

Qualitative
Observations (color,
density, etc).

With Grass
(100 mL)

80 mL

21.05 seconds

Large particles eroded;

Normal color

With Groundcover
(200 mL)

70 mL

1:12.41 minutes

Blown/Black

With Soil Only

(300 mL)

62 mL

1:08 minutes

Black color

Data Analysis:
The data collected from this labs shows that the model with soil had the murkiest
water deposit. Though it was the murkiest of the three models, it did not have any eroded
particles, nor did the model with groundcover. The model with the most eroded particles
was the grass model. This model had two large particles of the soil erode and deposit with

the water, which was normal color. Although different amounts of water were used for
each model, the data for each model was still as expected.
Conclusion
1. In the bottle with only soil, the water was very dark and murky. In the bottle with rocks
and soil, the water was a lighter shade of brown than the first bottle. In the bottle with
grass, the water was much clearer than the other bottles.
2. After deforestation, the most effective thing to do would be to plant grass seed because
as the lab has shown, grass can help reduce the erosion and filter out the water.
3. The setting that would allow for the greatest chance of water filtration would be the
one with grass or other plant life present. This makes the overall water clearer and can
also help clean out pollutants that could be present in the soil.
4. One way this lab could be done on a larger scale to test the effects over a longer period
of time would be to clear out 3 areas of a forests, leave one area alone, put rocks in the
other, and put grass in the third. Next, you can observe the effects on the areas in terms of
amounts of erosion, clearness of water, and the time it takes for all of these things to
happen.
Overall, the results of this lab proved the hypothesis to be false. The data shows
that the model with groundcover had the less erosion than the model with grass, and
cleaner water than the model with soil. Different amounts of water were used to test the
amounts of erosion for each model, therefore, another lab using the same amounts of
water throughout may be conducted get more accurate results.
This lab related to the real world because scientists observing the buffer zones
around rivers, streams and lakes may conduct an experiment similar to this one to test

which of these would have the least amount of erosion and the cleanest water deposited
into the water.

Citations
"Environment: Buffer Zones." Environment: Buffer Zones. Prince Edward Island, n.d.
Web. 01 Apr. 2015. <http://www.gov.pe.ca/environment/buffer-zones>.