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Thomas Ryan
Mr. Gautschi
A.P. Environmental Science, Period 2
14 February 2017
Soil Ourselves

Background/ Purpose: The purpose of this lab is to examine the finer parts of soil, aside from
the dirt aspect, and help us to understand what types of soils there are and how certain soil types
are better for certain environments. Soil is important because it harbors the essential nutrients for
plant life, provides a habitat for a variety of organisms, and is essential to the ecosystems through
the ways it affects life, waterways, plant growth, and decomposition of organism. Soil is created
through several steps. Rock erodes and forms fine particles that make up the dirt in the soil. Plant
and leaf litter also help to provide essential nutrients for the soil, as well as animal remains
decomposing and water soaking into the ground to spread the nutrients. Good soil is created
when the soil contains essential macromolecules such as nitrogen, which is the primary nutrient
that plants need in order to protein, DNA, and RNA; phosphorus, which helps to regulate the
plants primary growth rate; and potassium, which regulates the stomata and carbon dioxide
uptake. Humans have heavily impacted soils in both good and bad ways. Some positive thing
that humans have done for soils are no till farming and terrace farming. No till farming is when
the soil is left untouched after harvest to allow the soil to strengthen so that it does not get blown
or washed away. Terrace farming is the practice of planting crops terraced which slows the water
flow and washes away less soil. Humans negatively affect the soil by over-planting and
over-tilling, planting too many crops in one area depletes the nutrient content in the soil and
doesn't give it any time to become nutrient rich. Tilling soil too excessively makes the soil too
weak and separated and allows for the soil to be eroded much easier.

Hypothesis: We hypothesized that our soils texture was one that primarily consisted of silt with
moderate amounts of clay and the lowest amounts of sand. We predicted that the porosity and
permeability of our soil were both medium and that our soils nutrient and organic level was
fairly high. For our class soil, we predicted that its texture was mostly consistent of sand,
followed by clay and containing low amounts of silt. We felt that like our soil, the permeability
and porosity levels were both medium and we also felt that it's organic and nutrient levels were
medium to low.

Observations:
1. We noticed that our soil was darker in color with high organic content which led us to
believe that it had a high nutrient level.
2. Our soil had an evenly mixed amount of larger and smaller particles, so we inferred that
the porosity and permeability levels of our soil were both medium.
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3. Twigs and leaves were the bulk of the organic content found in our soil, so we concluded
that the soil came from and area that had many trees.
4. The soil had smaller amounts of large particles but was clumped together and felt very
organic filled, leading us to believe that it was composed mostly of silt and least of sand.
5. The smell of our soil compared to the others was more organic and woody, so we decided
that our soil had a high organic content from tree-filled area.

Data Tables:
Table 4.1 (Observations)
Soil Organics Testure Color Porosity Permeability Smell/ Other

H Medium Silt, sand, clay light High Medium Sandy, rocky

I Medium Sand, clay, silt light Medium High Gravel, beach

G High Silt, clay, sand dark Medium Medium Woody, bark

D Low Clay, sand, silt light Low Medium No smell

B Low Sand, silt, clay light Medium Low Clay, pottery

F Low Clay, sand, silt light High High Earthy, clay

A High Silt, sand, clay dark Medium Medium Organic like

Our soil High Silt, sand, clay dark Medium Medium Organic like
Table 4.2 (Our Soil)
Sieve # Type/ Description of Mass of Sieve Percentage of Sieve
Participle Contents

5 Bark, leaves, rocks 60.5 g 18.67 %

10 Smaller more refined 40.8 g 12.59 %

35 Mid sized rock 90.1 g 27.81 %

60 Mid sized, smooth 15.5 g 4.78 %

120 Fine particles 88.0 g 25.31%

Bottom Ultra fine particles 35.0 g 10.81 %

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Table 4.3 (Soil C)

Sieve # Type/ Description of Mass of Sieve Percentage of Sieve
Participle Contents

5 Mostly big rocks 99.4 g 11.74 %

10 Smaller refined rocks 140.74 g 16.62 %

35 Mid sized rocks 431.58 g 50.97 %

60 Smooth, mid sized 72.17 g 8.52 %

120 Fine, smooth 51.96 g 6.14 %

Bottom Super fine, smooth 50.95 g 6.02 %

Table 4.4 (Porosity)
Material/ Particles H2O Filled H20 Added % Porosity

Gravel 39 ml 21 ml 53.8 %

Sand 39 ml 14 ml 35.9 %

Our Soil 39 ml 10 ml 25.6 %

Table 4.5 (Permeability)
Material/ Particles Drainage Time Volume H2O Retention % Drainage Rate
(min:sec:ms)

Gravel 0:11.68 97 ml 3% 8.3 ml/sec

Sand 3:25:88 86 ml 14 % 0.42 ml/sec

Our Soil 4:10:56 62 ml 38 % 0.25 ml/sec

Table 4.6 (Chemistry)
Soil Organic Sand Silt Clay N P K Soil Type
Mass Mass % Mass % Mass %

Our Soil 60.5 g 49.7 % 37.0 % 13.3 % Low Medium Medium Loam

Soil C 99.4 g 76.6 % 16.6 % 6.82 % High Low High Sandy

Loam
Our Soils mass: 314.7 g
Soil C mass: 846.8 g
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Graphs:
Graph 4-1:
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Graph 4-2:
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Graph 4-3:
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Graph 4-4:
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Graph 4-5:
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Soil Pyramids:
Our Soil: Loam Soil C: Sandy Loam

Calculations:
Porosity Percentage=(Volume of Water added) / (Volume of Water to fill tube) 100%
(21 ml / 39 ml) 100% = 53.8%
Permeability Percentage=(Vol. Of Water in Cup) / (Total Water Added) 100%
(86 ml) / (100 ml) 100% = 86%
Retention Percentage=(Vol. of Water added - Vol. of Water in Cup)/(Total Vol. of Water)
100%
(100 ml - 97 ml) / (100 ml) 100% = 3%
Drainage Rates=(Volume of Water in Cup) / (Drainage Time)
(97 ml) / (11.68 sec) = 8.3 ml/sec
Texture Calculations For Our Soil:
Sand = (Mass of Sieve #5 + #10) / (Total Mass of Soil) 100%
(60.5g + 40.8g) / (324.69g) 100% = 31.2%
Silt = (Mass of Sieve #35 + #60 + #120) / (Total Mass of Soil) 100%
(90.1g + 15.5g + 82g) / (324.69g) 100% = 57.8%
Clay = (Mass of Sieve Bottom Contents) / (Total Mass of Soil) 100%
(35g) / 324.69g) 100% = 10.8%

Conclusion:
Our hypothesis concerning texture was that our soil would be mostly silt then clay then
sand and our group sample would be mostly sand then clay than silt. Our hypotheses concerning
porosity and permeability were that our soil and the group soil would both have medium rates of
both. Our hypothesis concerning nutrients was that our soil would have high levels of nutrients
and our group sample would have medium to low levels of nutrients. Our hypotheses about
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texture were wrong because our tests showed that both samples were mostly Sand followed by
silt then clay. Our hypothesis regarding porosity and permeability for our soil was incorrect
because we found our soil had low permeability and low porosity. The hypothesis we had for
nutrients levels for our soil and the group sample were wrong. Our soil has medium to low
nutrients and the group sample had medium to high nutrients. Our data shows that large particle
tend to have high porosity and drainage rates but low retention percentages. Our data also shows
that the soil from this area tends to be silty sand with a little clay also known as loam. Our soil
also is shown to be mostly small particles because of its high retention percentage. In our
experiments we tested for different qualities of the soil samples. We looked for some key
chemical make ups, the soils texture and physical make up, and its porosity and permeability
factors. We controlled stray chemicals in the chemical tests by using distilled water, we
controlled our sample by keeping it in a sealed bag to prevent contamination, and we controlled
the physical makeup of the soil by cleaning all instruments prior to use. These same tests that we
ran on our sample can be conducted in developing countries to boost farm yield through
supplemental methods. These tests can also determine how well suited an area is for farming
before people start farming so resources are not wasted in the attempt.

Analysis Questions:
1. Corn would be the best for the growing out of the other crops because it overall has the
best average of all of the nutrients. Nitrogen is super important in the life of plants
however, it can only be activated through certain fertilizers, making the crop more ideal
for the situation. Next phosphorus is essential for plant growth. The element P is present
in every living cell, both plant and animal. No other nutrient can be substituted for it.
Phosphorus is one of the 16 essential nutrients that plants need for growth and
reproduction. Lastly potassium is a mineral nutrient essential to both plants and animals.
Corn is the best because it allows for a good average of all of these and it is also the
strongest on the chart in phosphorus which is the most important in sustainable plant
growth.
2. It is possible for a soil to have the right amount of nutrients, but it is still harmful for the
plant because it could be in an environment where there are not as many resources, as
compared to what the plant would normally receive in a normal area, this can then cause
the plant to not work/grow correctly and in the end could kill it.
3. The porosity was on the lower of sides, and the permeability was on the higher of sides in
that it took awhile for the water to make it through. This shows that as compared to the
texture of our soil it is more nutrient rich, and it soaks in the water and makes sure it goes
to use instead of just running straight through the soil and then not receiving any of the
nutrients. This shows that our soil is more nutrient rich and could have been taken from
an area of growing flowers.
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4. Two ways in which the farmer could improve their farm is first by partaking in no till
farming. No till farming leads to cheaper costs in that they do not have t5o till the land
every year, and it also makes for farmers to have more nutrient rich soil because the
nutrients come to the top. Second the farmer could look into what kind of soil in which
they have and then compare it to the crops and see which grows the easiest and best for
the area so they do not have to worry about their crop not turning out and not making any
money for the year.
5. From a soils standpoint Jeff is correct because the soil is being destroyed as she rides her
quad around on it. This is true because the desert has such a low ecosystem diversity the
riding around of the quad kills anything and everything that it rides over, it also displaces
the soil, which is really hard to grow crops in the desert. This is why from a soil
standpoint Jeff is correct because it kills all the nutrients and leaves for no plant growth.
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Works Cited
"Land and People: Finding a Balance." Land and People: Finding a Balance. N.p., n.d. Web. 13
Feb. 2017.
"Soils - Part 6: Phosphorus and Potassium in the Soil." Plant and Soil Sciences eLibrary. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2017.
Withgott, Jay, and Scott Brennan. Environmental: The Science Behind the Stories. 4th ed. San
Francisco: Pearson Education Inc., 2011. Print.