So it's summer, and while our
friends were laying out at the pool, seventeen of us found ourselves
particpating in a summer research program dealing with soil ecology. We
split into four groups, and each group received a site in the woods behind our
school for which we were responsible for conducting a bio survey on their
respective site. Our small group of five began the week by testing our site for
zoosporic fungi, algae, protozoa, heterotrophic bacteria, arthropods, salts and
ions, vascular plants, arthropods, soil pH and soil texture. Our next task,
which proved to be quite a challenge, was to come up with a research question
based on the information and correlations we saw in the data gathered from each
of the four sites in our backwoods ecosystem. After much consideration we
decided on our topic: the relationship between soil pH, amounts of clay vs.
sand and silt in the soil, and levels of aluminum. We chose this in large part
because of a study conducted by the Kentucky Agricultural Experimentational
Station Miscellaneous 383, which found that it was not possible to have
aluminum present in the soil when the pH was above 5.4. However, the data
collected by us did not coincide with this precedent. So we chose the challenge
of finding a reason for a variation between the data collected in the backwoods
of Roland Park Country School and the information presented by the Kentucky
Agricultural Study regarding the percentage of clay in relation to the pH level
and aluminum level. Through the rest of this website, you can find our
procedure to conduct a replica of our experimental protocol, sample results,
our analysis, contact info and of course, some great pictures of us!