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!