Trouble shooting:

In the Backwoods-

•       Remember to collect all you materials before you go outside! Making two trips to the backwoods can become hot and tiring in the middle of July.

•       Dress in proper field gear for the daily climate and weather conditions.  A raincoat, long pants, boots, and gloves are all strongly recommended.  

• The field gear is also advised because of the mosquitos and ticks present in the woods.

•        Remember to check for ticks after being outside.  

•       Always take the medical kit into the backwoods. Take an epi-pen with you in the medical kit if you are allergic to bees

•       Make a field map of your site in order to quickly and easily locate sample sites. 

•       Always remember to wash off your metal soil auger before taking another extraction! Forgetting to rise off the leftover dirt can cause contamination and alter your data.

The Hach Aquachek Water Quality Test Strips for Phosphate

• We used the Hach Aquachek Water Quality Test Strips to test for the phosphorus levels in water.

• The test strips were very easy and worked very well for us.

In the Lab-

•      When at the lab station while chemical tests are taking place, make sure to wear gloves and goggles to protect your skin.

•         When extracting soil samples, be extremely careful not to spill the solution between the filter paper and the funnel.  This will contaminate that sample, and you will have to restart. Holding the open fold of the filter paper prevents leakage.

•       Make sure that you have a data table drawn before beginning any chemical testing. 

•       After finishing all chemical testing for the day, wash the table with ethanol. 

•        When weighing the soil for the moisture test, make sure to weigh the foil with the soil on the balance. This will be a collective weight written down in the table.

•     For the Soil Extraction process we used the LaMotte Model STH-14 Combination Soil Test Kit. This method took some time however, there was always enough soil extract to complete our phosphorus tests.

The Phosphorus Experiment-

•       If there is high phosphorus in the soil, the solution will become black and you might have to dilute the sample again. 

•       Use a pipette and put 35 drops of soil extract and 35 drops of water from the demineralizer bottle and follow the directions accordingly.