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Procedure

For a list of materials, click here.

1.  Find 2 different sites where the dominant species of plant are different.

(ESSRE site 3- dominant species Rhodedendron)                         (ESRE site 4-dominant species spicebush and white grass)

2.  Go to your first site and find a patch of the dominant species located in that site.

(a patch of white grass)

3.  Take a soil sample (using a soil extractor 15cm deep by 2.5 cm in diameter) near the root of the plant and place into a labeled bag (labeling system shown for the labeled bag into which soil and leaf sample are placed).

(placing soil sample into bag)    (labeling system for plastic sandwich bags)

4. Clip 2 or more leaves  (enough plant material to do testing) from the same plant and place into the same bag as the corresponding soil sample collected in step 3.

(cutting leaves from plant)                       (placing leaf samples in corresponding bags)

5. On the same day at the same time, repeat steps 3-4 for samples B and C for soil and leaf samples from another plant of the same species in another patch.

6. On the same day and the same time as steps 1-5, go to your other site (with the other dominant species) and repeat steps 3-5 (different species shown below).

(patch of rhododendron)                              (a patch of white grass)                          (a patch of spice bush)

7. On the same day, complete extractions for the soil and leaf sample pairs at the same time to prepare for testing of iron levels (ppm), and extract into labeled tubes (see below for labeling system for extraction tubes). For more information on chemical testing, see our troubleshooting page. Test all samples for iron levels and record results in a data table.

(labeling system for tubes)                                             (iron testing)

(extraction process)

8. Repeat steps 2-7 for several consecutive days (at least 3).