Soil+and+Native+Plants


 * Soils and Native Plants**
 * Dr. Simpson's Class - Dani and Hannah.**

So what do you need to know about soil and native plants? 1. soil type and soil characteristics - do these change over the property? Map them if you can - use the satellite image as a basis.


 * || %canteen || behind gym || science room 3 || behind science building || hs 1 forrest || front of gym ||
 * silt || 9.9% || 0% || 5% || 4.7% || 0% || 9.5 % ||
 * clay || 18% || 0% || 0% || 23% || 31.25% || 0% ||
 * sand || 72% || 100% || 95% || 71% || 68% || 90% ||


 * A high percentage of sand within soil is good for plants as it lets water go off so that it does not remain near the roots and lead to decay.


 * A high rate of clay in soil can lead to a chance of water logging and harm to the roots of the plant. Clay soil becomes very heavy when wet and if cultivation has to be done, organic fertilizers have to be added.


 * A high percentage of silty soil is considered to be the optimum type of plants as it is the most fertile. It is a better option than sandy soil as it has more nutrients and it also offers better drainage whilst holding more moisture. silty soil is dry it has a smoother texture and looks like dark sand.


 * Harley, Charlee and Will S** have taken a few soil samples from along a line transect within the reserve. Here is the location where the samples were taken from, a description of the topography and the results from the tests they conducted:...

We have taken soil samples from 6 quadrats along a 50 meter transect which started next to the creek and headed up the hill. The soil samples ranged from dry sandy soil to almost mud next to the creek. With these soil samples we tested for moisture content as well as Ph level and the conductivity of the soil.




 * Quadrat no || Coductivity µS/cm ||
 * 1 || 105 ||
 * 2 || 90 ||
 * 3 || 35 ||
 * 4 || 25 ||
 * 5 || 32 ||
 * 6 || 32 ||



(g) || Difference (g) ||
 * Initial Weight (g) || Final Weight
 * 80.82 || 76.152 || 4.668 ||
 * 114.27 || 106.602 || 7.668 ||
 * 94.14 || 88.69 || 5.45 ||
 * 110.81 || 101.458 || 9.352 ||
 * 83.00 || 74.01 || 8.99 ||
 * 134.19 || 123.599 || 10.591 ||