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pH or not pH. By Blue Herrings Paul Ayala, Hamid G Makki, Jimmy Tran, Felicia Sainvilus. Urban Ecology. Urban Ecology is the study of the city’s biotic and abiotic factors. The Study of the environment. Research Questions and Predictions.
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pH or not pH By Blue Herrings Paul Ayala, Hamid G Makki, Jimmy Tran, Felicia Sainvilus
Urban Ecology • Urban Ecology is the study of the city’s biotic and abiotic factors. The Study of the environment.
Research Questions and Predictions Question: “What differences are there between the surroundings of an unhealthy and a healthy tree with regard to soil and water characteristics?” Hypothesis: We predict that the unhealthy trees’ soil and water environments would have measurable differences from the healthy trees’ soil and water environments, and that those differences would contribute to the overall health of the tree.
Chandler’s Pond • Chandler’s pond is a pond that was man made for ice. The ice was collected so that people could get ice when it was summer where they would put the ice in a huge box in a house to keep things cold.
Variables • Our variables for this question are: The type of tree, and the location of the tree (down by the water), and the health of the tree. • Control Group: 2 Healthy Trees • Experimental Group: 2 Unhealthy Trees • Independent Variable: Characteristics of surrounding soil and water • Dependent Variable: The health of the tree
Materials • Materials: • Spades for digging • collection bags for soil • Buckets for collecting and transferring water • LaMotte Soil and Water Kits, (including pH, phosphate, and Dissolved Oxygen) • temperature probe • tree identification keys • tree health inventory sheet • Graduate cylinder • Camera • Goggles and gloves
Identification of Experimental and Control Groups • The control and experimental groups were matched for tree type, overall size, and distance from the water source. • We evaluated the health of the trees by examining the characteristics of the bark, the leaves, root exposure, fungus, and canopy, and identified two healthy and two unhealthy trees to study based on the criteria above.
Healthy Tree #1 genus Salix
Healthy Tree #2 genus Salix
Unhealthy Tree #2 genus Salix
Methods: Procedures • To collect soil samples, we dug 4 inches deep at the tree base to collect the soil. • LaMotte Kits were used to test for pH and phosphate. • A temperature probe was used to collect temperature readings at a depth of 4 cm. • 200 ml soil samples were collected to be analyzed back at the lab for soil composition using a turbidity column. • To collect water samples, we used a bucket thrown into the water. • LaMotte Kits were used to test for Dissolved Oxygen, pH, and phosphate. • A temperature probe was used to collect the temperature of the water. • Tree Health was evaluated for each testing site. • We looked at the leaning of the tree, root issues, %of dead branches, and %of canopy missing foliage.
Procedure for Sedimentation Tube • 1- Collect 25 mls of the dirt to be sampled • 2-Pour the dirt into a 250 ml graduate cylinder • 3-Pour water into the cylinder until its 1 inch bellow the surface of the tube. • Shake vigorously to mix the contents. • Let the tube settle, undisturbed, until there is no further separation. • Observe the different sediment levels!
Results • There were no significant differences in the water DO concentration test between the healthy and unhealthy trees. There were also no big differences in water pH level. There were no significant differences in the Phosphate for water or soil.
The Sediment Tubes Soil from unhealthy tree Soil from healthy tree
Conclusions We concluded that there were no significant differences between the healthy and unhealthy trees’ surrounding soil and water chemical characteristics Evidence: The unhealthy and healthy trees both had consistent data with regard to pH in soil, wide ranges in phosphate suggest that it doesn’t have a consistent pattern, the temperature of the soil and water where slightly different, and the dissolved oxygen where in wide range Reasoning: wide ranges in phosphate suggest that it doesn’t affect the tree health.
Conclusions • Claim: there were differences in the soil layering and composition between the healthy and unhealthy tree . • Evidence: The sediment tube shows the different types of sedimentation. There was a difference in soil composition. The unhealthy tree had less sand and more organic material than the healthy tree. The healthy tree had less organic material but more fine soil. • Reasoning: The test tube showed the level of dirt and pronounced the difference of sediment collection.
Recommendation for further study • Include more trees in the study(study every willow around Chandler Pond) • Include comparisons of different species of trees • Better determination of the criteria for rating the health of the tree
Question for further research • 1- Why does the unhealthy tree have the same characteristics as the healthy tree? • 2- Why does the unhealthy tree have different soil than the healthy tree’s?
What We learned 1.I learned that you can tell if a tree is healthy or unhealthy. 2.A tree is unhealthy if it has any shoots at the bottom of the trunk and if it has any mold or fungi. 3.A tree is healthy if it doesn’t have shoots growing at the bottom or mold growing on the tree. 4.pH is the potential hydrogen ion (H+)concentration of water and soil .
