Soils!



We had some fun in the mud at each site and dug soil pits to compare different factors of the soil horizons at each site.  We tested for pH, texture, color, temperature, and analyzed different horizons.  The following are our conclusions.  

Brook
The soil at this site had a large organic horizon.  The A horizon was 8 inches deep and was followed by a thin B horizon, which was 2 inches deep.  We concluded that the lack of built up minerals meant that the soil was washed off every year in floods and had no time to really accumulate.  The soil was relatively young.  The ground water level was 31 inches below ground and the pH of the soil was 8.  

Powerline Stream
This soil was very young.  It flooded over every year and replaced the top soil with sediments.  There was no time for sediments to accumalate.  There was no B layer.  There were two A layers on top of C layers.  Under that, there was a thick layer of clay on top of very gritty sand.  The pH of the soil was 7.3.  

Beaver Pond
We dug this pit in the wooded area by the pond and found that there was much more organic material than the other two sites.  The organic horizon was 2 1/2 inches, the B horizon was 5 1/2 inches, and the C horizon was more than 4 inches.  We found clay approximately 40 inches down and determined that the clay acted as a barrier for the water, forcing the water into the pond instead of allowing the water to soak into the ground.  The pH of this site was 7.5.