Compared to the first month, the second month of the experiment didn’t seem to have as much activity. During this stage however, the stems were already producing leaves and therefore in their vegetative state, so not much else should have been happening other than continued growth. However it seemed like some samples were getting larger and larger while some remained much smaller. This was primarily evident in the stark difference in sample A compared to B and C. In the beginning, sample B was actually the last to sprout, yet it ended up being a very close second in total size to sample C, the largest.
[Left: Parsley A B and C. Right: Oregano A B and C]
As i was conducting further research into why this might have been the case, i stumbled upon a study that was done in china which looked at the nutrient quantity in soil at different elevations. There were drastic differences detected at higher altitudes, and while here at st. eds we obviously don’t have massive mountain ranges and ravines to compare to, the principal still applies to the spots on our campus at higher elevation. given that samples B and C were taken near bodies of water at lower altitudes than sample A, which was taken on top of a hill, its likely that runoff from the higher locations has carried away a lot of the naturally occurring nutrients and any artificial fertilizers into those lower sports through a process of erosion. This would then make sense why B and C performed so much better. being at lower altitudes and effectively at the bottom of the hill our school is on, the soil there would have been saturated with the runoff from the rest of the campus.
This information could be useful, especially if applied to a more extensive look into the soil quality of our campus area. As our school plans to clear more of its forest pushing closer and closer to the Blunn creek watershed, additional erosive effects could be worsened especially on the isolated hills around the eastern side of the St. Edward’s Campus.
Sources
He, Xianjin, et al. “Altitudinal Patterns and Controls of Plant and Soil Nutrient Concentrations and Stoichiometry in Subtropical China.” Scientific Reports, Nature Publishing Group, 7 Apr. 2016, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4823659/.
Lal, Rattan, and Winfried E. H. Blum. Methods for Assessment of Soil Degradation. CRC Press, 1998.
“Soils of Texas.” Texas Almanac, Texas State Historical Association, texasalmanac.com/topics/environment/soils-texas.