| dc.description |
Restoration ecology seeks to incorporate entire ecosystem functioning;
primarily attempting to repair what has been degraded or altered. In order to
reinstate ecological processes, biotic and abiotic components must be included,
such as flora, fauna, hydrology, and of course, soil. Soil provides many
functions in which all aspects of life are dependent; which include biological,
chemical and physical interrelated components. By collecting soil data, we
intend to assist in building a foundation for the Camp Polk Meadows
Restoration Project by providing baseline information that can help determine
the resistance and resilience of the area, and to create a reference data set that
can be used to monitor trends and changes of soil quality over time. Thirty
samples were analyzed for soil organic carbon (SOC) and organic matter (OM)
content, soil moisture, texture and pH. We found that SOC was relatively low
with the exception of three wetland sites, most soils fell into sandy-loam or
loamy-sand textural class, pH was slightly acidic, which is generally optimal for
most plants, soil saturation depth ranged from 0 cm to 114+cm, and total soil
depth varied between 4 cm to 120+cm. |
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