Collaborators: Anna Duke, Chinonso Ejere, Ahlora Gartland, Darby Ford
Abstract: Three two liter bottles with different samples in them were set up. The samples were soil only, soil with grass, and soil with a groundcover (rocks). After pouring 200 mL of water into each sample, it was concluded that the soil with grass had the least amount of runoff water and the bottle with soil only had the most. The bottle with soil and rocks was in between. Also, the water from the grass had more chunks of dirt, and it was thicker and blacker. The water from the soil only was brown with a few small soil chunks in it. The water from the soil with rocks was a light brown color with no soil chunks.
Problem: How does grass effect the movement of water in an ecosystem?
Hypothesis: The water will move the fastest through the soil, then the grass, then the rocks.
Control Group: Soil
Experimental Group: Grass
Dependent Variable: Amount of water that goes through
Independent Variable: Soil type
Materials:
· 3 2 liter bottles, cut in half
· Potting soil
· Grass seed
· Water
· Pebbles
Methods:
· Once your grass is grown 2-4 inches, fill 2 more empty 2L bottles with soil
· Cover one with soil, and then one with soil and pebbles
· Put one of the bottles on an elevated surface with a beaker at the mouth of the bottle
· Pour a cylinder of 200mL of water into the bottle
· Record the amount of time it takes for the water to drain completely out of the bottle
· Repeat this for the other two bottles
Data:
Abstract: Three two liter bottles with different samples in them were set up. The samples were soil only, soil with grass, and soil with a groundcover (rocks). After pouring 200 mL of water into each sample, it was concluded that the soil with grass had the least amount of runoff water and the bottle with soil only had the most. The bottle with soil and rocks was in between. Also, the water from the grass had more chunks of dirt, and it was thicker and blacker. The water from the soil only was brown with a few small soil chunks in it. The water from the soil with rocks was a light brown color with no soil chunks.
Problem: How does grass effect the movement of water in an ecosystem?
Hypothesis: The water will move the fastest through the soil, then the grass, then the rocks.
Control Group: Soil
Experimental Group: Grass
Dependent Variable: Amount of water that goes through
Independent Variable: Soil type
Materials:
· 3 2 liter bottles, cut in half
· Potting soil
· Grass seed
· Water
· Pebbles
Methods:
· Once your grass is grown 2-4 inches, fill 2 more empty 2L bottles with soil
· Cover one with soil, and then one with soil and pebbles
· Put one of the bottles on an elevated surface with a beaker at the mouth of the bottle
· Pour a cylinder of 200mL of water into the bottle
· Record the amount of time it takes for the water to drain completely out of the bottle
· Repeat this for the other two bottles
Data:
Data Analysis: This data shows that the bottle with grass collected the least amount of water, but it had the quickest time for the water to stop flowing. The bottle with the pebbles was in the middle, and the bottle with soil only had the longest time for the water to stop flowing, but it collected the most drained water. The grass had the murkiest and dense water out of them all. The ground cover was smooth and brown, and the soil alone was brown with minimal soil chunks.
Conclusions:
The hypothesis stated that the water would move the fastest through the soil, then the grass, then the rocks. The experiment showed that it actually moved the fastest through the grass, and it moved the slowest through the soil. It took over a minute for the water to stop moving through the soil, while it took only 14 seconds to stop moving through the grass. More water came from the soil because it was more saturated than the soil with the grass, so it couldn’t hold any more water.
The water runoff from the grass was the most dense, the blackest, and had the most amount of soil chunks. The water with the rocks didn’t have soil chunks in it, and had the lightest color of brown. The water with the soil was brown, and had some soil chunks in it. If deforestation were to occur, planting land grass seed would be the best idea, because it soaks up the most amount of water, minimizing the runoff water. The less runoff water there is, the less the amount of erosion. Putting down soil only would allow the greatest chance of water filtration, because it has the greatest amount of water runoff. When water runs off, it filters out the pollutants from the soil. To test these effects over a longer period of time, all three types of grounds can be put down (soil, grass, rocks). Then, after keeping track of the rainfall, look at the amount of erosion and soil saturation in the area to determine which is better for that environment.
The Native Seeds website talks about the control of erosion, and why it happens. When soil is disrupted and the process of weathering rocks continues, the soil still isn’t replaced because it’s too slow. To control erosion, they emphasize that a grass cover should be placed on top of the soil. Because grass does take a little while, they advise putting down a crop of cereal gently, so that it “establishes a fibrous root system” without being too competitive to the new seedlings. This article doesn’t match with my results about the grass. This article states that the grass is supposed to prevent soil erosion, but the experiment performed in this lab showed the grass having the most soil erosion.
Citation: "Erosion Control." Soil Erosion. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. <http://nativeseeds.com.au/Erosion-Control.php>.
Conclusions:
The hypothesis stated that the water would move the fastest through the soil, then the grass, then the rocks. The experiment showed that it actually moved the fastest through the grass, and it moved the slowest through the soil. It took over a minute for the water to stop moving through the soil, while it took only 14 seconds to stop moving through the grass. More water came from the soil because it was more saturated than the soil with the grass, so it couldn’t hold any more water.
The water runoff from the grass was the most dense, the blackest, and had the most amount of soil chunks. The water with the rocks didn’t have soil chunks in it, and had the lightest color of brown. The water with the soil was brown, and had some soil chunks in it. If deforestation were to occur, planting land grass seed would be the best idea, because it soaks up the most amount of water, minimizing the runoff water. The less runoff water there is, the less the amount of erosion. Putting down soil only would allow the greatest chance of water filtration, because it has the greatest amount of water runoff. When water runs off, it filters out the pollutants from the soil. To test these effects over a longer period of time, all three types of grounds can be put down (soil, grass, rocks). Then, after keeping track of the rainfall, look at the amount of erosion and soil saturation in the area to determine which is better for that environment.
The Native Seeds website talks about the control of erosion, and why it happens. When soil is disrupted and the process of weathering rocks continues, the soil still isn’t replaced because it’s too slow. To control erosion, they emphasize that a grass cover should be placed on top of the soil. Because grass does take a little while, they advise putting down a crop of cereal gently, so that it “establishes a fibrous root system” without being too competitive to the new seedlings. This article doesn’t match with my results about the grass. This article states that the grass is supposed to prevent soil erosion, but the experiment performed in this lab showed the grass having the most soil erosion.
Citation: "Erosion Control." Soil Erosion. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. <http://nativeseeds.com.au/Erosion-Control.php>.