The Effects of Soil Compaction on Radish Growth I.E., T.G., D.H., M.M., and Janice Wing Project from STEM Earth Central STEM Earth Central

Plant Growth Basics  Required conditions Water Water Nutrients Nutrients Soil medium Soil medium Sunlight Sunlight Temperature Temperature  Role of pore space in soil

Compaction  Modeling human impact on land Vehicles on land Vehicles on land Hiking trails Hiking trails  Impact on plant growth

Experiment Hypothesis “Highly compacted soil will hinder plant germination and slow early growth.” “Highly compacted soil will hinder plant germination and slow early growth.”

Our Experiment  4 soil types  3 degrees of soil compaction  Controlled environmental conditions Water Water Sunlight Sunlight Soil volume Soil volume Number of seeds Number of seeds Depth and spacing of seeds Depth and spacing of seeds

Experiment Methods Watering Heavy Compaction “Tap-Down” Compaction

Watering

Levels of Compaction Note Standing Water

Measurements  Percent germination  Growth rate (height)

Germination

Percent Germination by Date

Average Seeding Growth Rate

Radish Growth

Considerations  Standing water  Original soil moisture  Soil particle size and pore size Different soil types Different soil types

Conclusions  Soil compaction reduces percent germination  Heavy compaction reduces growth rate

Future Questions  Is limited growth due to… Small pore size? Small pore size? Limited water percolation? Limited water percolation? Increased pressure? Increased pressure? Anoxia? Anoxia?

New Skills Learned  Manipulating photographs in Adobe Photoshop Elements FilterArtisticPaint Daubs FilterArtisticPaint Daubs Image Transform Distort Image Transform Distort Composited Layers (to hide leaves) Composited Layers (to hide leaves)  Animated 3 images in PowerPoint Result = Growing Radish  Hyperlink

The Effects of Soil Compaction on Radish Growth I.E., T.G., D.H., M.M., and Janice Wing Project from STEM Earth Central STEM Earth Central Grows on Mouse Click. Third picture appears on delay. Hyperlink

New Skills Learned  Picture as background  Composited Layers Result = Original background No price tag

Our Experiment  4 soil types  3 degrees of soil compaction  Controlled environmental conditions Water Water Sunlight Sunlight Soil volume Soil volume Number of seeds Number of seeds Depth and spacing of seeds Depth and spacing of seeds Distracting numbers in the background GONE!

New Skills Learned  Use of slide master Result = Easier slide manipulation Greater consistency Custom Radish  Insert movie Result seen later…

The End Let’s Celebrate! Let’s Celebrate!