1. What is
this project’s direct connection to soil?
2. How does
soil make this project work? – be specific - show data, evidence, research.
These
first two questions are very easily linked to our project. We were digging
directly into the soil to examine the soil. Soil pits are used to investigate
and explore the a specific soil and help determine its characteristics. They
can be used to examine root development, compaction effects, macrofauna
activity and much, much more.
3. Is there a
way that soil management changes could improve this project?
Soil
management changes would not necessarily improve the project since the goal of
the project is exploratory. Management changes would most certainly be able to
be tracked and observed with the use of soil pits however.
4. From this
project, what did you learn about soils that you did not know before?
Dr.
Kleber showed us the old path of the Willamette river as we were driving out to
the farm. It was obvious, once he showed us, where the old banks of the river
had been. Mainly our time was spent reinforcing the things we were learning in
class. We talked a lot about horizons, texture, good soil management, and more.
We also talked about the origins of the soils in the Willamette Valley like the
Missoula floods and erosion and transport of materials from both the Coast
range and Cascades.
5. What is the
broader impact of the organization or project you helped with?
The Hyslop Crop Science Field
Research Laboratory is home to agricultural laboratories, machinery and many
acres of land which play a role in agricultural research and education for the
College of Agricultural Sciences of Oregon State University. The soil pit that
was dug out gives students hands on experience about soil development which
plays a pivotal role in agricultural science and understanding how valuable and
useful a particular soil may be, which is becoming more important as the world
population grow.
6. Soil description of the place where you
worked - this must include a soils map and soil series
descriptions of important soils within the area.
See
post below.
