Determining Soil Science Lab Protocol to Measure Soil Fauna Influence on Nutrient Flow from Leaf Litter to Soil
2018
- 488Usage
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Example: if you select the 1-year option for an article published in 2019 and a metric category shows 90%, that means that the article or review is performing better than 90% of the other articles/reviews published in that journal in 2019. If you select the 3-year option for the same article published in 2019 and the metric category shows 90%, that means that the article or review is performing better than 90% of the other articles/reviews published in that journal in 2019, 2018 and 2017.
Citation Benchmarking is provided by Scopus and SciVal and is different from the metrics context provided by PlumX Metrics.
Metrics Details
- Usage488
- Downloads297
- Abstract Views191
Artifact Description
Soil science is an essential part of ecosystem and agriculture health but is unfortunately not a priority in most non-science students’ education. To counter this, the goal of this study was to determine the best protocol for a general education science lab that would use soil microcosms to explore nutrient cycling from leaf litter decomposition. The experimental procedure was designed to test different combinations of soil organism type, organism density, and leaf density in simple Tupperware microcosms. The best combination was defined as a combination that met the following traits: significant decrease in leaf litter mass and high nutrient flow from leaf litter to the soil. Statistical testing revealed that high densities (10-11 individuals) of pillbugs (Armadillidium) combined with medium (2 g) or low (1 g) leaf litter densities produced the largest change in leaf litter mass and nutrient flow into the soil. The lab protocol can be used in any general science course to teach non-science students the importance of soil health, and the relationship between soil, nutrients, and soil fauna.
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