BILD 4 writing assignment 2
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School
University of California, San Diego *
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Course
4
Subject
Geography
Date
Feb 20, 2024
Type
Pages
3
Uploaded by MajorComputer9419
Research Question
Do soil properties (Moisture and pH) differ between invasive (Black Mustard) and native (Coastal
Sunflower) species of plants?
Figure
Evidence
Soil pH
average
stdev
p-value
Black Mustard
7.087
0.352327184
0.01265414
Coastal Sunflower 6.710833333
0.259596132
The soil pH value for Black Mustard (invasive) averages out to
7.087 with a standard deviation of
0.352327184.
The soil pH value for Coastal Sunflower (native) averages out to
6.710833333 with a standard deviation
of 0.259596132.
The P-value for the data is 0.01265414 which is ＜
0.05, indicating a statistically significant difference in
the soil pH for the two plants
Soil Moisture
average
stdev
p-value
Black Mustard
19.23559829
3.306361586
0.65988989
Coastal Sunflower 19.81568958
2.649303197
The soil moisture (%) for Black Mustard (invasive) averages out to
19.23559829 with a standard deviation
of 3.306361586.
The soil moisture (%) for Coastal Sunflower (native) averages out to 1
9.81568958 with a standard
deviation of 2.649303197.
The P-value for the data is 0.65988989 which is ＞
0.05, indicating no statistically significant difference in
the soil moisture (%) for the two plants.
Conclusion
The soil pH varies between the two plant species by a statistically significant amount, as shown by the
P-value. The soil moisture percentage, though, does not vary significantly between the two plants.
Explanation
Soil Moisture seems to rely on environmental factors rather than plant type. The soil moisture varies by
region with rainfall and climate and does not appear to be species specific (Broca et al. 2010). Soil pH
appears to vary with plant type as the soil microbial make-up, which is affected by plant type (Rousk et
al., 2010), differs between plant species (
Wamelink et al., 2005),
(Roem & Berendse, 2000).
Citations and References
Brocca, L., Melone, F., Moramarco, T., & Morbidelli, R. (2010). Spatial
‐
temporal variability of soil moisture
and its estimation across scales.
Water Resources Research
,
46
(2).
Rousk, J., Bååth, E., Brookes, P. et al. Soil bacterial and fungal communities across a pH gradient in an
arable soil. ISME J 4, 1340–1351 (2010).
https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2010.58
Wamelink, G. W., Goedhart, P. W., Van Dobben, H. F., & Berendse, F. (2005). Plant species as
predictors of soil pH: Replacing expert judgement with measurements. Journal of Vegetation Science.,
16(4), 461–470. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1654-1103.2005.tb02386.x
Roem, W. J., & Berendse, F. (2000). Soil acidity and nutrient supply ratio as possible factors determining
changes in plant species diversity in grassland and heathland communities. Biological Conservation,
92(2), 151–161. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3207(99)00049-X
Collaboration
There was no discussion with my peers. I used the UC library resources page as well as google scholar to
find papers talking about soil moisture, soil pH, microbial diversity and plant species in various
combinations.
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