Soil survey at Camp Polk – analysis according to vegetation composition

Abstract

Restoration ecology seeks to incorporate entire ecosystem functioning; primarily attempting to repair what has been degraded or altered. In order to reinstate ecological processes, biotic and abiotic components must be included, such as flora, fauna, hydrology, and of course, soil. Soil provides many functions in which all aspects of life are dependent; which include biological, chemical and physical interrelated components. By collecting soil data, we intend to assist in building a foundation for the Camp Polk Meadows Restoration Project by providing baseline information that can help determine the resistance and resilience of the area, and to create a reference data set that can be used to monitor trends and changes of soil quality over time. Thirty samples were analyzed for soil organic carbon (SOC) and organic matter (OM) content, soil moisture, texture and pH. We found that SOC was relatively low with the exception of three wetland sites, most soils fell into sandy-loam or loamy-sand textural class, pH was slightly acidic, which is generally optimal for most plants, soil saturation depth ranged from 0 cm to 114+cm, and total soil depth varied between 4 cm to 120+cm.