Kristen's Conclusion

This lab focused on the composition of soil and tests that one can do to learn more about what is in the soil. Many things can influence how well things grow in soil like whether it is clay or sandy which influences water drainage. During this lab I have become more aware of how much thought goes into different aspects of soil. Before this I did not know that things like pH in soil mattered to the health of the soil and organisms growing in it. I knew that soil had living organisms but I did not know how influential these were in the development of the soil and how all the different layers were made.The most important part of the lab I think was learning how to test for different chemicals because it’s important to know how much is already in your soil. As we learned earlier a lot of the chemicals in soil like nitrogen and phosphorus are important in keeping the environment healthy, and we need to use these sustainably. By knowing how much the soil has you can tell how much is needed so that there isn't an excess amount being used. I think it is important for people to know this along with the benefits of using different fertilizers because paying attention to what’s being put in your soil is something easy to do unlike some things like the porosity which are more time consuming to figure out. Although organic is seen as better it also has down sides because there's no way to know exactly what is being put in the soil.