Lab Report 5 : Balsam (Soil Moisture Analysis)

Lab Report 5 : Balsam (Soil Moisture Analysis)
Lecturer : Madam Diana


NAME
MATRIX NUMBER
ANGIE FAN YAN KAI
BS17110476
ELAVARASI A/P KASIRAJAN
BS17160663
NG JIT MUN
BS17160693
NIELSON EDWARD
BS17110462
NURUL HUDA BINTI IBRAHIM
BS17110437
UMI NAJUA BINTI ROSLAILY
BS17110319


1.0 INTRODUCTION

Soil moisture is the main variable in earth system dynamics and is critical in hydropedologic studies. When, where and how the water moves through various soils in different landscapes and how water flow impacts soil formation processes and subsequent soil moisture pattern. (Ying Zhao et al 2012) In this experiment, other than soil moisture, we also vary the light exposure of five pots of plant. Light is an essential factor in plant growth. The germination rate of plant remains active is dependent on the amount of light it receives. The shoots and roots of plants use multiple resources simultaneously. Plants in field are exposed to vary the light exposure and soil moisture. Shoots need light for photosynthesis and roots need water for cell expansion and transpiration. These two are the most critical resources required by plants. (Kerstin A. et al, 2015) Besides, in a forest, on the relative importance of light and soil moisture on establishment of forest reproduction numerous and controversial investigations related to this problem. The presence and absence of reproduction usually was attributed to light. (G. E. Gatherum. 1963) Therefore, it shows light exposure is not only related with soil moisture and also the ability of reproduction of plants.

2.0  Objectives
1.    To identify the soil moisture status for efficient irrigation.
2.    To study the relationship between the light exposure and soil moisture in plants.

3.0 Materials and Method


3.1.1 Materials

·        Plant soil
·        Portable soil moisture tool
·        4 Carton Box

3.1.2 Method

1.    Before the plant was watered, the moisture and pH of the plant soil was checked using the portable soil moisture tool.
2.    The tool was buried this inside the soil and the moisture and pH were observed and recorded.
3.    Then, the pots were covered as listed below.
Pot A1 – No Cover
Pot A2 – 2 Hours
Pot A3 – 4 Hours
Pot A4 – 6 Hours
Pot A5 – 8 Hours
4.    Lastly, once all the boxes are removed, the moisture of soil was recorded again. 
     4.0 Results and Discussion 

     Table 4.1 : Results of Soil moisture content & Percentage of water loss


   Pots
     Moisture Content
 pH
     % of water loss
   Before
   After
   Before
      After
A1
0.8
1.7
6.1
6.2
52.94
A2
1.7
3.3
6.4
6.4
48.48
A3
2.5
4.5
6.7
6.7
44.44
A4
4.0
6.3
6.6
6.6
36.51
A5
6.9
9.5
6.8
6.8
27.37




    
    Table 4.1 shows the results of soil moisture content value and pH value by using portable soil moisture sensor. Based on the table, the initial results showed that before watering and covering up the plants, pot A1 has the lowest moisture content (0.8) while pot A5 has the highest moisture content (6.9). The conditions of the soil have probably been affected by the cover-up action carried out for the past four weeks before this experiment. However, after being watered and covered based on their respective hours (A1= 0hour, A2= 2hours, A3= 4hours, A4= 6hours, A5= 8hours), the soil moisture content of all the pots showed an increased but with pot A1 still having the lowest moisture content (1.7) and pot A5 still having the highest moisture content (9.5). On top of that, comparing both the initial and final results, pot A5 has the highest increase in its moisture content, with a total increase of 2.3 while pot A1 has the lowest increase, with just a slight increase of 0.9 in its moisture content. This is due to variation in size of the soil particles in each pot. In normal condition, soil is able to trap large amount of water between the soil particles which can be expressed as the soil moisture content. The ability for a soil to retain water is partly determined by the size of the soil's particles. The smaller the soil particles are, the more water the soil can retains. Therefore, pot A5 probably contained more soil which are smaller in sizes compared to the other pots despite all pots contained the same type of soil which is sandy clay loam soil. Hence, more water is retained even though all the plants were watered with the same amount of water.


    Based on figure 4.1, it can be seen that the percentage of water loss decreased from pot A1 to pot A5 with pot A1 having the highest percentage of water loss which is a total of 52.94% and pot A5 having the lowest percentage of water loss with only 27.37%. The reason for pot A5 to have the lowest percentage of water loss is mainly due to the low transpiration rate because the pot was covered and left in the dark for 8 hours. In dark environment, the stomata are closed and CO2 levels drop rapidly within the leaf, inhibiting the light-independent reactions which then causes photosynthesis to stop. Hence, little amount of water was loss from the soil in pot A5. This also explained why the soil moisture content in pot A5 is still the highest among the five pots even after the covered-up. On the other hand, pot A1 had the highest percentage of water loss because the pot was not cover by boxes. Hence its transpiration rate is very high and large amount of water is evaporated from the leaves surface into the atmosphere at a relatively fast rate. Besides, factors such as high temperature and air movement also contributed to the high rate of transpiration of pot A1 as the pot is exposed directly to sunlight and the environment.  
     
    According to the table 4.1, there is no much difference in the pH of soil before and after watering the plant. This is maybe due to buffering capacity. Buffering capacity is the ability of the soil to resist change. By definition, the pH of a soil is the measurement of the concentration of hydrogen ions in soil water. Usually, most plants do best in soil that tests within the neutral range of 6.0 to 7.0. The pH of pure water is related to the relative number of hydrogen and hydroxyl ions. If water has a higher proportion of hydrogen ions, it is acidic and has a pH less than 7. Both the soil and the water contain negatively and positively charged ions that influence the chemical composition and thus the pH of soil (SfGate, 2018).


   5.0  Conclusion 

   As a conclusion, there are a lot of factors that affects the transpiration rate such as temperature and air movement which results in the change of soil moisture content.

  References  
1      G. E. Gatherum, A.L. McComb, W. E. Loomis. 1963. Effects of Light and Soil Moisture on Forest Tree Seedling Establishment. 777-792
2  
     Kerstin A. Nagel, David Bonnett, Robert Furbank, Achim Walter. Ulrich Schurr, Michelle Watt. 2015. Simultaneous Effects of Leaf Irradiance and Soil Moisture on Growth and Root System Architecture of Novel Wheat Genotypes: Implications for Phenotyping. Journal of Experimental Botany. 66:18. 5441-5452

3   Ornamental Production - Light, Temperature and Humidity. Aggie Horticulture. Retrieved from https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ornamental/a-reference-guide-to-plant-care-handling-and-merchandising/light-temperature-and-humidity/

4  Ying Zhao, Jialiang Tang, Chris Graham, Qing Zhu, Ken Takagi, Henry Lin. 2012. Hydropedology in the Ridge and Valley: Soil Moisture Patterns and Preferential Flow Dynamics in Two Contrasting Landscapes. Hydropedology. 381-411

     

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