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2. Soil Fundamentals
Supplies
•
Measuring tape
•
Temporary stake or sturdy stick to anchor your tape measure at your starting point
•
Pin-flag or small dowel
•
Pencil or pen and paper to record your observations
Instruction
1.
Pick a random starting location where you will secure your tape measure to the stake (for
example, toss a stone behind you and see where it lands).
2.
To decide what direction to run your tape measure, pick a direction that runs along a slope
OR if there is not a discernible slope, run your tape measure north from the starting point.
Note: if you think you may want to monitor this same area again, permanently mark both
ends of the tape measure with sturdy stakes.
3.
Run the tape measure out 25 feet. This is your transect.
4.
Set up your paper as a data sheet. Don’t forget to write the date and your name
as the recorder!
There are lots of ways to collect data depending on what you care about,
the time you have, and your training:
•
Option 1: If you are a botanist, record the plants to species.
•
Option 2: If you care about annual vs. perennial, forb vs. grass vs. shrub,
write down those categories.
•
Option 3: Record bare ground, dead plant material, live plant material, and dung
Activity – Surface Cover
Understanding the different types of plants and other organic materials on the soil surface is
valuable for understanding soil health. For example, plant biodiversity and amount of bare ground vs.
litter are important to monitor through time when comparing different management strategies.