User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
My data involved collecting soil samples from each of my three locations. I randomly took 5 soil samples from within a 1m x 1m quadrant in each area. The quadrant was placed in an area which contained the main vegetation present, however, because in the main vegetation in location 1 was fir trees the quadrant was placed directly beside them. I took the soil samples from the top soil, meaning first I scraped off the top layer known as the humus and collected from the layer underneath. All my samples were placed in plastic bags to prevent moisture loss and I brought them to a lab at my University. There I placed them in individual foil cups, removing any rocks or other debris and pounding out the clumps. I then weighed them and placed them in an oven between 105-107 degrees celsius for 24 hours. Afterwards, I weighed the samples again and calculated the percent moisture of each.
I haven’t had any problems implementing my sampling design. However, I have noticed that there are far more factors than I initially considered that could also play a role in determining the vegetation present. This realization is not going to change how I go about my research, but I will take more consideration into this factor when I am writing my results.
