User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
The collection of data for my project proved to have some challenges. Due to the timeframe of my sampling, the dirt samples were hard to collect with the years first real snow dump falling down. The two plots I was sampling also proved to be quite rocky, so it took some time to find spots I could dig to an acceptable depth as to have a soil core that would be indicative of the actual soil pH. When I was preparing the samples for testing with a pH meter I had to pick out as much of the organic matter and gravel as possible which also proved challenging. Once the samples were separated down to just dirt, I used the pH meter get some actual numbers, but the pH read was rather uniform in its distribution across the samples, hovering at around 6 pH. Even the control sample of just distilled water read a surprisingly low pH level of 5.75. I definitely need to re-approach how I’m going to gather my data; however, I’m relatively sure that the results are due to my methods used rather than the actual samples. I found online that most studies use a salt dilution to help the sensor pick up the pH, as in distilled water there may be too few ions for the sensor to properly pick up the change in pH from one sample to the next. The other solution is to use a more even distribution as some researchers just use a 1:1 ratio for water to soil mix it up and give it 5 minutes to settle. I also plan on acquiring a sieve to help remove the remaining organic matter that I couldn’t grab and double check the results of the pH meter with pH strips. I think with the sieve and using a closer ratio of dirt to water the actual pH should be easier to pick up, and the pH strips will allow me to double check my results.
