User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
For my data collection I used transects as a sample unit and 1×1 foot quadrants as my subunit. I had 10 replicates of each sample. Each transect was 10 meters apart and each began at the edge of the foot path, followed the gradient down the mound of the hilling and ended in the peatland. The transect was interrupted at 5 m intervals.
I did struggle implementing my design a little because it was harder than I expected to walk that far off the pathway and into the peatland area. I also ran into a little more soil water-logging than I had expected but that may be due to the time of year I took these samples. I used an EXTECH pH Module to take the pH from the centre of each quadrant. It was a little difficult walking through the peatland with all my supplies and taking the pH sample from the centre of each quadrant. Some of the quadrants had large plants in the middle that I had to work around to reach the soil below.
I will be reflecting on the water moisture, pH, and soil composition. I also might think that there is something to be said for how hard it was to walk in there and so how less disturbed it must be by humans overall.
