EcoBottle Lab owo

Introduction:
The physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil directly affect plants as they
grow due to their dependency on the materials that their environment can provide. Porosity
specifically, a physical property, effects the ability and rate at which plants can receive nutrients
and necessary ingredients for growth from the soil. Such mandatory ingredients include water
and air, the availability of which varies depending on location and exposure to sources. Although
the physical qualities of the four major components of soils are perpetually unchanging, many of
their other characteristics are subject to a disparity of differences based on season and location.
These four components are water, air, inorganic materials, and organic materials.
The depth of soil is also a worthwhile limitation to consider. If plant root growth is
restricted by a lack of depth caused by cement and other impenetrable surfaces, they will not
grow to their capacity, and may not bear the fruit they naturally are capable of producing.
According to V. A. Haby, Marvin L. Baker, and Sam Feagley in Vegetable Resources, vegetable
crops generally require at least 3 feet of soil, and a storage of at least 42 inches of water to
sustain and promote their natural growth. Plants can also access additional nutrients in subsoil if
they are able to physically reach them. The depth and chemical content largely affects water
content of soil and the soils ability to withstand drought.
According to Corvallis in his article, Here's the scoop on chemical and organic fertilizers
of 2008, organic undergo no human-facilitated processes and come directly from natural sources.
Inorganic fertilizers are human-made, however, and are sometimes referred to as commercial or
synthetic fertilizers. Nutrients in plants used to make organic fertilizers have to be converted into

inorganic forms by soil bacteria and fungi in order to be used by the plants, which is a time
consuming process. Nitrate is a nutrient that does not take long to become accessible, however.
In order to compost material, certain bacteria and fungi are necessary. Such
microorganisms are indigenous to manure (Augustin, Shafiqur. 2010). For this reason, manure is
one of the most common materials used in composting and breaking down organic material that
other organisms reuse as nutrient-rich soil. Microorganism content of manure varies between
organisms, however, based on factors such as diet and digestive system.
Experimental Design:
Problem Question: How do the rates of seed germination and change in CO2 levels compare in
organic and inorganic fertilizers?
Hypothesis: If we germinate seeds in organic and inorganic fertilizer, then the rate of seed
germination and change in CO2 levels will be greater in organic fertilizer, because nutrients
release more slowly in inorganic fertilizers.
Independent Variable: Type of fertilizer
Dependent Variable: Rate of seed germination and change in CO2 levels
Control Group: Top soil
Experimental Group: Inorganic and Organic Fertilizers
Materials/Methods:
First, we added one cup of soil to each plastic container. Then we planted three seeds in each
environment. Next, we poured two tablespoons of each different fertilizer into the soil
environments. After that, we used another plastic container and 4 cups of water to synthesize the

water cycle in our closed systems. We will use LoggerPro to measure the CO2 levels and a ruler
to measure the growth of the seeds periodically in our systems to compare their rates of change
in the end.
Results:

Conclusion:
In this experiment, our hypothesis was refuted because the levels of CO2 in our organic soil and
inorganic soil were one less than the other, with respectively. The growth of our germinating
seeds was also different in that the seeds in our inorganically fertilized soil grew to be
approximately 18cm, while those in the organically fertilized soil did not grow at all. Our control
group seeds grew to be 12cm. We suspect that this is because we had added too much bone meal
to the soil, which led to the decomposition of the seeds, not allowing them to germinate as wed
intended for him to.
Works Cited:
NM-1478 Composting Animal Manures - NDSU Agriculture. (2010). Retrieved November 4,
2016, from https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/manure/documents/nm1478.pdf

Here's the scoop on chemical and organic fertilizers. (n.d.). Retrieved November 04, 2016, from
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/node/955
Chapter III Soils and Fertilizers. (n.d.). Vegetable Resources. Retrieved November 04, 2016,
from http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/vegetable/guides/texas-vegetable-growers-handbook/
chapter-iii-soils-fertilizers/