Variation of Soil Chemistry within a Soil Series across Ecosystem Types

This research was performed to explore the relationship between the chemical properties of a soil series in ecosystems ranging from savannah to woodlands.  Upon starting this research, it was hypothesized that there would be distinctive differences in the soil chemistry, relative to the ecosystem type from which it was retrieved. Samples were taken from four different locations throughout an urban nature preserve from ecosystems including oak savannah, woodlands (two areas), and a transitional area. The samples were tested for pH, electrical conductivity, nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and humus. Results of these soil chemistry analyses were analyzed to determine if there were differences in samples from the different ecosystems. This experiment showed that although ecosystems are affected by many variables, the chemical characteristics of this soil do not have a detectable variation with respect to the formation of the different ecosystems within the area portrayed.