Transcript Litter Types Effects on Soil pH Under Snowpack

Colin Pettinati
Winter Ecology
Mountain Research Station 2014
University of Colorado, Boulder
Factors Controlling soil pH
 Parent Material
 Precipitation (moisture)
 Native Vegetation
 Crops grown
 Nitrogen input (i.e.
fertilizer inputs)
 Burning Fossil Fuels
 Irrigation Water
(Source 1)(Source 3)
Introduction
 Questions:
 How do different types of litter in 3 different vegetation
types effect soil pH?
 Does soil moisture alter the soil pH?
Methods
 Designate 3 study areas, 1 Aspen stand, 1 Lodgepole
Stand, and 1 Grass Meadow
 (2 of the 3 pits were also used for soil respiration- Scott
Clingan)
 Dig 3 snow pits in each stand around 100cm
 Measure snow depth, soil temp at 0cm and 10cm, soil
moisture, litter type and description, gather soil sample
beneath litter
 Analyze the soil pH using soil pH kit
Site Locations
 Developed by
Scott Clingan
inc.
Site Characteristics
 Aspen
 Moisture: 4 across sites (Near Saturated)
 Litter: Deciduous leaves, grasses, woody
debris
 Organic Matter: 4,4,5
• Meadow
•Moisture: 3,2,1 (High, Moderate, Frozen
•Litter: mainly grasses, some deciduous
•leaves.
•Organic Matter Amounts: 3,3,3
•Lodgepole
•Moisture: 2 across sites
(Moderate Moisture)
•Litter: needles, cones,
Lodgepole debris
•Organic Matter Amount:
5,5,4, Extremely thick, corky
feel
Moisture vs pH
 F-statistic:
6.4
6.2
y = 0.1267x + 5.4844
R² = 0.1118
6
5.8
pH
0.8808
 P-value:
0.3792
 No
significance
Moisture vs pH
Series1
5.6
Linear (Series1)
5.4
5.2
5
0
1
2
3
Moisture
(0-4)
4
5
Lodgepole/Aspen
P= 0.000008 (significant)
Meadow/Aspen
P= 0.067368 (non
significant)
Meadow/Lodgepole
P= 0.000003 (significant)
F Value  212.3
Conclusion
 Moisture has little to no effect in the samples that I
collected in the subalpine environment
 Litter type (dead organic matter) has a much more
defining role in soil acidity; mainly in conifer stands
Further Questions for Research
 What mechanism or process is occurring within the
conifer trees and litter that drops the acidity of the
soil?
 Under what circumstances, if any, does moisture play
an important role in soil acidity?
 How does the soil acidity under conifer stands effect
the ecosystem in the surrounding area?
 Are lodgepole stands increasing another substance,
such as nitrogen, that could possibly decrease pH?
Corrections
 Allow pH mixture to settle for longer

The solution mixed needed to mix the soil and solution and
the dark matter needed to settle in order to gain accurate
measurements
 Sample more soil in each plot
 Sample more stands to cross sample
THANKS Y’ALL!!!
Sources
1. USDA, NSF, NIFA, "Soils Part 4 ; Why does soil pH change?." Accessed March 7,
2014.
http://passel.unl.edu/pages/informationmodule.php?idinformationmodule=11304
47041&topicorder=6&maxto=10.
2. Jaeger
, Charles, Russel Monson , Melany Fisk, and Steven Schmidt.
"SEASONAL PARTITIONING OF NITROGEN BY PLANTS AND SOIL
MICROORGANISMS IN AN ALPINE ECOSYSTEM." Ecology. no. 80 (1999): 18831891.
3. Michele Freppaz, Mark W. Williams, Timothy Seastedt, Gianluca Filippa,
Response of soil organic and inorganic nutrients in alpine soils to a 16-year
factorial snow and N-fertilization experiment, Colorado Front Range, USA,
Applied Soil Ecology, Volume 62, November 2012, Pages 131-141, ISSN 0929-1393,
http://0-dx.doi.org.libraries.colorado.edu/10.1016/j.apsoil.2012.06.006.
(http://0www.sciencedirect.com.libraries.colorado.edu/science/article/pii/S09291393120
01503)
Keywords: Snow; Soil; Nitrogen; Tundra
Acknowledgements
 Shout out to :
 Scott Clingan, Evan Esfahani, Derek Sweeney
 Special thanks and much appreciation to:
 Tim Kittel for an amazing experience and dedicating his
time and knowledge