Research question:

What effect does forest fire have on soil's ability to sustain plant life?

Specific questions:

What effect does heat have on soil's ability to germinate seeds?

What effect does ash have on soil's ability to germinate seeds?

Our hypotheses:

Control A: no heat/no ash---The seeds will grow.

B: low heat no ash

C: heat/no ash---The seeds will germinate, but will not grow. They will die due to no nutrients.

D: no heat/ash--The seeds will germinate and will grow faster than A due to ash nutrients.

E: low heat 200 and no ash

F: heat/ash--The seeds germinate but will grow slower becasue some of the needed nutrients (calcium?) in the original soil are gone from the heat treatment.

 Our research:

Daniel Nanamkin:

Our plant can not take in straight nitrogen so it has to find another way to get its nitrogen.

One way trees have found to get nitrogen into its system is through dust. When dust falls, it carries nitrogen with it, and when it rains the dust particles sink into the soil and into the plants roots and thats how some plant get nitrogen.

Did you know that ash can be used for fertilizer?When plants are burnt, they leave their nutrients in the ash.

Dale Batten:

This picture shows the Ponderasa Pine, the duff layer, understory, underground, sulpher, and phosphorous. The duff layer can somtimes be bad and can somtimes be good. It can be good when it is moist; it can save the roots from a fire. It can be bad if the duff layer is dry; it is then fuel for the fire and the roots will be burned, and the tree will die.

The tree gets the nitrogen when the dust flies up in the air trapping the nitrogen and dragging the nitrogen to the ground. When it rains, the nitrogen will get pushed down to the trees' roots, and that's how the tree gets it nitrogen.

Our method:

(in lab book--will type later)

Forest Fire Lab Data

Date	Soil A	Soil B	Soil C	Soil D	Soil E	Soil F
2-23-01	no change	no change	no change	no change	no change	no change
2-24-01	no change	no change	no change	no change	1 cm no leaf	no change
2-27-01	no change	no change	no change	no change	cotyledon 1/8c	no change
3-5-01	cotyledon 1 1/8, 1/2cm	cotyledon 1/2cm	no change	no change	1cm, 1/2cm, 1/8cm	no change
3-6-01	same	same	no change	no change	same	no change
3-7-01	2cm	same	same	same	same	same