Woodland Soil and Surface Litter Project Study

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Woodland Soil and Surface Litter Project Study 6 Soil and 6 surface litter samples collected from two differently wooded areas (coniferous & deciduous). Surface litter invertebrates extracted, analysed, identified and recorded. Soil was pH tested to generate info about the chemical conditions at each site. Some soil from each sample was also dried to study the granulometry of it (grain size). The rest of the soil had the invertebrates extracted, analysed, identified and recorded. Mite B – Velvet Mite (Eutombidium rostratus) Mite C – (phthiracarus sp) http://xespok.net/arthropoda/main.php/v/Arachnida/Oribatida/Phthiracaridae/Phthiracarus/Phthiracarus_sp_A3399a.jpg.html Method Invertebrate extraction A 15cm x 15cm quadrangle was thrown randomly 6 times over a large area of coniferous woodland (site 1) and also thrown randomly 6 times over a large area of deciduous woodland (site 2). Using a trowel, the surface litter within the quadrangle was taken with a thin layer of soil and placed into a plastic bag. A depth of 4cm of soil within the quadrangle was also taken and separately bagged. This was repeated until 12 sample bags were collected from each site (6 x surface litter and 6 x soil). Surface litter (SL) samples 1-6 from both sites were then placed into tullgren funnels with a small, labelled beaker containing 15ml of alcohol placed underneath each funnel to collect the sample’s invertebrates. The samples were left for 24 hours. Soil samples 1-6 from both sites were also placed into tullgren funnels with a small, labelled beaker containing 15ml of alcohol placed underneath each funnel to collect the sample’s invertebrates. These were also left for 24 hours. After 24 hours, the labelled beakers containing the invertebrates from each SL and soil sample were sieved with water to remove any alcohol and placed into large petri dishes. The

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