Soil Diversity Essay

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Soil Diversity Lab ACE Environmental Science Introduction: Fungi, a type of decomposer, are one of the most important groups of organisms’ on the planet, however, they are largely overlooked, given their unseen actions and growth. Fungi are essential for breaking down organic matter so that nutrients can be recycled and made available again. Fungi are also vital in the growth of most plants through mycorrhizae relationships. People even consume certain fungi, such as mushrooms, and utilize other types, such as Penicillium for medicine, to create an antibiotic. ("The Importance of Fungi.") Fungi are so essential to the life around us, it would be a tragedy should they disappear. The purpose of this study is to determine and understand the effects of pesticides on soil fungi. This relates to the real world in that the addition of more and more herbicides and pesticides via industrial agriculture may have adverse affects on our environment, which has spurred more organic methods of agriculture, such as traditional weeding, and biocontrol. There is concern that the use of pesticides and herbicides may affect the nutrients and productivity of the soil, especially where crops are grown. After researching the effects of fertilizer on fungi growth, I have hypothesized that non-organic soil will exhibit little to no fungi growth, in comparison to organic soil. Methods & Materials: First, we obtained and sieved two types of soil, organic and non-organic, to remove any large chunks. Next, each group weighed out 10 g of soil, either the non-organic or organic type, depending on what the group was assigned. Then, to create a 10^-1dilution, a 200 mL beaker was filled with 95 mL of distilled water, and the 10 g of soil was added to this. The beaker was placed on a mechanical shaker for 15 minutes to allow the fungi to be released from the soil particles. Next we created

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