Plant Growth
Affects of soil quality on plant growth
If the same soil is used to re-grow plants, then each time a new plant is grown it will not grow as well as the last.
I believe that once the plant has completed a full life cycle than the soil it had grown in will have less nutrients than it started with. Therefore I believe re-using soil after a plant has died will effect the growth of the new plant.
Materials:
The materials I will need or this experiment will be pots - for growing plants, soil, a light source, seeds, and a controlled environment.
Setup:
In order to set my experiment up I will split the seeds into two groups: Group A and Group B. Both groups will receive the same exact living conditions (temperature, water, space, soil, light, etc.).
Testing:
Once Group A and B have been planted I will allow all plants to complete a full cycle of life and death. Once all the plants have died off I will change the soil for Group A and use fresh soil, then replant the seeds. However for Group B I will re-plant the seed without changing the soil. So the effects of used soil can be tested on the growth of the plant. I will continue this cycle 10 times and than reset the experiment and do it again.
Results:
Trial 1 -------------------------------------Seeds out of 20------------ Life span= day planted to death
----------Average Height--------------Seeds left over---------Average Life span(Days)-----
Group A--------10.6"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------20.8
Group B--------10.4"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------21.1
Trial 2
----------------Average Height--------------Seeds left over---------Average Life span(Days)------
Group A--------10.5"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------21.6
Group B--------10.2"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------19.8
Trial 3
----------------Average Height--------------Seeds left over---------Average Life span(Days)------
Group A--------10.7"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------20.8
Group B--------9.8"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------19.1
Trial 4
----------------Average Height--------------Seeds left over---------Average Life span(Days)------
Group A--------11.1"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------21.2
Group B--------8.7"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------18.3
Trial 5
----------------Average Height--------------Seeds left over---------Average Life span(Days)------
Group A--------10.5"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------21.2
Group B--------7.3"------------------------------------1-------------------------------------17.1
Trial 6
----------------Average Height--------------Seeds left over---------Average Life span(Days)------
Group A--------10.8"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------20.4
Group B--------6.4"------------------------------------3-------------------------------------15.8
Trial 7
----------------Average Height--------------Seeds left over---------Average Life span(Days)------
Group A--------11.3"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------19.7
Group B--------5.3"------------------------------------4-------------------------------------14.6
Trial 8
----------------Average Height--------------Seeds left over---------Average Life span(Days)------
Group A--------11.3"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------20.4
Group B--------3.6"------------------------------------7-------------------------------------12.6
Trial 9
----------------Average Height--------------Seeds left over---------Average Life span(Days)------
Group A--------11.3"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------19.6
Group B--------2.8"------------------------------------8-------------------------------------10.5
Trial 10
----------------Average Height--------------Seeds left over---------Average Life span(Days)------
Group A--------11.3"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------20.5
Group B--------2.1"------------------------------------11-------------------------------------10.3
----------Average Height--------------Seeds left over---------Average Life span(Days)-----
Group A--------10.6"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------20.8
Group B--------10.4"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------21.1
Trial 2
----------------Average Height--------------Seeds left over---------Average Life span(Days)------
Group A--------10.5"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------21.6
Group B--------10.2"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------19.8
Trial 3
----------------Average Height--------------Seeds left over---------Average Life span(Days)------
Group A--------10.7"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------20.8
Group B--------9.8"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------19.1
Trial 4
----------------Average Height--------------Seeds left over---------Average Life span(Days)------
Group A--------11.1"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------21.2
Group B--------8.7"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------18.3
Trial 5
----------------Average Height--------------Seeds left over---------Average Life span(Days)------
Group A--------10.5"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------21.2
Group B--------7.3"------------------------------------1-------------------------------------17.1
Trial 6
----------------Average Height--------------Seeds left over---------Average Life span(Days)------
Group A--------10.8"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------20.4
Group B--------6.4"------------------------------------3-------------------------------------15.8
Trial 7
----------------Average Height--------------Seeds left over---------Average Life span(Days)------
Group A--------11.3"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------19.7
Group B--------5.3"------------------------------------4-------------------------------------14.6
Trial 8
----------------Average Height--------------Seeds left over---------Average Life span(Days)------
Group A--------11.3"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------20.4
Group B--------3.6"------------------------------------7-------------------------------------12.6
Trial 9
----------------Average Height--------------Seeds left over---------Average Life span(Days)------
Group A--------11.3"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------19.6
Group B--------2.8"------------------------------------8-------------------------------------10.5
Trial 10
----------------Average Height--------------Seeds left over---------Average Life span(Days)------
Group A--------11.3"------------------------------------0-------------------------------------20.5
Group B--------2.1"------------------------------------11-------------------------------------10.3
Conclusion:
Based on the results of my experiment I can conclude that my hypothesis was correct, I believe that each time a new plant grows and dies it is using up more nutrients which will decrease how healthy the next plant grown is.