Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
4. Your submitted lab report should include the following:
• Data tables showing all data collected on each of the two dates (Eh, pH,
αα
d,
temperature, water tables);
• Your discussion of water tables and temperatures over the course of the
month (using your data and the continuous class record);
• Completed IRIS data forms with data from yourself and from others in your
group;
• Eh-pH diagrams showing your data plotted for each of the two dates;
• Your soil description and assessment regarding whether the soil meets any of
the Field Indicators; and
• Your complete discussion of all the data (including morphological data) with
your conclusions.
References
National Technical Committee for Hydric Soils (2007) Technical note 11: technical standards for
hydric soils. USDA-NRCS, Washington DC. Available from:
ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/
Rabenhorst MC (2008) Protocol for using and interpreting IRIS tubes. Soil Surv Horiz 49:74-77
Rabenhorst MC (2010) Visual assessment of IRIS tubes in field testing for soil reduction.
Wetlands 30:847-852
Rabenhorst, MC (2012) Simple and reliable approach for quantifying IRIS tube data. Soil Sci Soc
Am J 76:307-308
USDA, NRCS (2010) Field indicators of hydric soils in the United States. Ver. 7.0. In: Vasilas LM,
Hurt GW, Noble CV (eds) USDA, NRCS in cooperation with the National Technical Commit-
tee for Hydric Soils
Field Exercise 2: Assessing Leaf Litter Decomposition with Litter Bags
Objectives
1. To understand the principles behind the use of litter bags.
2. To understand how to construct and deploy litter bags.
3. To understand the impact of soil moisture content on decomposition rates.
Materials and Equipment Needed
Leaf litter samples
Litter bags - fiberglass screening material, mesh size of 1-2 mm
Drying oven
Balance
Pin flags
