Salinization Lab
Group Members: Paul, Michelle, Aishani
Purpose
The purpose of this lab was to determine what effect salt had on the process of seed germination. Groups used different amounts of salt concentration to determine how it affects germination. The general hypothesis was that the higher the salt concentration was, then seeds will be unable to germinate because it will the process of growth of the seed. The independent variable was the different concentrations of salt and the dependent value was how many radish seeds germinated after adding different concentrations of salt. The control group was the bag of seeds with no concentration of salt and only water to compare the control to experimental groups.
Pre-Lab Questions
- This lab relates to soils ecosystem because this lab is testing how increasing salinity levels affects the germination process and to see how increasing the concentration of salt in the water will affect the growth of the seeds. This lab relates to the food production because salinity affects the growth of seeds, therefore it will decrease the production of food.
- It is important that farmers know salt concentrations because salinity levels will determine how many of their crops germinate and if farmers know that an area of their land has high salinity levels, then he knows not to farm in that area because the production of crops will be very low.
- Salt buildup is a problem in irrigated farmland in the U.S. because if the area is poorly dressed or poorly flushed out of salts then buildup of salts will occur causing salinity levels to increase, decreasing the production of crops because the plants get less water. (Salinization)
- The accepted salt concentration levels vary among different plants/crops used and the type of environment the plants are in. (Managing Soil Salinity in Agriculture)
Data
Analysis
- There does seem to be a relationship between the number of seeds which germinated and the concentration of salt water which is the higher the concentration of salt, then the less seeds germinated. All ten seeds germinated in the control group that had no concentration of salt and only one seed of .5M concentration germinated. This shows a strong correlation between levels of concentration and number of seeds that germinated.
- There does seem to be a relationship between the % that germinated and the concentration of the salt water which is the higher the concentration of salt in the water, then the percentage is very low. For instance all but one experimental group was 0% and they all increased in the level of salt concentration.
- The experiment that was designed and tested did support the hypothesis that the higher the salt concentration is, then the number of germinated seeds will be less. The data that was collected supports this thesis.
- Errors that might have occurred that would invalidate the experiment would be that the radish seeds did not receive enough water throughout the week and the radish seeds may have not received the correct amount of sunlight causing the seeds not to be able to go through photosynthesis, leaving them still as seeds. To fix these problems one could always make sure they are by the window to receive sunlight and that the paper towl is still damp. Also one should make sure that the seeds were never under the paper towl.
- Increasing levels of salt concentration affect seed growth because they prevent plants from receiving the necessary nutrients they need to survive. Irrigation seems to be the main problem of this because when farmers constantly use irrigation, especially in dry climates, it does not flush out all the salt concentration left behind, leaving a buildup of salt.
- When the soil becomes two salty, methods of remediation include reverse osmosis and distillation. Reverse osmosis is when salt water is pushed through a net with very small holes that get rid of the salt from the water. Distillation is a process in which salt water is heated until it evaporates and then it condenses back into fresh water, ready to be used.
- The negative effects of salinazation of soils affect farmers ability to keep up with the increase of human populations need for food because salinity disturbs the growth of plants, making it very hard to provide food for the rapidly increasing human population. Also after the soil is affected, it can no longer be used, so farmers are running out of space to plant their crops.
Bibliography
Natural Resources Conservation Service. (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2015, from http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/az/soils/?cid=nrcs144p2_065177
1. SALINIZATION. (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2015, from http://people.oregonstate.edu/~muirp/saliniz.htm
1. SALINIZATION. (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2015, from http://people.oregonstate.edu/~muirp/saliniz.htm