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Biodiversity In Soil

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What is Biodiversity?

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What do biotic and abiotic mean?

Abiotic (A- = Non)

The nonliving parts of an ecosystem.

Biotic factors (Bio- = Life)

Relating to or resulting from living things.

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What is Soil?

Soil is not the same as dirt

Dirt is displaced soil

  • What you find under your fingernails or what you track into the house

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Dirt not soil

Soil is a living ecosystem with a mixture of:

  • Minerals
  • Water
  • Air
  • Organic matter
  • Organisms

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There are different types of soil

The type of soil depends on the:

  • Climate
    • Hot/wet climates have rich, dark soils
  • Organisms
    • Help to break up big chunks into smaller pieces
    • Bacteria break down organic material
  • Relief
    • The topography of the area
    • Flat areas have thicker soils
    • Steep areas have less soil because of erosion
  • Parent Material
    • The type of rock that is breaking down into the soil
  • Time
    • It can take thousands of years to create one inch of topsoil

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Today’s Goal: Determine if Soil is Abiotic or Biotic

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What biodiversity might we find in soil today?

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Check Your MudWatt

  • Record your MudWatt’s Data
  • Compare with your class
    • Which MudWatts are blinking faster?
    • Which MudWatts have more microbes?
    • Is this what you expected?
  • Record your data again in a few days and see if there are any changes!

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Exploration Time!!!

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Minimum of 7 minutes per sample before getting a new sample.

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Make sure to be making scientific illustrations using the handout!

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What did you observe in your sample(s) you looked at?

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Life in Soil Video