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Ecology
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Activity 1. Climatological Factors in the Ecosystem and Ecological
Properties of Soil and its Inhabitants
Renzo Val Agapito, Miguel Luis Chua, Rayniel Frio and Malaya Turzar
Biology Student, Department of Biology, College of Science, Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Abstract
The climatic factors include rainfall and water, light, temperature, relative humidity, air,
and wind. They are abiotic components, including topography and soil, of the environmental
factors that influence plant growth and development. Edaphic factor is defined as 'ecological
influences properties of the soil brought about by its physical and chemical characteristics. In
this study, an open area, shaded area and area inside a building were located and measured its
physical conditions and provide temporal information. Also, soil samples were collected and
determined its texture, moisture and analyzed its organic matter content and inhabitants of the
soil. For the results, it was determined that the aerial temperature in open area has the highest
temperature, precipitation and evaporation. The soil samples were determined as alkaline loamy
sand type of soil with low percentage water and organic matter.
Keywords: climatic factors, edaphic factors, light, temperature, relative humidity, air and soils
Introduction
Climate is the long-term, prevailing
weather conditions in a particular area as
Mark Twain would differentiate “Climate is
what we expect, weather is what we get”
(Miller, 2009). Climatic factors particularly
temperature, and water availability have a
major influence on the distribution of
terrestrial organisms. They are abiotic
components, including topography and soil,
of the environmental factors that influence
plant growth and development (Campbell,
2009). Climate may be classified on two
scales macroclimate and microclimate.
Macroclimate is the patterns on a global,
regional and local level, whilst the latter is a
very fine pattern such as those encountered
by the community of organisms that live
beneath a fallen log (Campbell, 2009).
This study focuses more on the
microclimate than the macroclimate, given
that areas to be examined are within
Polytechnic University of the Philippines,
Mabini Campus. Therefore this aims to
identify the influences of microclimates by
casting shade, affecting evaporation from
the soil or simply the change in wind
patterns.
In macroclimate there is said to be
three major factors that affects climate, one
is the uneven heating of the earth’s surface
by the sun, second is the rotation of the earth
on its axis and last, is the properties of air,
water and land. If these macroclimatic
factors were to be rationalized to get the
microclimatic factors it would be the light
intensity a certain area is amenable to,
humidity and still the same, properties of
water, air and land in that area.
Climates have loving organism that
prefer varying measurement of temperature,
humidity and etc., great number species of it
are inhabitant to the soil. Climatic factors
such as light intensity, temperature,
humidity, evaporation, precipitation do
affect living organisms as well as the habitat
they take shelter in, but aside from the
climatic factors also affecting those habitat
another factor termed as edaphic factor is
recognize to understand the soil factors
affecting its inhabitants. The diversity and
the measurement of diversity are central to
many issues in ecological research as well as
for applying ecology to real world problems
(Boyce, 2005)
Truthfully, tropical ecosystems
exhibit several ecological characteristics that
make their sustainable management a
difficult task (Fonge, 2011). By studying
some basic protocols in measuring edaphic
factors and climatic factors, this study in
general aims to practice basic skills that can
be used in furthermore applications in
ecology.
Methodology
Physical Conditions
An open area, shaded area, and an
area inside a building were located within
the campus. In each environment, five
random points were selected within the
assigned area were assessed to measure the
physical conditions. Illustrations and
descriptions of the environment were taken
(e.i substrate, plants and animals present),
temporal information (e.i the time when
measurements are made, weather, condition
of the sky) were also provided.
Temperature
The temperatures of the given areas
of study were measured using a laboratory
thermometer. The thermometers were
suspended for about three (3) minutes before
any reading was taken. The values were
recorded in Celsius.
Amount of Precipitation
The precipitation was measured
through the use of rain gauge. The amount
of the precipitation were collected and
measured after 24 hours and the values were
expressed in millimeters per day.
Precipitation data can also be gathered in
local weather station as alternative source.
Rate of Evaporation
In the study area, two pans with
known values of water were placed. After 24
hours, the volumes of the water left in the
pans due to evaporation were recorded. The
results were expressed in millimeters per
day.
Collection of samples
Soil samples were collected from a
random spot on the linear park of
Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
Using a trowel, the ground was dug up to 12
inches deep. Samples were collected per
horizon caught up by the digging. Moisture
of soil samples was then categorized
qualitatively.
Temperature
The soil temperature was determined
by burying a thermometer in the soil making
a total of 5 readings per horizon. Data
gathered were then recorded.
Soil pH
Equal amounts of soil sample and
distilled water were mixed in a beaker. Soil
particles were settled down until the
supernatant was relatively clear. The pH was
quantified using a pH meter.
Soil moisture
The soil moisture was quantitatively
analyzed by weighing a crucible and 10
grams of the sample then putting it inside
the crucible. It was then oven dried at 105º
C for 24 hrs. It was then weighed again with
the container. The %water in the sample was
calculated by dividing the water content
(original weight - dry weight) by the dry
weight multiplied by 100.
Organic Matter
From the oven dried samples, 1.5 g
sample was weighed and was placed in a
weighed crucible. It was then ignited
overnight with 450º C in a muffle furnace.
The sample was then cooled using a
desiccator and the weight after ignition was
recorded. The loss of weight after ignition
gives the organic content of the soil. It was
then expressed in percentage of the original
sample.
The soil suspension used in
analyzing the pH of the soil was used to
determine the following:
Soil Calcium
10 drops of soil supernatant was
added in a test tube with 10 drops of
solution (5 g ammonium oxalate in 100 mL
distilled water). It was then mixed until
precipitation occurs. Milky white precipitate
indicated the presence of calcium.
Soil sample was placed in a crucible
then excess 10% HCl was added. The sound
that the soil made on reaction was observed
to give the approximate levels of calcium
carbonate using the table given.
%CaCo3 Audible
effect
Visible effect
<0.1 None None
0.5 Faint None
1.0 Faint-
Moderate
Barely Visible
2.0 Distinct,
Heard Away
from Far
Visible from
Very Close
5.0 Easily Heard Bubble Up to
3mm
Easily seen
10.0 Easily Heard String
Effervescence
with Bubble of
7mm
Results and Discussions
Climatic Factors
There are a lot of factors that can
affect our climate. For this activity,
instructions in measuring temperature,
humidity, evaporation, precipitation and air
pressure all of which are factors that can
affect the climate were done.
For comparison, three general areas
were used to gather varying climatic factors
that can help to identify the effect of these
factors. (See table 1) For the shaded area
Polytechnic University of the Philippines
(PUP), Linear Park was chosen, whilst for
the open area PUP Oval, seemed to be the
apt choice, lastly for the building, PUP
Building, South Wing was used, description
of the locations was gathered to properly
weigh the varying results of each area.
Temperature, light intensity, relative
humidity, wind speed and direction,
atmospheric pressure, rate of precipitation
and rate of evaporation are climatic factors
that are considered to have an abundant
ecological significance. For temperature,
different organisms benefit from different
temperature as they have different cellular
tolerances for cold and heat, and also
temperature contributes to the erosion and
creation of soil.
Life in any ecosystem is strongly
affected by sunlight’s intensity, daily
duration and angle of incidence of the sun
(seasonal changes). Photosynthesis is driven
primarily by light in the blue and red regions
of spectrum; under story and underwater
regions have varying levels of these
wavelengths, with red light being lost first
and blue light last. The intensity of light can
change with the time of the day, season,
geographic location, and distance from the
equator, and weather. It gradually increases
from sunrise to the middle of the day and
then gradually decreases toward sunset; it is
high during summer, moderate in spring and
fall, and low during wintertime.
Relative humidity regulates the
evaporation of water from the body of land
organisms during transpiration and
perspiration, it promotes the growth of
epiphytes and it promotes the germination of
spores in fungi. Precipitation is the
condensation of atmospheric water vapor
into earth’s surface.
Precipitation is a critical
phenomenon of our environment. It
regulates the circulation of water in the
environment. Evaporation is an important
process in the global water cycle. Solar
radiation hits the surface of water or land
and causes water to change state from a
liquid to a gas. This is how water vapor
enters the atmosphere: moisture in the
atmosphere is linked to cloud formation and
rainfall.
Evaporation acts like an air
conditioner for the surface because heat is
used when water enters the atmosphere as
moisture. But at the same time, water vapor
acts as a greenhouse gas by trapping
radiation in the lower atmosphere. As
temperature increases so does the process of
evaporation. In addition the moisture
holding capacity of the atmosphere increases
with temperature. For every 1oC increase in
Table 1. Description of the area tested
Shaded Area
Open Area
Building
Time 8:45 am
9:00 am 9:15 am
Area PUP Linear Park
PUP Oval
South Wing Building
Sky Clear Clear Clear Weather Sunny Sunny Sunny Plants Present
(mostly trees)
Present (mostly grasses)
None
Animals Present (mostly ants and beetles)
Present (mostly ants and beetles)
None
global temperatures there is a 7% increase in
the moisture holding capacity of the
atmosphere. And more moisture in the
atmosphere ultimately leads to changes in
rainfall patterns. Actual evaporation depends
on availability of water, for example more
water is evaporated from a lake than from
dry soil. Moist areas like tropical rain forests
have higher evaporation rates than arid
regions. The amount of water that
evaporates from the land surface depends on
the amount that is contained in the soil (soil
moisture).
Based on the results of measurement
of some climatic factors (See table 2), aerial
temperature varies greatly amongst the two
because of factors such as exposure to
sunlight, the highest temperature which is
the open area, is directly exposed to the
sunlight, whilst the lowest value which is the
building is also affected by the place’s
exposure to sunlight, meanwhile in the
shaded area, minimal light is available and
therefore having a mid-temperature (figure
1). The amount of natural light that may
enter a building is affected by the location of
windows or glass surface through which
light enters, the presence of trees and shrubs,
roof overhangs, window screens and
awnings, and the tint and cleanliness of the
glass. A gray glass allows 41% light
transmission while clear glass allows
89%.Within a building, the amount of light,
whether natural or artificial, will be further
affected by curtains and blinds, surface
textures, and reflectance from wall
coverings, furniture, and other furnishings
(Manker 1981). Other factors that might
have affected the aerial temperature is the
congestion of people in that area, also the
Table 2. Measures of some climatic factors
Shaded
Area
(Linear
Park)
Open
Area
(Oval)
Building
(South
Wing)
Aerial
Temperature
30° C 38.8° C 24.9° C
Amount of
Precipitation
90
ml/day
85
ml/day
98
ml/day
Rate of
Evaporation
88
ml/day
82
ml/day
97
ml/day
wind current that can be experienced
strongly in the PUP Linear park.
If one desire, to easily access the
variations of the climatic factors one can
use a climatograph it shows the
precipitation and the temperature of a
region. Climatographs can be used to look
at trends in climate as well as yearly
temperature or precipitation minimums
and maximums. It is very easy to use
climatographs to compare a city in one
biome to a city in another. There are two
types of climatographs are Precipitation
and Temperature climatographs.
Precipitation: A bar graph showing how
much precipitation a given place receives
during a period of time. Temperature: A
line graph shows the temperature
conditions for the same place during the
same period of time. Weather scientists
use a climatograph to predict
precipitation for various places. An
examination of more than one
climatograph can identify weather trends
such as Global warming. By using a
climatograph there would be a universal
quantitative analysis of the climatic
factors.
Edaphic Factors
Edaphic or soil factors is important
because of the intimacy of contact between
the plant and soil through the root system
and that both plant and soil are strongly
influenced by each other, although the soil
itself is full of life and is the habitat for
many organisms (Chastain, 2007).
Ecological properties of the soil show how
both the living and the non-living
environments affect soil community
structure and diversity (Swift et. al 1979).
Polytechnic University of the
Philippines, Mabini Campus (PUP), Linear
Park soil properties information was
collected. Table 3 shows the two horizons
present in the location namely, O horizon
and A horizon. O horizon is the organic
matter containing layer where a mixture of
broken-down rock of various textures, living
organisms and decaying organic matter were
found. On the other hand, A horizon or the
surface soil contains much less organic
matter than the O horizon and is less
weathered but, this is where mineral matter
with some humus is present (Campbell,
2009). (See Table 3) O horizon is black in
color, with small rocks, litter and plant
residues, it is about 0-2 inches think and had
a temperature of 28°C, whilst A horizon is
relatively lighter in color with insects and
fine layer of soil with absence of rocks and
, the depth was about 3-12 inches having
29°C temperature.
Given the description, the soil
moisture is determined as dry soil while the
texture is loamy sand. The structure can
affect the capacity of the soil to hold water
and other organic materials. The water
drained from the pores is replaced by air. In
coarse textured (sandy) soils, drainage is
completed within a period of a few hours. In
fine textured (clayey) soils, drainage may
take some (2-3) days. After the drainage has
stopped, the large soil pores are filled with
both air and water while the smaller pores
are still full of water. At this stage, the soil is
said to be at field capacity. At field capacity,
the water and air contents of the soil are
considered to be ideal for crop growth.
Soil texture is a classification system
based on mineral particle size. It is a
relatively permanent feature of the soil that
does not change appreciably over a human
lifetime. Soils are classified according to
the percentages of oven-dry weights of sand,
silt and clay. For example, a sandy soil is
composed principally of large sand particles,
whereas a loam contains more or less equal
amounts of clay, sand and silt.
Based on the information gathered in
soil moisture analysis (See table 4), from 10
g of soil sample, after oven drying, the
weight was reduced to 9.7759 g by finding
the difference of the two it was determined
that the weight of water was only 0.2472 g
of that 10 g or only 2.53%. The percentage
of water present is the soil is relatively
average, considering that when the soil
sample was taken the sky was clear and
bright and also, considering that the area is
supposed to be a well maintained region for
Table 3. Soil horizons description Soil Horizons Color Structure Thickness Temperature
O Horizon Black in color With small rocks, litter, plant
residues
0 – 2 inches 28° C
A Horizon Relatively lighter in color
With insects, fine layer of soil, no rocks, no litter
3-12 inches 29° C
Table 4. Soil moisture analysis Soil Moisture Soil Texture Dry Weight
Weight of
Water
Percentage Water
Dry soil Loamy sand 9.7759 g 0.2472 g 2.53 %
cultivating plant in PUP.
Organic matter is excluded from the
texture classification. Soils with high silt
content and those with high clay content
have greater capacities for retaining water
and available nutrients than sandy soils. By
adding small amounts of clay minerals to the
soil and by encouraging the activities of
earthworms to reduce the size of soil
mineral particles, organic farmers can
modify soil texture to a small degree, but the
greatest effect of these amendments is on
structure, as discussed above. (See table 5)
The organic matter present in the location
was 80%, this percentage is beneficial to the
soil as it was discussed above, because of its
capacity to sustain water.
CEC (Cation Exchange Capacity)
measures the quantity of potentially-
available cation nutrients that are in a stable,
accessible form. It is measured in milli
equivalents (me) per 100 grams of soil.
Typical values are 6.3 me/100g for sand and
27.2 me/100g for clay/loam; the higher the
CEC, the greater the potential fertility of the
soil. This is why clay soils tend to be more
fertile than sandy soils, and why the fertility
of sandy soils can be improved by the
addition of clay and humus. The cation-
exchange process can howe
ver only store and release positively-
charged nutrients; the availability of
nutrients in anion form, such as phosphorus
and sulfur is not affected by CEC. Soil
organisms play a key role in conserving and
releasing these nutrients.
The soil pH was also gathered along
side with the presence of calcium, calcium
carbonate, and phosphorous (See Table 6).
After following the procedure, the
supernatant of the soil solution was tested
for its pH level the result was that the soil
had a pH of 8.32. The pH is important
because it influences the availability of
essential nutrients. Most horticultural crops
will grow satisfactorily in soils having a pH
between 6 (slightly acid) and 7.5 (slightly
alkaline).
There are a few plants that require a
soil pH of 4.5 to 5.5. These "acid-loving"
plants include azaleas, rhododendrons, and
blueberries. For most plants, however, a soil
Wc
Wo
Wi
Ignited Soil
Organic Matter
37.62 g 39.12 g 37.38 g 3.76015 g 1.74
Table 5. Amount of soil organic matter
pH below 6.0 is undesirable. Strongly acid
soils need to be limed to raise the pH to near
neutral levels. Liming materials include
ground limestone which is mainly calcium
carbonate (CaCO3) and dolomitic limestone
which contains CaCO3 and some
magnesium carbonate (MgCO3). The soil
pH can also influence plant growth by its
effect on activity of beneficial
microorganisms bacteria that decompose
soil organic matter are hindered in strong
acid soils. This prevents organic matter from
breaking down, resulting in an accumulation
of organic matter and the tie up of nutrients,
particularly nitrogen, that are held in the
organic matter. Inherent factors affecting
soil pH such as climate, mineral content and
soil texture cannot be changed. Natural soil
pH reflects the combined effects of soil-
forming factors (parent material, time, relief
or topography, climate, and organisms). The
pH of newly formed soils is determined by
minerals in the soil’s parent material.
Temperature and rainfall control leaching
intensity and soil mineral weathering. In
warm, humid environments, soil pH
decreases over time in a process called soil
acidification, due to leaching from high
amounts of rainfall. In dry climates,
however, soil weathering and leaching are
less intense and pH can be neutral or
alkaline. Soils with high clay and organic
matter content are more able to resist a drop
or rise in pH (have a greater buffering
capacity) than sandy soils. Although clay
content cannot be modified, organic matter
content can be changed by management.
Sandy soils commonly have low organic
matter content, resulting in a low buffering
capacity, high rates of water percolation and
infiltration making them more vulnerable to
acidification.
The activity levels of decomposing
organisms are greatly impacted by the
amount of water and oxygen present, and
also by the soil temperature. The chemical
makeup of a material, especially the amount
of the element nitrogen present in it, has a
major impact on the ‘digestibility’ of any
material by soil organisms. More nitrogen in
the material will usually result in a faster
rate of decomposition.
Among the area in the Polytechnic
University of The Philippines, Mabini
Campus variations of biota were recognized
(See table 7).
Many studies have shown how both
the living and the non-living environments
affect soil community structure and
diversity, for example, decomposition of
plant litter that is high in lignin and/or low
in nutrients and is therefore difficult to
decompose (resource quality) leads to
dominance by fungal-feeding groups in the
soil food web, whereas, easily broken down
litter is decomposed primarily by bacteria
which is reflected higher up the food chain
(Boyce, 2005). To sum up, decomposition is
affected by the type and quality liter,
climate, the edaphic conditions (including
soil temperature, hydration, and chemistry),
and the community decomposer organism
this is where soil invertebrates fit in (Swift
et. al, 1979).
Soil invertebrates are clearly
affecting liter decomposition rates, soil
Table 6. Soil alkalinity
Test Result Interpretation
Soil pH 8.32 Basic
Soil calcium No precipitate formed No soil calcium
Calcium carbonate Easily heard 10%
Phosphorus Deep blue Presence of phosphorus
in the soil Table 7. Organisms in different soil type
Location Soil Type Organisms
Oval Silt loam Ants (3) Spider (1)
Bug (1) Yellow-Spotted Millipede (1)
Dark Red Millipede (1) Wood louse (1)
Chapel Sandy loam Roaches (4) Red Ants (3)
Gymnasium Clay loam Rusty Millipede (1) Yellow-Spotted Millipede (1)
Common Earth Worm (1) Small Snail (1) Red Ants (2)
Big Black Ant (1) Lagoon Clay loam or sandy loam Large Snails (3)
Small Cone-Shelled Snails (7) Small Six-legged Insects (5)
Linear Loamy sand Roaches (12) Small Cone-Shelled Snails (3) Egyptian Desert Roach (29)
Pill Bug Wood Lice (6) Western Yellow Centipede (3)
Common Earth Worm (1)
aerosion, nutrient mineralization, primary
reproduction, and other ecosystem services
related to soil (Six et al., 2002). They play a
key role by directly consuming detritus,
others consume detritivores, whereas others
are higher-level carnivores that can directly
control decomposition by their effects on
lower levels of the food web (Boyce, 2005).
Conclusion
Edaphic and Climatic Factor turns
out to be a good basis of bigger ecological
applications. Based from the results, it was
clearly illustrated that abiotic and biotic
factors were present in the soil and both are
which affected by each other. Lack of water,
minerals and organic matter, would lead the
soil to be lifeless and would not hold any
inhabitants since they will not have anything
to sustain themselves. Variations of
inhabitants and the soil itself varies from
one point to another by means of need in
that area, soils that have a high water
capacity and nutrient capacity will be
present on areas that has larger scope of life
forms such as crops, trees, and the likes
while soils that have minimal capacity will
be present on areas that are not in need of
high levels of water and nutrient.
Whilst in the Climatic Factor,
although the study focuses more on
microclimate procedures used may be
practiced and can be applied to higher
macroclimate. Climatic Factors such as
aerial temperature, evaporation, humidity,
precipitation and light intensity are factors
that are constantly changing on a day-to-day
basis, analysis of those factors are needed to
identify if the area is amenable to the
organisms present.
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