| | Category | EV | L20 | An Alternative Fertilizer |
| | Abstract | In this experiment, I want to find out what benefits leaves contribute to |
| | plant growth if they are left in the soil during growth. Right now, all of our |
| | dead leaves are thrown away as garbage. Instead of throwing them |
| | away, leaves can be put to good use as an alternative fertilizer. First, I |
| | tested the infiltration rate of water, water retention, pH level, levels of |
| | various other macronutrients, and also how well pea plants and grass |
| | grew in sand and soil, after different leaves were added. To obtain data, I |
| | designed an experiment using a funnel, 200 mL of sand and of soil, 10 mL |
| | of each type of leaf (pine, oak, and maple), and 150 mL of water. This |
| | tested for both the infiltration rate and water retention of each type of leaf |
| | mixture compared to the control (the sand and the soil). Taking the sand |
| | and soil from this experiment, I placed them in pots and planted 6 pea |
| | seeds in each one. The different mixtures contained sand control, sand |
| | and maple, sand and pine, sand and oak, and the same mixtures for the |
| | soil. I took measurements of how tall the plants grew after one week and |
| | after two weeks. I then used different testing kits to test the change in pH |
| | and the levels of macronutrients brought on by the addition of the different |
| | types of leaves.I also did a second trial of the plant growth section of the |
| | experiment, but this time using grass instead of pea plants, and also using |
| | the fertilizer with soil and sand as the control instead of only soil and sand. |
| | I also varied the different amounts of each type of leaf. The data from this |
| | will help determine which type of leaf, and in what amount, will be the best |
| | alternative fertilizer. Thus, if leaves can be proven as an alternative |
| | fertilizer, then the use of leaves would mean less artificial fertilizer would |
| | be used, which would stop chemicals from flowing into streams, rivers, |
| | and groundwater. |
| | Bibliography | 1) Environment 6th edition |
| | Peter H. Raven, Linda R. Berg, David M. Hassenzahl 2) Plant growth: |
| | interactions with nutrition and environment |
| | John R. Porter, David W. Lawlor 3) Soil conditions and plant growth |
| | Sir Edward John Russell |