Effects of Erosion Lab

Collaborators: Logan Lazaras and Sophia Koltusky

Introduction:
Erosion is the process by which the surface of the Earth gets worn down and
can be caused by natural elements such as wind, water and glacial ice. Vegetation
intercepts rain, reducing its energy and preventing splash erosion. It also slows
runoff and anchors the soil with its root system, therefore reducing the soil runoff
that would have gone into things such as river streams and lakes. Riparian buffers
are vegetated zones of land adjacent to lakes and streams that act as a filter for water
flowing into the water source, greatly reducing water pollution. The vegetation and soil
absorb runoff water that is often laden with pollutants, sediments and nutrients that are
harmful to the water supply. This is why the first 100 feet from a vegetated wetland or
stream bank are regulated as buffer zone. In this experiment, the effects of

hydrologic erosion on different landforms was put to the test.

Problem: How does grass effect the movement of water in an ecosystem?
Hyphothesis:
If water is poured through three bottles, each representing different landforms, the
bottle containing vegetation will have the least soil erosion and have the least
amount of water run-off, due to the roots holding the soil in place, compared to the
containers with bare soil and with rocks on top.
Parts of the Experiment:

Control Group- The bottle containing only soil

Experimental Group- The bottles containing grass and ground-cover

Independent Variable- The contents of the soil (what's holding it in place)either grass or ground-cover.

Dependent Variable- Clarity and amount of soil-water solution collected

Controlled Variables- How much water poured onto the soil, type of soil, size
of bottle, incline of the bottle

Materials:

2 liter bottles, cut in half

Potting soil

Grass seed

Water

Pebbles, gravel or leaf litter

Procedure:
Sowing the seeds
1. Place soil in an empty 2L bottle that has been cut in half (see picture above). Spread
grass seed evenly throughout the soil.
2. Water grass seed every 3-4 days and allow it to sit near a source of sunlight or under a
plant grow lamp.
Testing the effects
1. When the grass has grown 2-4 inches in height, you are ready to test the effects.
2. Fill two more empty 2L bottles with soil. Cover one with a top cover of your choice
(gravel, pebbles, or leaf litter) and leave the other one alone as a control.
3. Place one of the bottles up on top of an elevated surface. Place an empty beaker
underneath the mouth the bottle.
4. Prepare a graduated cylinder with 100 mL of water.
5. Have a student start a timer and say GO. When the timer says go, pour the water
into the soil/grass.
6. Record the time, amount, and color of the water discharge in the table below.
7. Repeat for the other two bottles.
Bottle

With Grass

With Groundcover

Water collected
(mL)

Time for water

to stop flowing
(sec)

10 mL

30.6 sec

50mL

32 sec

Qualitative
Observations
(color, density,
etc).
- The run-off water
was very clear/
transparent and only
had a few chunks of
dirt in it
- The run-off water
was a light brown/gray
color, slightly
transparent and didnt
have chunky dirt
particles

With soil only

50mL

35 sec

- The run-off water

was a dark, milky, non
transparent brown with
big and chunky dirt
particles floating in it

Data Analysis:
In the first bottle with just pure soil, the water run-off was a very dark, non-transparent
brown with many chunky particles of soil in it. The second bottle contained soil with rock
ground cover on top and its water run-off had a slight transparency to it. The color was a
light brownish gray and didnt appear to have many chunks of soil. The third and final bottle
had grass grown in the soil.
Conclusion:
The hypothesis I made was correct in stating that the bottle with the grass in it would
produce the least amount of water out of the bottle with soil, the rocks, the grass. This lab
has shown us the physical effects that deforestation can have on an ecosystem and the
physical effects that can be avoided by not clearing forests. If vegetation and trees are kept
in an area, the amount of soil erosion that takes place can be kept to a minimum because
there are an abundance of roots deep down in the soil. This keeps a lot of nutrients and
moisture in the soil and allows the animals in the ecosystem to prosper. Another advantage
to having trees and vegetation in an area that is shown in the soil erosion lab is the filtration
of water. The water in the bottle with the grass was much clearer than the water in the
other two bottles, showing that ecosystems without excessive deforestation can help clean
water of pollutants and other nasty things. Overall, the lab shows us that limiting
deforestation can benefit the ecosystems in many different ways. This experiment is proof
that the most effective environmental setting after deforestation is to either leave
vegetation or plant vegetation behind at the site. The setting that would allow the greatest
chance of water filtration is the vegetation setting. By analyzing the data one can see how
evident it is that the water run-off from the bottle with grass had the greatest filtration
effect because it had the least amount of dirt and was a very clear water. Applying this
experiment to a larger scale, one could create a three separate greenhouses where there is
purely soil, another where the ground is covered with rocks and leaf litter, and lastly a large
area of grassland inside. One could have shower head-like things spew water over them to
mimic rainfall and water them all for the same amount time, giving them the same amount
of water. By having drain pipes under these separate settings, the water runoff could be
collected for analyzation and one could expect the results to directly correlate with the
results found through the bottle experiment. In conclusion, deforestation effects soil erosion
and water pollution because without roots in the ground, the soil wont be held in place
when it rains and the water will lack a filtration system to prevent river stream and lake
pollution.
Citations:
Marlow, Shirley. "Using Vegetation for Erosion Control on Construction SItes." Using
Vegetation for Erosion Control on Construction Sites (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 29 Mar. 2015.
<http://pods.dasnr.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-2264/BAE-1514web.pdf>
"Legislative News." Infection Control 4.2 (1983): n. pag. Web.
<https://www.uvm.edu/~vlrs/Agriculture/bufferzones.pdf>
"Wetlands, Swamps and Buffer Zones: A Primer on Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Law."
Massachusetts Real Estate Law Blog RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2015.

<http://massrealestatelawblog.com/2011/05/20/wetlands-swamps-and-buffer-zones-a-primer-onmassachusetts-wetlands-protection-law.>