Question

Imagine that you are studying nitrogen dynamics in a coastal system. In your study area, most of the soils are very sandy. Are they likely to have a low or high saturation capacity? Field capacity? After a particularly hard rainstorm, you notice that sewage systems discharge untreated waste containing high levels of nitrogen into your study area. Are the sandy soils likely to retain much of this nitrogen? Why or why not? How is the soil type in your area likely to affect the amount of nitrogen that reaches the ocean following storm events? How would your answer differ for areas where the soil has a much higher clay content?

Answer 1

f. The sandy soil with bigger particle size will have low both:

Saturation capacity (the capacity to hold maximum water) and

Field capacity (the capacity to hold maximum water against water)

G. the sandy soils are unlikely to hold much of the nitrogen as the nitrate is a negatively charged ion that is leached from water instead of being held by soil particles.

h. The soil type is going to control the amount of nitrate leached to the ocean floor, sandy soil with bigger soil particles will not hold nitrates so more nitrates will leach and reach the ocean floor when the soil is sandy than when it is clay.