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SuperSoil: Caenorhabditis elegans Survival and Production of Nutrients in Arid Sand

CSEF · 2023 Earth & Environmental Sciences Honorable_mention Award

Carlson Ruby Rose, Weene Max · 12

Overview

Soil, the most extensive living system on this planet, contains billions of organisms within a few square inches. Each microbe works to sustain the lives of plants, supporting other lives, animals, and humans. Forests are essential in maintaining a steady climate as carbon sinks and homes for organisms. As climate change worsens, humans are tasked to discover new ways to access fertile agricultural land other than through deforestation since biodiversity in the soil is decreasing, which are the stewards to degrade organic waste. This experiment will provide the first steps towards turning arid desert sand into a fertile environment for burgeoning plant life by examining the affects of Caenorhabditis elegans (C. Elegans) and a food source, a rotting apple, on arid desert sand. We designed a soil column experiment with and without fruit bait and germination of the Wisconsin Fast Plant occurred. By examining the health of the Wisconsin Fast Plant, e.g., stem thickness, leaf vibrancy, and soil absorption to the roots, we can observe the effects of C.elegans on arid Earth soil. Preliminary results indicate that the addition of C. Elegans and organic apples to Earth sand benefited plant growth.

Source coverage

This record comes from a published award list, not a complete project archive. Its abstract comes from CSEF's public project showcase as archived by the Internet Archive before judging (https://web.archive.org/web/20230401224130/https://ca-csef.zfairs.com/showcase/ShowcaseInfo?f=838e60b7-ea75-46e8-865c-fde4864244b3); the version presented may differ.

Awards (1)

  • Category Award: HM

Competition history

  • CSEF 2023 Earth & Environmental Sciences · Entry S0921

Resources

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