Bio 2R5

Title: Ecological Sampling In Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), Selangor Objective: To carry out a study on the ecology of the habitat of FRIM Experiment on abiotic factors A. Experiment to analyze the composition of soil by sedimentation method Introduction: Soil is a mixture of soil particles, mineral salts, soil water, soil air, organic matter or humus and living organisms. Some of the common organisms in soil are insects, earthworms and microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. Soil particles originate from the weathering of rocks. These particles are classified based on their sizes. Clay particles give a large surface area due to the small size. They also form colloids in water which enable them to bind to many ions comprising a part of plant nutrition which is essential for plant growth. Table 1 – Types of soil particles and their average diameter Types of soil particle Gravel Coarse sand Fine sand Silt Clay

Average diameter/ mm >2 0.2 – 2.0 0.02 – 0.2 0.002 – 0.02