West Point Lake

West Point Lake is a lake very near and dear to my heart! It is located in far west Georgia (almost into Alabama territory) and has been a a wonderful place to enjoy my days in my hometown of LaGrange. West Point Lake is a manmade reservoir formed by the damming of the Chattahoochee RIver by the US Army Corps of Engineers- it extends about 35 miles long. During the summer, my friends and family are always out on the boat, tubing, or water skiing.. so much fun!

Tubing with a friend at West Point Lake during the summer!

Blood Sugar Graph

Once glucose levels increase, insulin is released from the pancreas in attempts to regulate sugar. Blood glucose levels and insulin levels peak and fall off- but insulin levels peak a little bit later than blood glucose. 

Ocmulgee Lab: Leaf Litter Decomposition

After our lab, I decided to do some more digging about leaf litter decomposition! I looked up information from various sources online because I didn't have much prior knowledge about this subject.. but I do now!! :) I primarily used a website from professors at Sewanee (very legit) in case you were wondering, Dr. Rood! 
Decomposition of leaf litter is a large source of nutrients for forest ecosystems. As leaves are broken down by insect and microbial decomposer, organically-bound nutrients are released as free ions to the soil solution which are then avaiable for uptake by plants. 
In many forests, the major source for nutrients in trees is decomposition, or, the process carried out by insects, worms, bacteria, or fungi that converts dead organic matter into smaller or similar compounds. Products of decomposition include carbon dioxide, water, and inorganic ions like we learned about a few chapters ago (pretty cool). The rate at which decomposition happens depends on a variety of factors like soil, temperature, and what type of food the microbial decomposer eats. The first phase of decomposition is pretty rapid because molecules are easy to break down and are rich in soil. The second phase- the breakdown of lignin consists of breaking down larger molecules- so it is much slower. If we were to chart leaf litter decomposition, we would find ourselves with a mass loss curve that is similar to that of exponential decay due to the differences in speed. 
Leaf litter decomposition is measured using the liter bag technique. In this technique, a known amount of  leaf litter is placed into a mesh bag which is then inserted into the litter layer of the forest floor. Bags are then harvested and dried at certain times and reweighed to determine the amount of mass lost.

Still Growin'

My plant is STILL GROWING! I'm using caps to emphasize how excited I am about it! I can usually never keep anything alive :) Hoping I can keep up the good work! 

What is a Community Garden?

A community garden is any piece of land governed by a group of people. It can be urban, suburban or rural and can grow flowers, vegetables, or community. Community gardens can be an individual plot or many individual plots. In lab, we were privileged enough to visit and learn about a local a community garden in Macon at Centenary United Methodist Church with Mark Vanderhoek.

The most interesting thing I took away from this experience was learning about Macon Roots. This organization is non-profit and established just one year ago in 2010 to promote a sustainable food system in the Macon/Middle Georgia area by celebrating the local food culture, supporting food and garden education programs, creating networking opportunities in the local food system, and increasing availability of locally grown food for Middle Georgians. Macon Roots also works with farmers, gardeners, and eaters to build awareness in the local food system.

The Twelve Soil Orders

1. Gelisols: Soils with permafrost within 2 m of the surface.

2. Histosols: Organic Soils

3. Spodosoils: Acid forest soils with a subsurface accumulation of metal-hummus complexions.

4. Andisols: Soils formed from volcanic ash

5. Oxisols: Intensely weathered soils of tropical/subtropical environments

6. Vertisols: Clay soils with high shrink/swell capacity

7. Aridisols: CaCO3 containing soils of arid environment with subsurface horizon development

8. Ultisols: Strongly leached soils with clay accumulation greater than or equal to 35% base saturation.

9. Mollisols: Grassland soils

10. Alfisols: Moderate leached soils with a subsurface zone of clay accumulation and a less than or equal to 35% base saturation

11. Inceptisols: Soils with weakly developed subsurface horizons. 

12. Entisols: Soils with little or no morphological development.