Class Year

2029

Document Type

Student Research Paper

Date of Creation

Summer 2026

Department 1

Environmental Studies

Abstract

Peatland ecosystems are characterized by complex structural microtopography, prominently featuring elevated hummocks and depressed hollows that establish critical micro-environmental and ecohydrological gradients. This study investigates the influence of micro-topographic positioning on soil moisture and pH dynamics at the Saco Heath Preserve; a raised acid bog located in southern Maine. Data collection was focused entirely within Sphagnum moss, which serve as the dominant vegetative component across multiple structural hummocks and hollows. Using a systematic temporal framework and a robust spatial sampling strategy (n = 100 per micro-habitat) between July 16 and August 16, we quantified physical moisture contents and chemical pH variations using commercial garden-grade sensors. Parametric and non-parametric evaluations, including means, standard deviations, medians, five number summaries, box and whisker distributions, and paired t-tests demonstrate that micro-topography has a statistically significant control over local soil properties (p = 2.45 × 10-5 for moisture; p = 0.00043 for pH). Hummocks exhibited significantly lower moisture averages paired with higher, more alkaline pH, whereas hollows maintained pronounced saturation coupled with consistent acidic variances. In addition, bivariate regression analyses indicated a negligible direct correlation (R2 < 0.01), confirming that physical moisture gradients and chemical pH expressions operate through independent underlying environmental frameworks. Methodological limitations, temporal sampling constraints, microclimatic weather influences on outlying values, and instrument error associated with consumer-grade sensors are explicitly evaluated in the context of broader ecohydrological literature.

Comments

This work was created as part of an independent research project conducted during the summer of 2026.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License.

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