HgO N P K 



Zn 



Fe Mn 



Cu 



Ca Mg 



S 



Na 



ADF 



TNC Fat 



Moisture content * * 



















Nitrogen * * 



* 



* * 



* 





* 



* 



* 



* 



Phosphorus * 



* 



* 



* 





* 





* 



* 



Potassium 



* 



* * 



* 



* * 



* 



* 



* 



* 



Zinc 





* 



* 



* 



* 





* 



* 



Iron 





It 





* 











Manganese 









* * 







* 





Copper 









* 









* 



Calcium 















* 





Magnesium 













* 



* 





Sulfur 















* 



* * 



Sodium 















* 



it 



ADF (acid detergent fiber) 

















* * 



TNC (total nonstructural carbohydrates) 



















Fat (ether extract fraction) 



















Figure 2 — Significant correlations (P < 0.05) among minerals and nutrients in plant samples 

 (n = 602 except for comparisons with fat where n = 522). *lndicates significant correlations. 



highest SAR and lowest pH on the same sites in com- 

 parisons like ours. Table 12 compares the soil and 

 plant values for elements in the soil and plants at the 

 three study areas. 



DISCUSSION 



Study areas, weather and water, and plant mineral 

 and nutrient content are all important when consid- 

 ering the data collected. Each of these topics is dis- 

 cussed separately. 



Study Areas 



Plants of the same species growing on the different 

 areas generally had similar values for City Creek 

 and Woodbury-Hardy; plants at Littlefield often had 

 slightly higher values. In 12 of the 14 cases in which 

 one area had significantly higher values than an- 

 other, Littlefield had the higher value (table 2). In 

 the other two cases Littlefield shared the significantly 

 higher values with another area: City Creek in the 

 case of phosphorus, and magnesium in the case of 



Table 11 — Mean values of soil parameters for each study area. Different letters in the same row 

 indicate a significant difference in mean value 



Soil parameter 



Units 



City Creek 



Woodbury-Hardy 



Littlefield 



Calcium 



ppm 



121.9 A 



132.2 A 



150.7 A 



Magnesium 



ppm 



19.3 A 



14.2 A 



17.2 A 



Sodium 



ppm 



4.64 C 



2.24 A 



3.31 B 



Nitrogen 



ppm 



453.0 B 



475.0 B 



183.0 A 



Phosphorus 



ppm 



11.1 A 



10.9 A 



4.7 A 



Potassium 



ppm 



104.5 A 



129.6 A 



102.9 A 



Zinc 



ppm 



0.527 A 



0.520 A 



0.333 A 



Copper 



ppm 



0.663 A 



0.500 A 



0.453 A 



pH 





6.8 A 



7.5 B 



7.5 B 



EC 



ds/L 



0.695 A 



0.465 A 



0.523 A 



SAR2 





0.112 B 



0.052 A 



0.073 A 



Sand 



Percent 



76.9 A 



65.7 A 



78.2 A 



Silt 



Percent 



11.8 A 



24.7 A 



14.1 A 



Clay 



Percent 



11.3 A 



9.6 A 



7.6 A 



' Electroconductivily . 

 ^Sodium adsorption ratio. 



10 



