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Comparison Between Percent Sand and Correlation Between Percent Sand and pH in

Ocean County, New Jersey

Adrian Perono

Abstract:

During April 2021, students from the 2021 Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental
Science (MATES) Research Methods class collected samples at three sites in Ocean County,
New Jersey and conducted a Texture Analysis. These sites were Lake of the Lilies in Point
Pleasant, Jakes Branch County Park in Beachwood, and Kayak Access Great Bay in Little Egg
Harbor. On May 17, 2022, students from the 2022 MATES Research Methods/Field Ecology
class collected data and conducted a texture analysis. This study focuses on the difference
between soil percentages at different sites as well as the relationship between percent sand and
soil pH. An ANOVA single factor test was used to compare percent sand from different sites.
The results indicated that there was a significant difference. A linear regression test was run to
determine whether or not there is a relationship between percent sand and soil pH.

Introduction:

Percent sand and soil pH are important factors in the quality of soil. Soil composition is

the ratio of sand, silt and clay, and it can be classified by using the Wentworth Scale. The three

groups are differentiated by their particle size, with sand being the largest and clay being the

smallest. Sand is classified by a grain diameter of 0.0625 to 2 mm (Wentworth, 1922 ; Forbes,

2005). It forms from the erosion and weathering of rocks that takes place over thousands of years

(How Is Beach, 2021 ; How Does Sand, 2022). The percentage of sand can be determined using a

texture analysis (Zei, 2020; Why Is Dune, 2022). Sand is important in soil because it provides

excellent aeration and drainage (Soil and Plan, 2020 ; A Little Information, 2020).

Soil pH is the measure of the activity of ionized H (H+) in the soil. It is an indication of

relative availability of plant nutrients because these nutrients are pH-dependent (What Is pH?,

1998 ;Mclean, 2015). It is an important indicator of ions that affect plant growth. For example, a

pH of <4 can also help indicate the presence of free acids such as HsSO4 (Thomas, 1967; Mclean,

2015). This is important because free acids in soil prevent plant growth and dissolve soil
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minerals. A pH of >5.5 can indicate the presence of hydroxy-Aluminum ions which can suppress

root growth and strongly affect P and K availability (Alva et al., 1988; Sparks et al., 2009).

This study will determine if there is a significant difference in percentage of sand from

soils from lake, forest, beach, and saltmarsh by looking at percent sand data from 4 sites in

Ocean County, New Jersey. This study will also determine if there is a correlation between the %

sand and soil pH, by looking at % sand and soil pH data from 2 sites in Ocean County. It is

hypothesized that if the percentage of sand is increased then the pH will also increase and that

the marsh. It is hypothesized that samples taken at the beach site will have a higher percentage of

sand because beaches have sand in their profiles.

Methodology:

Study Site:

Students from the 2021 MATES Research Methods conducted a study at four locations in

Ocean County New Jersey (Figure 1). This study was done during April 2021. Four sampling

locations were chosen to conduct a texture analysis on the soil. Site 1, a lake called Lake of the

Lilies, is coordinated at 40.082471°N, -74.044743°W. Site 2, a forest at Jakes Branch County

Park, is coordinated at 39.928655°N, -74.213822°W. Site 3, a beach called Kayak Access Great

Bay, is coordinated at 39.508667°N, -74.322386°W (Figure 2). Students from the 2022 MATES

Research Methods/Field Ecology class and the 2022 MATES Aquatic Ecology class conducted a

study at two locations in Ocean County New Jersey (Figure 1). This study was done on May 10,

2022. Two sampling locations were chosen to test the pH and conduct a texture analysis on the

soil. Site 4, a saltmarsh called Cedar Bonnet Island, is coordinated at 39.6528965°N,

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-74.1954167°W (Figure 3). Site 5, a beach near 20th Street in Ships Bottom, is coordinated at

39.6420729°N, -74.1804935°W (Figure 4).

Procedure:

At Sites 1 and 2, three samples were collected and at Site 3, eight samples were collected.

A texture analysis was done on these samples to determine the percentage of sand. At Site 4, 6

samples were collected and at Site 5, five samples were collected. These samples were collected

using sediment core samplers and stored in Ziploc® bags. The soil texture analysis was tested

using a LaMotte® Soil Texture Kit. The pH was tested by mixing 15 mL of the sample with 10

mL of water. A pH probe was then used to measure the pH of the mixture. The mean percent

sand data from Sites 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 were compared using a bar graph (Figure 5). The percent

sand and soil pH data from Sites 4 and 5 were compared using a scatter plot (Figure 6).

Analysis

A regression data analysis was run to determine whether or not there is a relationship

between percent sand and soil pH using data from Site 4 and 5. An ANOVA single factor test

was used to compare percent sand from Sites 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. A 95% confidence interval was

used for these tests. An alpha of 0.05 or less was used to determine significance for all tests.

Results:

Between all the samples, the percentage of sand ranged from 32% to 100%, with Site 2

having the lowest mean percentage of sand and Site 5 having the highest mean percentage

(Table 1). An ANOVA single factor test calculated p<0.01, indicating significance between the

percent of sand (%) values at each site (Figure 5). The p value was 0.0002. Between all the
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samples, the soil pH ranged from 5.70 to 7.73 (Table 2)Regarding correlation, a linear regression

test was run between percentage of sand and pH from Site 4 and 5. The overall values showed a

positive trend, with an R2 value of 0.585 (Figure 6). The data shows that as the percentage of

sand increases, the soil pH also increases.

Discussion

The data establishes a significant difference in the percentage of sand at each site. The

samples from Sites 1, 3, and 4 had a high percentage of sand because beaches and coastal areas

have sand throughout their soil profile (Williams & Amatya, 2016 ; Stringer et al., 2016). The

samples from Site 2 have lower sand percentages because they are from the Pine Barrens. Pine

Barrens soil is very similar to spodosol soil which has more sand and silt than clay (Folke

Andersson et al., 2005; Spodosols | NRCS Soils, 2022). The hypothesis that samples from the

beach site would have the highest percentages of sand was also supported. The data establishes a

trend between percentage of sand and soil pH. This occurs since soil pH is related to how well

the soil hangs onto certain elements such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium. Rain water

moves through sand faster than silt and clay because sand has larger pores that absorb water

faster and hold less water per unit of depth (Watson et al., 1950; Goldy, 2011). The hypothesis

that as the percentage of sand increases the soil pH also increases was supported.

Acknowledgements:

I would like to thank my professor, Dr. Amy Williams, for providing the opportunity to

perform this study and for providing the necessary equipment to conduct this experiment.
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Figure 1: Google image of the three sampling sites in

Ocean County, New Jersey

Figure 2: Image of Site 3: Kayak Access Great Bay

April 2021

Figure 3: Image of Site 4: Cedar Bonnet Island

on May 10, 2022
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Figure 4: Image of Site 5: East on 20th Street.on

May 10, 2022

Figure 5: Mean percentage of sand (%) (n=25, + 5% error) from April, 2021 and
May 10, 2012. An ANOVA test showed p < 0.01, indicating significance between
the percent of sand (%) values at each site. The p value was 0.0002.
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Figure 6: Comparison of percentage of sand and soil pH samples at Sites 4 and 5

that has a positive trend. When a regression test was run with 95% confidence
interval, an R2 value of 0.585 was obtained.

Table 1: Percentage of sand values and mean percentage of sand from Sites 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 from
April, 2021 and May 2022
Percentage of Sand (%)
Site Environment Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Sample 4 Sample 5 Sample 6 Sample 7 Sample 8 Mean
1 Beach 60.00 68.00 80.00 48.00 40.00 84.00 52.00 70.00 62.75
2 Forest 32.00 39.00 32.00 34.33
3 Salt Marsh 60.00 63.16 73.33 70.00 73.33 66.67 67.75
4 Lake 47.00 75.00 77.00 66.33
5 Beach 73.33 100.00 80.00 93.33 86.67 86.67

Table 2: Soil pH values from Site 4 and 5 from May 10, 2022.
Soil pH
Site Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Sample 4 Sample 5 Sample 6
4 6.30 5.80 5.70 6.20 6.90 7.46
5 7.46 7.73 7.72 7.18 7.03 7.45
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