Biogeochemical Cycles and the Collards

The collards haven’t grown much since we have transplanted them. There is only one that has grown a bit more than the others, but there has not been much progress. The plants have broad, green leaves and they are about 2 inches tall. On one of the plants, it seems like a had small caterpillar eaten part of one of its leaves. I can infer that the small weeds and grass in the area became competition with the plants that didn’t grow that much. There wasn’t much water, since we are in a drought, so I would assume some of the collards are their current size since they are “dehydrated” (in a way), except for the one collard that has grown more. I infer that the one that has grown more has more water or one (or more) of the key things a plant needs to survive and grow. The collards have participated in the carbon cycle by converting carbon into oxygen. Plants do need carbon to survive, but if they get too much they can suffocate like in our first experiment. Studies show that if plants get the more carbon than normal (not enough to suffocate it, though), then the plant(s) will be able to enhance its use of water. The plant that had the increased growth spurt was near the edge of the plot, so it probably got more carbon than the others since the others were completing with more plants, as they were in a more plant populated area. The collards participated in the nitrogen cycle by taking in nitrogen from the soil after the nitrogen-fixing bacteria processes it. Then, animals eat those plants to get the nitrogen. I observed the nitrogen cycle in the collards when I saw that a small caterpillar ate part of one of the collard’s leaves. That caterpillar now holds some of the nitrogen from that collard. That's all for now!