Video
Here is a quick video that I made to help portray my hypothesis. It has some of my reasoning on this page and it explains the different research that I found which went into writing my hypothesis.
hydroponics_v_traditional_hypothesis.25.wmv | |
File Size: | 10485 kb |
File Type: | wmv |
hypothesis
Most of the world's food is grown on cropland which is constantly shrinking by 37,000 square miles a year. This land is shrinking because the topsoil is being swept away around 10-40 times faster than it can be replenished.
Hydroponics can be used without the use of land. Constant growing and cultivation of crops is possible because the nutrient solutions can be added as often as needed. When soil's nutrients run out the soil must be given time to replenish and recharge before another crop can be planted and grown successfully.
Hydroponics can save water because the water that is not absorbed by the plants can be collected and recirculated through the system. Traditional methods make it harder to collect any excess water so more water can be lost with soil gardening methods.
Plants are generally grown faster and healthier in hydroponic systems because all of the nutrients needed are available without much strain on the plant's roots to find the necessary growth nutrients. In traditional methods, plants must extend their roots through the soil to find the nutrients thus using the plant's energy that it could use to grow.
Hydroponics can save water because the water that is not absorbed by the plants can be collected and recirculated through the system. Traditional methods make it harder to collect any excess water so more water can be lost with soil gardening methods.
Plants are generally grown faster and healthier in hydroponic systems because all of the nutrients needed are available without much strain on the plant's roots to find the necessary growth nutrients. In traditional methods, plants must extend their roots through the soil to find the nutrients thus using the plant's energy that it could use to grow.
I wish to prove whether or not hydroponics can be used to reduce topsoil erosion because the less soil we use to grow crops then the more soil can be saved from being depleted and eroded. In addition I want to prove that hydroponics can conserve water as compared to traditional methods of growing in soil. Finally I would like to prove which method for gardening the plants would grow the best in based on the physical size and the number of leaves each produces.
If hydroponics can be used instead of traditional gardening methods, then the amount of eroded topsoil will be reduced, the amount of water used will decrease, and the plants would grow the biggest with the most leaves.