ENHS Nature Trails April 2002 Article 1

This month's speaker: Karin Baitis

Those interested in natural history know about the life that flourishes in soils, but sometime we forget the dynamics, the fluidity of the soil itself . This month's speaker, Karin Baitis, will get into the history and future of some of our local dirt in a way that will reinforce our enthusiasm and respect for not only the west Eugene wetlands along Amazon Creek, but prairie wetlands everywhere. Karin's interest in the fluidity of soils goes back to her formative years as she tells us about herself.

WERE YOU INTERESTED IN NATURE AS A CHILD?
My first recollection of when I was little was the smell of dirt after the first spring rain. I still remember thinking how good it smelled and then getting into trouble when I tasted the dirt; it had to taste as good as it smelled. By the time I was five I was playing in the mud puddles on the road to the barn. I would make mud pies, place them on the corner fence posts and let them bake in the sun.

PARENTAL INFLUENCES?
My father planted trees any chance that he got. When I was old enough to mow the lawn, my father wouldn't allow me to mow any fir trees sprouting up in the grass. Consequently, there were always funny patches of long grass in our yard with little fir trees growing in them. My mother knew the names of every flower in the forests and in our garden.

MEMORABLE TRAVELS?
Some of the most memorable traveling I have done was with John Stimac as he completed his PhD from the U of O Geology Department. For years, we would drive through eastern Oregon collecting rock samples from the Rattlesnake Formation for his paleomagnetic studies. With thousands of miles under my tires driving through some of the most remote areas of Oregon, encounters with scorpions, badgers, bulls and cowhands, these memories further instilled my sense of place of Oregon.

WHO INFLUENCED YOU TO PURSUE STUDIES IN GEOMORPHOLOGY?
I probably influenced myself the most. It was a hands down decision to get my degree in geomorphology during my first day in geomorphology class at the University of Oregon.

HOW DID YOU GET INTO YOUR AREA OF SPECIALIZATION?
I've been very fortunate actually getting a job related to my geomorphology degree. Probably the best training I have gotten were the years I worked for Weyerhaeuser. Working throughout western Oregon and western Washington, I gained knowledge of many different geologies, from glacialoutwash, subsiding sand dune harbors, to the foothills of the Willamette Valley.

WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR TRAINING?
University of Oregon: BS Geography, minor in German. University of Oregon: MA Geography (Geomorphology).

WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO OUR TOWN?
My parents moved to the southern Willamette Valley in 1958. My father thought Eugene was the most beautiful place on earth.

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO TALK ABOUT?
I will be talking about the soil stratigraphy of the west Eugene wetlands along Amazon Creek. Essentially it is the story of why the prairie wetlands exist, a little about how they were created, and a lot about how little we know about the soils and genesis of the southern Willamette Valley flood plain sediments. I will speak to local geology, soils, hydrology and impacts of urban growth.

AND ANOTHER ASPECT OF SOIL
The War Zone in One Teaspoon of Healthy Soil The participants:
*600 million bacteria, mostly species unknown to scientists. They break down easy-to-decompose organic matter, making its elements available.
* 150 to 500 feet of fungal strands. They Breakdown difficult-to-decompose organic matter; sometimes cause disease; kept in check by other fungi, protozoa, nematodes and spiders.
* 10,000 to 100,000 protozoa. As much as 80% of nitrogen in plants can come from these microscopic protozoa feeding on bacteria and each other.
* 5 to 500 beneficial nematodes, plus sometimes as many of their harmful brethren. Fed upon by other soil invertebrates called micro arthropods.
* A few to several hundred micro arthropods, such as orobatid mites, eating fungi, releasing nitrogen.

Soil battle statistics compiled by Elaine Ingham, soil biologist at OSU. To keep the healthy battle going in your soil, keep incorporating that organic matter says Elaine.

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