Berlese Funnel Test

The purpose of this is to drive out organisms from the soil sample into the ethanol to be studied. The top of a liter soda bottle was cut off and plastic mesh was taped to the original opening. The remaining part of the bottle's body was filled with 25mL of ethanol. The top was placed upside down in the bottle and filled with soil.

The contraption was placed under a heat lamp for the long weekend.

After the 5 days, the ethanol from the bottom of the big bottle was poured into a Petri dish.

We used magnifying glasses to identify and organisms within the ethanol, but none were visible. Several other groups doing this same experiment were unable to find organisms either. This may be because microscopes were not available or the organisms stayed in the soil. Organisms in soil create the organic component in soil, where the majority of recycled nutrients are to create new life. The complex components of organisms are broken down to simple ones through decomposition and can be used by other plants as building blocks to grow.