Renee; UR: A huge thank you to my lovely assistant!

Skye, my lovely lab assistant helping me prepare a slurry!
(A slurry is a mixture in which fine particles such as dirt
are suspended in a liquid. In my case the liquid is
de-ionized water)

A very exciting week to report! I actually got to take some readings myself in the lab. I even had an extra set of tiny hands to help me out!
My official science buddy and daughter Skye joined me in the lab and lucky for us both of the tests I was planning to perform are simple enough for her to help with.

We used a Hach HQ11D pH meter to measure pH and a OHAUS ST20R ORP Pen to measure redox potential. As I've discussed in this previous post a redox reaction or oxidation-reduction reaction is a type of chemical reaction that involves a transfer of electrons between two species. In this instance the transfer would be between various molecules that include oxygen such as sulfate and anaerobes (anaerobes are organisms that live and grow without free oxygen) in my soil samples.
Knowing the well aerated(introduced to or containing air), high organic content of the wetland soil I was testing and that the area is thick with pine trees I hypothesized before I began testing my samples that the pH would be acidic and that the there would be few or no redox reactions taking place.

When looking over my results keep in mind that RZ-1
is associated with C-1. Also mV sands for milli-volt.

Unfortunately because of time constraints I was only able to test four of my ten samples. The RZ samples are root zone samples taken six inches from the base of a reference specimen. I also tested one of the contrast or C sample which was taken 3 feet from the same specimen as the RZ sample with the same number. I squeezed this one in because Dr. Woodall and I were so excited to see if there was a significant difference between it and the associated root zone sample.

I would love it if everyone took a look at the results I've gathered so far and tell me what kinds of results you think I might find in samples C-2 and C-3. What might the differences between RZ-1 and C-1 imply?
Keep in mind that per mine and Dr. Woodall's research into soil conditions preferred by Sarracenia  minor (the hooded pitcher plant) this plant prefers loose soil with a pH of 4 or less, meaning very acidic.

Also here is a table to help you understand my redox results a little better. I've even helpfully circled the mV (milli-volt) range at which all of my samples thus far fall under. FYI aerobic conditions contain freely available oxygen like that which we breath.

Q&A
Q: Joseph Sec.1
I'm looking at your picture of a 'healthy' plant and wondering if the size and/or number of 'sprouts' in that one area says anything about the health of its soil conditions? Will you be looking at that?

A:  That is a great idea! I will add it to the list of other questions the tests on my soil samples may help answer. I normally have a problem with trying to look at everything ever all at once so I've been been trying to keep my focus on why the hooded pitcher plant is so sporadic in Longleaf Pine Preserve. Also that is a picture from last fall before the cold set in and my buddies were particularly happy after a fantastic growing season of favorable weather conditions.

Q: Maryanne Sec.65
I'm not exactly sure how to ask this properly but how do the seeds of the pitcher plant spread? Could their location have more to do with their seed's ability or inability to spread somewhere else rather than the condition of the soil? Really neat looking plants btw! I googled a picture.

A: Your question is great and the only thing that constitutes a "correctly asked" question is that the one asked understands what you are asking. ;)  
To answer your question which I understood just fine: the seed dispersal of the hooded pitcher plant is Dr. Emmett's current area of study.  He hypothesizes that the annual flooding experienced by the area is the likely spreading agent and he has advised that he does not see any readily apparent reason for the sparse spread of S. minor in Longleaf Pine Preserve based on his knowledge of the hooded pitcher plant and the locations flooding potential.