User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
The subject of my studies is sagebrush, also known as Artemisia tridentata. I visited the Valleyview Nature Park on June 28th between 1:00 and 1:40. On this day I only visited the east side of the park. The weather was partly sunny and mostly cloudy. The gradients I have chosen to observe the distribution of sagebrush are at the top of a hill, the slope of a hill and a valley.
The first two photos are of the side of a hill. It was noted that there are some sagebrush growing out of the side of the rock. There seems to be no clear pattern of sagebrush distribution on the hillside. The next two photos were at the top of a hill. In the third photo (facing North), there is a large number of sagebrush per unit area. The fourth photo was taken in the same position as the third, but this time facing South-West. It was noted that the amount of sagebrush in the area drastically reduces compared to the third photo. Finally, the fifth photo was taken facing North-East approximately 30 metres east of the third and fourth photos. There is a greater amount of sagebrush at the bottom of the valley versus on the hillside.
A few general observations I noted are:
-the soil in the valleys is slightly darker than the soil on the hill tops suggesting a higher water content.
-there are more trees and less sagebrush on the south side versus the north side of the park. This is not because of the amount of exposure to the sun; maybe there is a bit more water because the north side is beside the hillside whereas the south side is flat? Perhaps water travels down the hillside and therefore the north side of the park gets slightly more water?
-there are bundles of grass everywhere in the park (Bluebunch wheatgrass)
-there are areas that have a moderate/high amount of individuals and there are areas that have no individuals. It was very rare to see one individual on its own without other individuals close by. Perhaps competitive exclusion (one species dominates and removes the other species)?
I hypothesize that Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentate) will be have similar abundancies on hill tops versus valleys and Bluebunch wheatgrass (Psuedoroegneria spicate) will have similar abundancies on hill tops versus valleys in Valleyview Nature Park. The response variable is the number of sagebrush and bluebunch in a 4 meter by 4 meter quadrant. The predictor variables are elevation and soil moisture content. The response variable is continuous and the predictor variable is categorical, suggesting that I will have an ANOVA design for my experiment.
Your study caught my eye as it relates in some ways to my study. It’s interesting to see the aspect of soil moisture and also the abundance of sagebrush being researched in a different way. You’re observation of rarely seeing a sagebrush individual on its own is quite interesting, that could definitely be another research project on its own! I’m curious to see if your hypothesis is proven seeing as the growth of trees was far different from valleys to hills. Your predictor and response variables seem like they can be fairly easily measured. The one thing I would recommend is having a more clear prediction.