User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
My study design focuses on measuring leaf length of fallen leaves. While this is admittedly easier than climbing trees to collect leaves, fallen leaves bear little loyalty to their parent tree and could blow wherever the wind takes them. Additionally, there is a risk of sampling bias, as more dried leaves take on a dull red colour compared to some of the freshly fallen leaves that have a more vibrant colour. These leaves tend to stand out, which is great but there is some variation in leaf colour, even among freshly fallen leaves. This means those of a duller colour are more likely to be missed. In response to this, I think I will need to use a small quadrat to focus my leaf collection to be exhaustive within a fixed area. That way, all leaves are evaluated to determine if they are freshly fallen enough to be sampled. (Dried leaves are not used because they cannot sustain the manipulation required for measuring and their reduced weight makes them more likely to be dispersed nearby trees by wind from.)
Hi,
I think it’s a good idea to use a small quadrat to focus the leaf collection to be exhaustive within a fixed area. How did you determine the dryness in the leaf and whether the data from it could be used or not?