User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
Quite honestly, my hypothesis is based purely on urban legends I have heard over my lifetime. The entire purpose of this introductory study is to see if there is any backbone to this saying. Finding those ecological processes/keywords is the goal of this research. Having read peer-reviewed articles on related subjects and having started my annotated bibliography, I’ve noticed a certain pattern. It is possible that:
- sunlight is a factor in where the moss is present/absent as it generally is a factor in vegetation growth
- soil moisture and moisture in general could also be a factor seeing as there are hypotheses out there which connect moisture levels with presence of moss on the northern face of trees
- presence/absence of water source could be a factor. There are studies out there that demonstrate that water conductivity is a factor in moss growth patterns.
All this will be backed up in my paper with proper citations.
