User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
I did not have any issues implementing the design, so I did not have to make any changes to the design. After completion I have started to consider that it would have been good to choose a location that doesn’t have as many anthropogenic influences (i.e. a wild field, not municipally owned). I believe that the interactions such as the competition the grass adds because of lawn mowing and disturbances caused by both humans and domesticated animals may have skewed some of the results. These were things that I did not realize initially, but I believe that with time and experience these would be factors that I would have picked up on sooner. I think that this first personally designed ecological study was an eye opener and has given me my first real good glimpse into what working in the field could be like. Engaging in this practice of ecology and designing this field research has greatly increased my appreciation of the entire study of ecology and everyone who partakes in it. I think that I was very unprepared for how much thought goes into these studies and also how much actual physical effort does too. My fieldwork was in no way large scale and I was exhausted and my neck hurt from counting all the clovers. I have a great appreciation for ecologist’s work ethics and perseverance.
While conducting my research and looking for relevant journals and papers I came across this article and found it very interesting. This idea of “clover lawns” is what sparked my interest into researching Trifolium repens.
