User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
The area that I have selected to observe is the Garden City Land Teaching and Research Farm, currently leased by Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) in Richmond BC. The land is primarily bog and open for citizens to walk. It also has 8 acres of farmland run by the Sustainable Agriculture Program of KPU. The specific location I chose is between the untamed bogland and the organically farmed production land. I have selected an area of large stretch of land on the southern side. This area is generally flat but has been specifically modified by the professors at KPU to do their ‘Greenhouse Gas Plot’ research project; this entailed digging down to the bog in segments and leaving other segments with the mineral soil layered top. There is a notable gradient between the two different plots. I visited October 19 at 16.00 during a cool and dry day, however the week prior saw heavy precipitation. I observed that there was a denser and more diverse group of plants closer to the peat. I observed that the scentless chamomile was very abundant on the top soil and very scarce nearer the bottom of the pits, and that clover was prominent throughout but more abundant at the bottom of the pits. overall, there was more abundance and diversity at the bottom of the pits. I am not sure whether to focus on a specific plant or where there is more diversity. Before I collect samples I will be mowing the site to simplify the observation of my sample group (TBD).
over time.
My three questions are:
Is there a correlation between the soil being disturbed and the success of new plants establishing?
Are the plants that are lower more successful due to the shade in the lower level? Or more water access?
Does the pH of the soil being closer to the peat land provide a more suitable environment for the success and diversity of plants?
