Some of the theoretical perspectives that my research project may discuss could be how different species respond to flooding, whether seasonal or nuisance. At what amount of soil moisture does vegetation for certain species begin to degrade or deteriorate. Other ideas could be if contaminants are present in stormwater and if so, how do they affect vegetation. Another aspect could be how does human interference and traffic and unnatural barriers affect the growth rate of vegetation.
Key words to help describe my research project could be stormwater, flooding and vegetation response and moisture content.
Category: Percy Hebert
Post 6: Data Collection
I decided to not use some of the data that was collected as I feel it would provide too broad of a scope and not a clear reflection of my hypothesis which is that the species abundance and percent coverage will fluctuate based on the distance from the stormwater pond.
I had a total of 16 quadrats, 4 from each zone, at different distances and elevations from the stormwater pond. I did not have set distances from each zone. I defined each zone based on the maps of Fish Creek I was using and by the physical differences that were noticed in the zones.
Zone 1: Natural Wetland – this area was located pretty much right beside the flood zone of the stormwater pond and had a little pond itself.
Zone 2: Riverine lower elevation – this area was located just a few meters up the hill from the flood zone of the stormwater pond.
Zone 3: Riverine higher elevation – this area was located a few more meters up the hill from the lower elevation zone and was restricted by the walking trail that was located to the north of the zone.
Zone 4: Grassland – this area was located north of the walking trail and at a higher elevation. It was a few meters back from the walking trail as the walking trail had a buffer zone which seemed to be regularly disturbed.
I am unsure how accurate my data really is as there are several variables to consider that could alter the results. I tried to be as accurate as possible with determining the percent coverage of vegetation within the quadrats. I do think that the size and lack of randomness of the selection of where the quadrats were to be placed can possibly affect the results. I do think that while the data collected may not be the most accurate it will still be able to determine how vegetation responds to flooding in and around the stormwater pond.
It is promising to see that the data I have collected does coincide with how I predicted vegetation would respond to the flood zones.
Post 5: Design Reflections
When I originally started gathering data, I tried keeping track of all the species that had percent coverage over 10%. In some of the quadrats there were 5 or 6 different species, so I have decided to only tabulate the most prevalent 2 or 3 species. From looking at all the quadrats the vegetation that seems to be the most common in all regions is the veiny meadow rue and cow parsnip.
When looking specifically at veiny meadow rue there seems to be a clear line moving horizontally across the hill that could define the floodplain. My hypothesis is that vegetation species and their percent cover will either decrease or increase in relation to their proximity to the stormwater pond. Vegetation such as cow parsnip will be more common regardless of distance from the stormwater pond as it is a more versatile species.
When selecting my quadrats I could have used a more methodical approach. Instead of blindly tossing a ball and then creating a quadrat around that I kind of “randomly” selected my quadrats based on what I thought would return the best quality of data that I could use. In that sense, the data presented may not accurately depict the actual percent coverage of vegetation in the 4 zones being studied.
I could have also increased the size or number of quadrats as larger species would naturally occupy more percent of a 1m x 1m quadrat and a larger quadrat or more quadrats would be able to more accurately display the percent coverage of smaller vegetation species.
These samples were not collected in the spring months, but I think it would have been interesting to see how vegetation would have responded to the melting and constant flooding that would be experienced. Maybe if there were larger amounts of snow that was melting then flooding would be more prevalent which could push vegetation boundaries up to higher elevations as opposed to a lighter winter where not as much snow would melt and vegetation boundaries may be at lower elevations.
It would be interesting to see these boundaries in relation to the amount of snow fall from the previous winter and see if there was some correlation between the two.
Post 4: Sampling Strategies
The area around the stormwater pond is called Marshall Springs. The type of sampling strategies that I am going to use is area-based sampling. I will be taking 16 samples. They will consist of 1m x 1m quadrats. I will have 4 quadrats in each zone that I have picked, natural wetland, riverine (lower elevation), riverine (higher elevation), and grassland. I will use random and systematic methods to determine the most abundant species of vegetation in each quadrat along with the soil moisture. I will only tabulate the species that are present for, let’s say, above 10% coverage in the quadrat. I will be looking at the percent coverage of vegetation in each quadrat and not the number of individuals.
Given the area of the park and region I am looking at I could have increased the size of the quadrats or the number of quadrats which could better reflect the actual percent coverage of vegetation in each region and more accurately display the soil moisture. The soil moisture is also only reflective of the current state. If we were to be experiencing a rainfall or drought then obviously the soil moisture would fluctuate.
I will also be trying to calculate the moisture content of the soil in each zone. I will collect 1 cup (250ml) of dry soil and weigh it. I will then collect samples from each quadrat and determine the moisture content present. My fiancée worked at a garden center through her degree and helped me with calculating moisture content as she said that different plants require different moisture content in order to optimize growing potential.
Post 3: Ongoing Field Observations
For my research project I am going to look at population density and vegetation abundance from different intervals and elevations from the stormwater pond in Fish Creek.
I am going to be looking at the abundance of cow parsnip, common yarrow, silver sage and veiny meadow rue.
I have initially noticed that there is a clear distinction in vegetation abundance along the stormwater pond and maybe this could be the normal floodplain for the pond when it experiences a flooding situation after a rainfall.
I am going to look at 4 distinct areas and see if there are noticeable differences in vegetation species and densities based on the amount of flooding experienced.
Area 1: an area immediately next to the stormwater pond which is classified s a natural wetland. This leads me to believe that the vegetation and landscape has not been or at least minimally altered by humans.
Area 2: a riverine area located at lower elevation and closer proximity to the stormwater pond.
Area 3: a riverine area located at higher elevation and further away from the stormwater pond and right beside the walking path.
Area 4: a grassland area located at higher elevation and with the walking path creating a barrier between the grassland area and the stormwater pond
My hypothesis is that the stormwater pond, the frequency of flooding and the floodplain average height will determine the species and abundance of vegetation growing in Fish Creek.
I’m predicting that cow parsnip will be more prevalent at lower elevations as it is more resilient and species such as the veiny meadow rue will be more abundant at higher elevations that experience less flooding.
An explanatory variable could be the distance from the stormwater pond and how much water vegetation is receiving. A response variable could be the abundance of vegetation present if there is any in certain regions.
Post 2: Sources of Scientific
One of the source of ecological information that I am using is from the Alberta Parks website: https://www.albertaparks.ca/parks/kananaskis/fish-creek-pp/information-facilities/nature/plants/#:~:text=Common%20Plant%20Species,spruce%20forests%20with%20some%20grasslands.
This information is a city managed website that provides updated research material on the nature of various parks located in Alberta. The area that I referred to was for Fish Creek Provincial Park. This source is written and maintained by professionals in the field of ecology. This is confirmed by looking at the requirements necessary for applying to work for Alberta Parks. I know that the sections that I used in regards to Fish Creek are peer reviewed as they provide as list of updates to the webpages with who updated the information and their position within Alberta Parks.
Post 1: Observations
I chose to study to area in Fish Creek that is approximately 3.5km from my home. The area is a stormwater pond that is surrounded by walking paths. This stormwater pond has signs posted that it frequently floods and to keep your distance as a safety precaution.
The main area that I am looking to study will be a region of increasing elevation to the north side of the stormwater pond.
The area consists of grassland areas which are higher elevations and riverine areas that run along the edges of creeks and ponds.
Observations:
I usually run from my house, up to Fish Creek, through a section of Fish Creek that passes by the stormwater pond, and then loop back towards my house.
The stormwater pond is completely surrounded by walking paths which provides an unnatural barrier for vegetation.
I have seen water levels rise and fall in the pond but have yet to see a drastic increase but there does seem to be a distinct line where vegetation density increases. This could be a high point of flood in and around the region.
Some of the vegetation that grows in the area are:
– Cow parsnip
– Asters
– Veiny meadow rue
– Karl Foerster
– Silver sage
– Cotoneaster
– Dogwood
– Aspen trees
– Poplar trees
– White spruce trees
The trees and larger shrubs were not present at all until at least 10 ft past the walking paths uphill except for a couple of spruce trees.
There seems to be a fair amount of human traffic in the area as I have yet to run through that section of the park without seeing other people. There are paths through the grass and brush in some area where people make their own paths or their dogs are left to roam. There was also some construction on the walking path that resulted in some vegetation and trees being removed. These larger trees and shrubs could provide a base for smaller vegetation to thrive in the immediate vicinity.
Blog Post 4 Sampling strategies
Using the area-based method for community sampling I found the systematic technique to be have the fastest estimated time at 12 hours 35 minutes. In my virtual sample, systematic sampling also had the lowest combined percent error for both the two most common and the two least common tree species.
The most common tree species was Eastern Hemlock, the most accurate result for density was achieved using a systematic approach with a percent error of 14.02%. The second most common species was Red Maple, the most accurate technique for density was achieved using random sampling at 2.44%.
The least common species was White Pine, haphazard sampling achieved the lowest result in percent error for density at 52.38%. The second most rare species, Striped Maple, had an accuracy that was the same between systematic and haphazard sampling at 54.29%.
Accuracy was higher for the common species and much lower for rare species as shown in Table 1. The varying results between all the techniques and the inaccuracies shown through the large percent errors indicates that my sample size was too small. Larger sample sizes would be needed to achieve reasonable results.
Table 1. Summary data for community sampling exercise comparing density using area-based methods.
| Species | Systematic | Random | Haphazard | ||||
| Actual density | data | Percent error | data | Percent error | data | Percent error | |
| Eastern Hemlock | 469.9 | 404.0 | 14.02% | 592.0 | 25.98% | 544.0 | 15.77% |
| Red Maple | 118.9 | 128.0 | 7.65% | 116.0 | 2.44% | 140.0 | 17.75% |
| Striped Maple | 17.5 | 8.0 | 54.29% | 0.0 | 100.00% | 8.0
|
54.29% |
| White Pine | 8.4 | 0.0 | 100.00% | 28.0 | 233.33% | 4.0 | 52.38% |
| time | 12 hours 35 minutes | 13 hours 22 minutes | 12 hours 57 minutes | ||||
Blog Post 9: Field Research Reflections
Initially, I had a lot of issues with carrying out my project. I entered this course with a fairly basic knowledge of ecological theory. However, having made it through the course material and reviewing the literature necessary for my final project, I now feel like I (finally) understand the data that I was collecting. As time went on: the course equipped me with the knowledge to relate my observations to an increasing amount of theory. This did not result in me changing my sample design (aside from my initial changes from haphazard to randomly placed quadrats to transects – more information is available on this switch in Blog Post 6); however, it did result in me changing how I viewed my data.
Having noticed that forb species tended to change drastically over a small area, I originally set out to just characterize the forb species that reside along a riparian slope (and was completely ignorant of the patterns or processes that I should have expected to see). Following this, reflection on the underlying mechanisms led me to think that soil moisture would be the single largest factor contributing to forb distribution. I was (partially) correct in that assessment, but had an incomplete picture. As I began to dive deeper into the literature and the course work, the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis kept coming up. I then related what I had learned concerning this to my study area. It allowed me postulate that I would likely see a “hump-shaped” relationship of richness and diversity along the elevational gradient of my study. The reason for this was because I expected that the inundation of the river caused disturbance; therefore, the region of maximum disturbance would be at the lowest elevations of my study area, the areas of least disturbance would be at the highest elevations of my study area and the highest richness and diversity would occur somewhere in the middle. However, yet again, I was (partially) correct. Examination of my data revealed a biphasic pattern of richness and diversity (in which there were two peaks). I now understand that this is because disturbance was being exerted on both ends of my study area: river inundation at the lowest reaches, and anthropogenic at the highest reaches. Therefore, the area of lowest disturbance resided in the center of my study area, and areas of maximal disturbance resided at both margins.
As the result of journeying through the development, implementation and analysis of my project: I now have a great appreciation for ecological theory and just how complicated it can be to develop and study. At first glance, my project seemed simple: just go out and count the forbs. However, the amount of variables that were responsible for the patterns that I was seeing are overwhelming. I feel that I have managed to capture a few of the most important ones related to forb distribution along an elevational gradient in a riparian zone; however, I now know that I have only scratched the surface.
Blog Post 7: Theoretical Perspectives
The theoretical basis or aim of my research project is to determine the likely cause of the observed variance in soil texture along a slope gradient in a grassland ecosystem. The theory that I am exploring and forms the parameters for my field data collection include, slope gradient and vegetation type and cover as possible explanatory factors for the observed variance in soil texture. Ideas that underpin my research include the understanding the gravity & water transport finer soil particles further away from steep slope positions then coarser soil particles. Another idea is the role that vegetation plays in determining soil texture in a given site.
Keywords: Soil texture, slope gradient, grassland ecosystem.
