Category: Percy Hebert

Post 2: Sources of Scientific Information

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Laura Adams

 

a) I have chosen the following research paper, published in the journal Botany, as a source of scientific information:

Plant Community – soil relationships in a topographically diverse grassland in southern interior British Columbia, Canada

Lee, R.N., Bradfield, G.E., Krzic, M., Newman, R.F. & Cumming, W.P. 2014. Plant community – soil relationships in a topographically diverse grassland in southern interior British Columbia, Canada. Botany, 92:837–845.

 

b)  This paper is academic, peer-reviewed research material.

c) This paper is published in the academic journal, Botany, which has a set of guidelines in place where articles are edited and peer-review before articles are published.  It has been written by experts in the field, including Lee, Bradfield (a plant ecology expert), and Cumming who are all part of the Department of Botany at UBC.  Throughout the article, there are references to other papers written by these authors, as well as references to many other articles in reputable peer-reviewed journals.  There is a bibliography at the end of the article listing all of the sources the authors used.  There is also a link to the doi (dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjb-2014-0107) where readers can access the raw data from the study.

The paper reports the results of a field study by the authors, There is a section outlining methods used to perform the experiment, which would allow another experimenter to replicate this study.  There are diagrams (figures) used to demonstrate how the authors performed their sampling.  There is a results section that describes the findings of the study and how data was analyzed.

All of these aspects of this source allow it to meet the criteria for being an academic, peer-reviewed research article.

 

Source:

https://content-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.tru.ca/ContentServer.asp?T=P&P=AN&K=99345390&S=R&D=a9h&EbscoContent=dGJyMMvl7ESeprI4xNvgOLCmr1GeqLBSsqe4TbOWxWXS&ContentCustomer=dGJyMPGrtE%2BwqLJLuePfgeyx43zx

Post 1: Observations

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Blog Post 1

 

Area:

This is Lac Du Bois grasslands, which is adjacent to Tranquille Rd. in Kamloops BC.

 

Physical:

This area is characterized by volcanic cliffs and serpentine soils that show up as red outcroppings, which has given rise to the name Cinnamon Ridge.

 

Size:

The area in question is a little over 1 hectare (10,000 m2)

 

Location:

Kamloops, BC

 

Vegetation:

Bunchgrass Ecosystem (BPPE)

 

Designation:

This area was designated in 1995 as Lac Du Bois Grasslands Protected Area as its formal name under the BC Parks Act.

 

When:

Sunday January 13, 2019 at approximately 12:30 pm

I hiked through muddy tracks to reach the test area and remained there until about 2:30

The weather was overcast & -1oC, with little snow left on the ground.

 

I was driving by Cinnamon Ridge composting area and noticed a patch of land that appeared to have a disturbance.  In 2009, from what I have been told, there was a spark from the CN railway in a very hot summer day that started a grass fire that spread up into the Lac Du Bois grasslands.  As the provincial fire control center by the Kamloops Airport was close by, they responded immediately and the fire did not spread too quickly.  Being a naturalist, I walked through the area, making observations about the differences in two areas.  What I observed was somewhat surprising, where there was a distinct edge where on one side there were many plant varieties growing, including sagebrush, and the other side where there were less vegetation and little to no sagebrush.  There was a distinct trail that people use for hiking and biking on one edge separating the two areas.  There were burnt out stumps of sagebrush scattered throughout the disturbed area.  Although it has been 10 years since this fire occurred, it is surprising to see how slowly this area has taken to recover from such a disturbance.  I observed cactus, sagebrush, a variety of different grasses that grew in different bunches like funnels, and patches of lichen & mosses scattered over the ground that formed a “crust”, as well as some early stages of weeds such as knapweed.  This crust that was covering the soil was curious, and after speaking to others about this area I learned this crust served to keep the moisture in the soil, and seemed to only grow where the sagebrush is growing. The smaller sage had foliage that smelled quite nice and fragrant.

 

Questions:

 

  1. Why are there no sagebrush growing in the burned area and why is the bunchgrass able to grow so well in the disturbed area?
  2. How different are the two areas in respect to other vegetation, without consideration for sagebrush?
  3. Are the differences seen in this site similar to other sites in the same region that have experienced such a disturbance?

 

 

 

Burn site near Cinnamon Ridge

 

Ecotone division; Burn site, North facing, Lac Du Bois
Burn site, facing West, Lac Du Bois
Sagebrush

 

Lichen/Moss Covering Ground

 

Post 9: Field Research Reflections

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This was my first experience collecting ecological data for a study, I found it to be enjoyable but difficult. I found it difficult to decide on a research topic because there were so many options to choose from at my location! I believe I followed by experimental design pretty well, however, I did make a few changes throughout the course of my field research:

  • During initial data collection I recorded which quadrant (NW, NE, SW, SE) each tree was present, I found that this was immensely time consuming and the exact quadrant location of each tree was not of importance to this study
  • Elimination of Alnus rubra – My reconnaissance of the study area I realized I only observed two juvenile Alnus rubra trees, and decided that I would choose sample points which lacked these two trees. I chose to do so because it would create empty data which had no significance to this study
  • After my data collection, I decided to rank the exposure levels of each area rather than referring to them as ‘protected’ or ‘direct’. I allocated a level number of 1 to the most protected areas and 6 to the most direct.

Implementing an experimental design in the context of ecology was extremely eye opening. I discovered that there are several steps to follow for accurately formulating a successful study.

Post 8: Tables and Graphs

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Here is my proposed graph from the data I collected:

I decided to show each tree species at each exposure level rather than creating three graphs of each species. I attempted several formats before concluding that this was the most representable option.

These results slightly follow the predicted pattern, Quercus garryana most abundant in low exposure regions, and Pseudotsuga menziesii present in the highest exposure level. The pattern varies off track slightly, showing that my results may require further interpretation. The Quercus garryana trend does show significantly low values at the highest exposure level. Pseudotsuga menziesii values vary with a parabola trend. The Arbutus menziesii data appear to demonstrate an unexpected trend – low values in extreme high and extreme low exposure levels. This result may indicate that Arbutus menziesii require very specific conditions for growth. Arbutus menziesii values are also relatively low, showing that in both extremes it is not the dominant species.

Further exploration could include analyzing the substrate type and soil cover in each area, to determine if the trends follow the same pattern.

Post 7: Theoretical Perspectives

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My hypothesis is based on the ecological process of small scale changes in habitat, therefore, relative tree abundance in a range of environments. I predicted that there would be more Douglas fir and less Garry oak trees in areas of direct ocean exposure.

My project focusses on the ecological processes of competition and adaptation. Through my project I am hoping to deduce an abundance pattern between tree species and direct ocean exposure. Douglas fir trees are described as competitors against garry oak trees, which changes the garry oak ecosystem drastically. Historicaly, garry oak ecosystems have experiences aboriginal induced burning practices to reset the environment. If my predictions are correct, the harsher environment Douglas firs can withstand contribute to the rate of competition. Another ecological process to consider is the range of environments in Piper’s lagoon, some may experience higher risk of being overtaken. The areas in which Douglas firs are more abundant appear densely packed forest, whereas Garry oak trees appear to thrive in rocky sunny substrate areas.

Three keywords to describe my research project:

  • Exposure
  • Tree habitat
  • Adaptation

Post 6: Data Collection

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Data was collected January 16th 2019 at 9:00am at Piper’s Lagoon, Nanaimo, BC

I separated my area into six areas (A through F) in which I implemented a closest distance quadrant method. Each sample point I recorded the nearest four tree species, and each area contained 5 sample points resulting in 120 tree species recorded. I chose to separate the points enough that any tree would not be sampled twice. I recorded the location of points on a separate map. I decided to remove Alnus rubra from the analysis because only a single tree was observed (but not recorded). I found it difficult to choose representative sites without being biased. I wanted to record data that represented each area, therefore, chose to consistently follow the footpath.

The six areas studied had previously been divided into ocean exposure levels from 1-6, 1 being the most protected. Most protected E > F > A >B> D > C

The observed patterns during data collection were:

  • Quercus garryana and Arbutus menziesii occur in similar environments on rocky substrates with little soil
  • Pseudotsuga menziesii grow concentrated together forming forested environment
  • Quercus garryana was observed in every area in different abundances

These made me reflect on my hypothesis that ocean exposure affects angiosperm occurrence. Perhaps other factors such as substrate type are contributing to the pattern.

Post 9: Field Research

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Overall, my experience in designing and carrying out a field experiment was very eye opening. This was my first time completing research of this length. I had a few challenges along the way and learned a lot about what it takes to be successful in a study like this. Firstly, I struggled with time management. This being my first online course, it was hard to stay on top of things when there were no weekly deadlines. Additionally, I realize now that I did not put enough time into the initial planning of my field study. I had the general idea of what I wanted to do, however, there were details like where to sample, putting enough information in my field journal and even my initial hypothesis that I did not plan enough. It would have saved me time overall if I spent a bit of extra time planning in the beginning before actually going out and collecting samples. Considering the amount of planning, testing and time that went into my relatively small field assignment, my appreciation for the ecological theory and the ecologists who do research has definitely increased.

Post 8: Tables and graphs

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Overall, I did not have any difficulties aggregating and summarizing my data. I created a table showing the percent soil moisture content for each replicate, and also a mean percent soil moisture content for each location (Douglas fir, sagebrush and cattail). I ran an ANOVA test and t-tests on the data in this table and found that there was a significance between the values, (p < 0.05). The results from the tests did not surprise me, that is because when looking at the data, each location had percent soil moisture values that very rarely overlapped with the other locations.

Additionally, I graphed the mean percent soil moisture for each location in a bar graph. In this graph I used standard deviation error bars which did not overlap, also suggesting that there is a significant difference between the percent soil moisture content at each location.

Given my findings, it would be interesting to look at more locations (with the same Douglas fir, sagebrush, and cattail species),in different cities or even just different areas of Kamloops to see if the soil moisture varies much from what I found in my chosen locations.

Post 7: Theoretical Perspectives

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The hypothesis for my study is that the moisture level of soil greatly affects the vegetation of that area. Therefore, I predict that location 2 will have the lowest percent moisture in the soil, followed by location 1 and finally location 3. My hypothesis touches on a few ecological processes. Those being species richness, water cycling, and variation in vegetation.

To summarize my study in three keywords, I would include soil moisture, vegetation variation, and vegetation success.

Post 6: Data Collection

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My data involved collecting soil samples from each of my three locations. I randomly took 5 soil samples from within a 1m x 1m quadrant in each area. The quadrant was placed in an area which contained the main vegetation present, however, because in the main vegetation in location 1 was fir trees the quadrant was placed directly beside them. I took the soil samples from the top soil, meaning first I scraped off the top layer known as the humus and collected from the layer underneath. All my samples were placed in plastic bags to prevent moisture loss and I brought them to a lab at my University. There I placed them in individual foil cups, removing any rocks or other debris and pounding out the clumps. I then weighed them and placed them in an oven between 105-107 degrees celsius for 24 hours. Afterwards, I weighed the samples again and calculated the percent moisture of each.

I haven’t had any problems implementing my sampling design. However, I have noticed that there are far more factors than I initially considered that could also play a role in determining the vegetation present. This realization is not going to change how I go about my research, but I will take more consideration into this factor when I am writing my results.