Studying the effects of different abiotic factors on the diversity and abundance of common plant species through the observations of growth in planter boxes; the initial growing period was delayed due to an intense dry season in early fall, an uncommon event for the BC lower mainland. Although the initial research was delayed, the growth in planters is now visible enough to begin observing the differences in abundance and diversity. The initial data collected supported my predictions regarding the addition of fresh soil having positive affects on the initial plant growth rates, I was surprised by the visibility of the diversity in the planter box with the added rocks so early in the observations.
I am going to continue to implement the same sampling technique, as it seems to be giving clear, comparable observations and despite the potential exclusion of species in plots not being considered in the sample; which will be recorded and noted in my final observations as a special note because the planter boxes have clear and defined borders allowing for total species counts, but the samples and calculations will only include the sample plots selected (as I observed another species in the untouched planter box that was outside the sampling plots).
Hello zhendriks,
Great job on your data collection and experimental design so far! I admire the use of planter boxes in your experiment as it allows you to control for far more conditions that observing plant growth in a wild setting. I also like how your experiment is specific and focuses on the growth of the specific species in question but that your observations are thorough and includes observations about the presence of other species and factors. This is very important in considering the final results of an experiment and it looks as though you have thought out this aspect of your project thoroughly!
I was curious as to whether you have scheduled standardized time points in which you are collecting data for plant growth? Consistency of measurements always improves the visualization of trends and helps identify patterns that may arise in the data analysis. Furthermore, are growing conditions the same for all plantar boxes? Is the soil the only variable at play in each box? As a final thought, what would prove your hypothesis wrong? I may think it is a statistical test of some sort comparing the two groups looking for any p value more extreme than 0.05.
Great work so far, I look forward to seeing your experiment results,
Kind regards,
Aidan B