There were a lot fewer mushrooms than I expected so I’m going to need to investigate something different. I also found that my 100 cm by 100 cm quadrat was difficult to use in the forest I was studying and didn’t give me as much useful information as I’d like, so I remade it into a 75 cm by 75 cm version, divided into nine squares with string. I went out again and found the quadrat much easier to use and that the finer detail told me more about the area in the quadrat.
Fortunetly, I took observations about all the plants that were in my quadrat and noticed unusual patterns about where invasive English ivy was. In some spots it was everywhere but a few steps away there was none and ferns dominated. The ivy didn’t seem to be strangling out the ferns, so I’m curious why it’s in some places but not others. The park I’m studying has ivy removed from trees once a year, but it grows unchecked on the forest floor.
I hypothesize that the ivy, ferns, Oregon grape and other ground plants will form an ecological gradient, and that ivy has squeezed itself into it. I think that it’s probably related to light and available moisture. Oregon grape seems to be associated with Western Red Cedar, but I haven’t been able to pick up an association for the other ground plants yet. I’m going to take a bunch of transects and see what’s going on.
Make sure you address Nancy’s comments in your small assignment 2 so that your hypothesis and how you are going to test is is clear. It is important to do this before you collect all of your data. What you have written here is not completely clear either. What pattern is causing the gradient and how do you think the gradient influences where you find Ivy. In other words, what is the pattern and what is the process (cause) that results in this pattern. What you think the underlying process / cause for your gradient then leads you to what you will measure in the field It may be helpful for you to review the tutorial on developing hypotheses. I do think you are close and a bit more time thinking through things and addressing the comments on small assignment 2 will help a lot before you continue your data collection.