On December 18th, in the afternoon looking at the sunny weather again, I went to Knox Mountain Park, for my final data, I planned to have 10 replicates of quadrats today, one at the entry of the Knox Mountain Park, three at the base of the mountain, three at the mid slope of the mountain, and then three at the top slope of the mountain. After observing the first quadrat at entry of 50 by 50 cm, I stepped towards the first location, which I chose randomly with my stopwatch hitting 1 minute while I was walking, further I kept one metre distance between each quadrat. I observed density of all the five plant species I selected. I measured the pH of the soil and texture with some laboratory tests. There was no obstruction by weather as it has not rained or snowed past week. I visually measured sunlight availability at each location, then plotted everything in a tabular form to compare how topography of each location was playing a major role in growth of the species.
The afternoon unfolded smoothly without weather impediments, providing an ideal setting for data collection, notably the time-intensive nature of plant density counts, were addressed with patience and meticulous observation. The laboratory tests for soil pH and texture brought an additional layer of precision to the process.
Ancillary Patterns and Reflections: As the data collection progressed, the meticulous tabulation revealed similar patterns as per my hypothesis. Ancillary observations hinted at the interconnected relation of topography, mid slope again proved to have more abundant species as its topography suited adequate sunlight availability, and less erosion. The influence of the mountain’s slopes on the ecological dynamics became more pronounced, inviting deeper reflections on the initial hypothesis.
be sure and look at the rule of 10, per Gotelli
that ‘rule’ supports 10 replicates across a substrate
having a little trouble reading or learning about the specifics here ; )
perhaps you can elabarate a bit in your small assignments
thanks