Goldenrod Transect Dataset

In this experiment, a dataset was collected for 25 goldenrods in the grasslands in York University. To begin, a transect was laid down randomly within the grasslands at Pond Rd. in York University. I walked along the transect and recorded the distance of goldenrods, plants with bright yellow visible flowers, on both sides of the transect in meters. After recording the distance, the height of each goldenrod was measured with a spare transect. To measure the height, I held the transect vertically, starting from the highest point of the plant, the flower, to base of the stem. The height was also measured in meters. Then I counted the number of alive leaves for each goldenrod for which I had already measured the distance and the height. I defined alive leaves as all the leaves that had not dried up. After counting the leaves, I checked the goldenrod to see if it had any flowers. I recorded the each goldenrod. Some goldenrods had a bundle of flowers at the top of the plant. These bundles consisted of small flowers in close proximity to one another, which were separated by small branches bearing no leaves. As a result, I defined each bundle as 1 flower. Lastly, I examined the surrounding of each goldenrod for other plants. Using a scale of 0-3 in terms of crowdedness, each goldenrod was either assigned a 0 if it was in an open area, 1 if there were some plants near the goldenrod, 2 if there were quite a few plants surrounding the goldenrod and 3 if the goldenrod was surrounded by a very crowded bunch of plants within 50cm.

本实验采集了约克大学草原区域内25株一枝黄花（goldenrod）的相关数据集。首先，研究人员在约克大学庞德路（Pond Rd.）周边的草原中随机布设一条样带（transect）。随后沿该样带行进，记录样带两侧带有亮黄色可见花朵的一枝黄花与样带的距离，单位为米。完成距离记录后，使用备用样带测量每株被测一枝黄花的株高：将样带垂直放置，从植株的最高点——即花序——至茎秆基部进行测量，株高单位同样为米。针对已完成距离与株高测量的一枝黄花，统计其存活叶片数量：本研究将存活叶片定义为未干枯的叶片。完成叶片计数后，检查每株一枝黄花是否带有花序。部分一枝黄花的植株顶端带有花簇，该花簇由大量紧密聚集的小型花朵构成，花朵之间由无叶片的细小枝条分隔，因此本研究将每个花簇计为1朵花。最后，调查每株一枝黄花周边的其他植物分布情况，采用0-3级拥挤度评分标准：若植株处于开阔区域则赋值为0；若植株附近存在少量其他植物则赋值为1；若植株周围存在较多其他植物则赋值为2；若植株50厘米范围内被极为密集的植物群落包裹则赋值为3。