The Effect of Sunlight and Crowding Level on Moss Coverage.

On Wednesday, October 14 and Wednesday, October 21 at York University between 14:30 and 17:30, an experiment was conducted in the woodlot to determine the effect of level of crowding and sunlight on moss coverage (all type of moss species were observed). A group of four students from BIOL 2050 Lab 3 conducted the experiment using 4 quadrats (1m x 1m) and 4 transects (30 meter long). The weather was between 10°C and 15°C with little to no wind in the two days the experiment was done. First, the student laid out the transect randomly from the edge of the forest until the transect reached thirty meters into the woodlot. Then, every five meters a quadrat was placed on the woodlot ground. Second, the student recorded whether or not there was any moss present. If no, the student placed a zero for moss coverage and if yes, the student would place the percentage of moss that was present in the quadrat. Third, for each quadrat the student recorded if the moss is surrounded by other plant species. The level of surrounding by using a scale of 0-3 (0=open, 1=some plants nearby, 2= quite a few plants nearby, 3= very crowded bunch of plants within 50 cm). Fourth, the student used both of their indexes and thumbs to make a square like shape, holding it up above where the quadrat laid, and the percentage of sunlight that was coming into the woodlot was recorded. Each student collected 20 to 30 data each, then all of the data was combined. Group 3 members: Mary H, Shaneil H, Gamsayini K and Prachi M.

10月14日周三及10月21日周三的14:30至17:30期间，研究团队于约克大学（York University）的小片林地内开展了一项实验，旨在探究植被拥挤程度与光照水平对苔藓覆盖度的影响，本次实验观测了所有苔藓物种类群。该实验由修读BIOL 2050课程实验3的四名学生完成，他们使用4个1m×1m的样方（quadrat）与4条30米长的样带（transect）开展研究。实验开展的两天内，气温介于10℃至15℃之间，风力微弱且近乎无风。
实验步骤如下：
1. 学生从森林边缘随机布设样带，直至样带延伸至小片林地内30米处；随后每间隔5米在林地地表布设一个样方。
2. 记录样方内是否存在苔藓：若无苔藓，则苔藓覆盖度记为0；若存在，则记录该样方内苔藓的覆盖百分比。
3. 针对每个样方，记录苔藓是否被其他植物物种包围，并采用0-3级评分量表表征周围植被拥挤程度：0代表开阔无遮挡，1代表附近存在少量植物，2代表附近存在较多植物，3代表50厘米范围内植物聚集极为密集。
4. 学生以双手食指与拇指组成方形框，将其置于样方上方，记录照射至小片林地内的光照百分比。
每名学生采集20至30组数据，随后将所有数据合并汇总。本次实验小组成员为：Mary H、Shaneil H、Gamsayini K与Prachi M。