Yorku.grassland.disturbed area .csv

Census: The day which a specific site was
surveyed. The census day correlates to when and where the data was collected.

Calendar.date: The exact day, month and year when
the census was conducted.  

Campus: The university where the census
was conducted for this particular experiment. 

Group_ID:
The identification
label corresponding to the group and lab section who has conducted the census.
 A group of 3-5 students enrolled in the university were considered a
group.

Habitat:
The natural
environment type where data is collected. An area with environmental properties
and interactions unique to that area was considered an individual
habitat. 

Lat: The latitude coordinate, in
degrees, of the site at the current repetition. This value was determined using
a GPS.

Long: The longitude coordinate, in
degrees, of the site at the current repetition. This value was determined using
a GPS.

Elevation: The elevation of the site at the
current repetition, measured in meters above sea level. This value was
determined using a GPS.

Rep: The trial number of the current
experiment. This value is determined according to experimenter's count.

Abundance.native.plants: The number of individuals of a
native plant species seen in the 1m by 1 m quadrant. Individuals whose leaves
were in the quadrat but their roots were outside the quadrat were not
considered.  A plant species was considered native according to the lab
technician's description.

Abundance.exotic.plants: The number of individuals of an
exotic plant species seen in the 1m by 1m quadrat.  Individuals whose
leaves were in the quadrat but their roots were outside the quadrat were not
considered. A plant species was considered exotic according to the lab
technician's identification.

Total.number.flowers
(quadrat): The
total number of flowers visible in the 1m by 1m quadrat. Only living flowers
were considered in this value, but flowers present could be of any maturity.
Individuals with flowers must have roots inside the quadrat for the flower to
be considered. 

Abundance.woody.plants: The number of individuals of woody
plants seen within 0.5m of the left and right side of the 25m long transect.
 A woody plant must be greater than 1.5m in height to be considered in
this value. The woody plant must not be uprooted for it to be considered

Canopy.cover: 
The percentage of
sky covered by trees in an upward perspective used to represent how much light
is blocked by trees. The data was collected by putting our hands in a way to
form a square and keeping it toward the sky and estimating which percentage of
the square does not let light through. The same area square was used in each
measurement. Only one perspective was considered for each data value.

Ground.cover:
The percentage
of ground that was covered by vegetation within a 1m radius of where
standing. Estimations were made by dividing the visual area directly below feet
into smaller sections and adding the sum area covered by any vegetation within
the total area.

Total.number.flowers
(transect): The
total number of flowers visible within 0.5m of the left and right side of the
25m long transect. Only living flowers were considered in this value, but
flowers could be of any maturity. 

Abundance.vertebrates: The total number of individuals classified as
a vertebrate that was visible within a 50m radius of a central location in the
woodlot. Area was observed for 15 minutes. Individuals were counted by sight in
that time. Any species with recognizable vertebrate morphology were considered.
Any participants of the lab were not considered in the count.

Vertebrate.species: The number of different recognizable species
visible within a 50m radius of a central location in the woodlot. Area was
observed for 15 minutes. Any vertebrate with clear morphological
characteristics unique to other vertebrates in the area were considered to be
its own species group. This data was counted by sight. Any participants of the
lab were not considered in the count. 

Abundance.human: The total number of humans seen within a 50m
radius of a central location in the woodlot. Area was observed for 15 minutes.
Any participants of the lab were not considered in the count.

Abundance.invertebrates.pantraps: The total number of
individual insects visible in the soapy water of one single pan trap 1.5 hours
after it had been set. Pan traps were set in alternating patterns in the order
blue, white, and yellow. Invertebrates were counted by sight. Any species with
recognizable morphology of an invertebrate were considered. Any individuals not
in the soapy water were excluded from the count. Pan traps used were of
identical size and contained relatively equal volumes of soapy water.

Abundance.invertebrates.sweeps: The total number of individuals
taxonomically classified as an invertebrate that was visible in the sweep net
after a swift and repetitive figure eight movement along a transect for 50m.
Individuals were counted by sight. Any species with recognizable invertebrate
morphology were considered.

Abundance.invertebrates.observed: The total number of
individuals taxonomically classified as an invertebrate that was visible within
a 5m radius of a central location in the woodlot. Area was observed for 15
minutes. Individuals were counted by sight in that time. Any species with
recognizable invertebrate morphology were considered.

Data was collected in the Danby Grassland and disturbed area
found outside of York University campus on a Wednesday mid-October around 3:00pm.
There was a clear sky, little to no wind and a temperature of 18oC. The grassland
consisted of a relatively open area containing much vegetation. Most amounts of
vegetation appeared to be dead or dying. Grass, leaves, branches and some
litter covered the ground. The disturbed area consisted of a small land
consisting only of grass and two trees. It was found in between the grassland
and a parking lot. There were many cars driving past and construction area
nearby. A woodlot was nearby both locations. A dispersed crowd of 18 York
University students and one TA were walking within and between the areas
collecting different samples.  

It is hypothesized that both the abundance of woody plants and
canopy cover will have an effect on the amount of ground coverage because the
abundance of trees takes up more ground space from other plants in addition to
the increased canopy coverage that prevents sufficient amount of sunlight to
reach the ground plants nearby.

It is predicted that areas consisting of a higher abundance of
trees will have less vegetation seen on the ground, thus less ground coverage.

It is predicted that areas with less canopy coverage from nearby
trees will have a higher ground cover of vegetation.

The
tree data was collected at the Danby grassland and Danby disturbed grassland on
the York University campus. All four data sets were recorded in each grassland
for a total of 8 data sets.

Two
25 metre transects were spread out in a straight line for a total measurement
of 50 metres. Every two metres a 1 m x 1 m quadrat was randomly placed while
alternating right and left from the transect for a total of 25 replications.
This was performed in both the grassland and the disturbed grassland. The total
number of native, exotic and flower plants were estimated in the quadrat. The
type of species known to be exotic or native were provided before the
experiment was conducted.

Woody
Plants - Two 25 metre transects were spread out in a straight line for a total
measurement of 50 metres to record if a tree is on either side of the transect within
0.5 metres for every two metres along the transect. A tree was considered to be
a woody plant that was taller than 1.5 metres. 
Canopy coverage was estimated at every two metres by looking up and
providing a rough percentage of how the trees covered the immediate surrounding
sight. The same methods were used to estimate the vegetative ground cover at
these locations. Finally, the total number of flowers were also estimated
within the 0.5 metre distance from the transect. This was performed in both the
grassland and the disturbed grassland.

Vertebrates
and Invertebrates - A 50 meter radius was surveyed using two 25 meter transects
placed in a straight line. The total number of vertebrate species observed was recorded
in a 15 minute interval. People that belonged to the lab group were not
included in the data. The invertebrate abundance was done during a 15 minute
observation interval as well within a radius of 5 metres. This was performed in
both the grassland and the disturbed grassland.

 Invertebrates
– Two 25 metre transects were spread out in a straight line for a total
measurement of 50 metres.  6 pan traps
were placed 3 meters apart. The pan traps were placed with alternating colours
at each location and the total number of invertebrates were recorded in each.
Next, sweep nets were used while walking the entire 50 metre transect length.
This was performed 10 times and the total number of invertebrates was recorded
after each time the experimenter walked the 50 metres. These were separate
methods in which invertebrate numbers were measured. This was performed in both
the grassland and the disturbed grassland.