Relationship between diameter at breast height, canopy cover, and tree location

<i>Methods</i> The study was performed at York University, Boyer Woodlot; Latitude: 43.773116, Longitude: -79.501118 from 3:00 PM – 3:45. This is a woodlot area, containing many species of trees, varying from areas of dense tree concentrations and areas of sparse tree concentrations. On the day of the study, the weather was sunny with an average temperature of 25 degrees Celsius, and a little bit of rain from 3:30 PM to 4:00PM. Two individuals used transect measuring tapes to measure the distance between adult trees and saplings of the same species. One person would hold one end of the transect measuring tape at the edge of the adult tree, while the other person would hold the other end of the transect measuring tape at the edge of the sapling, then report the measured distance.The species of trees used for the study were chosen at random. Adults of the chosen species ranged in diameter at breast height values of 0.10 m to 0.5 m. The saplings ranged in diameter at breast height values of 0.01 m to 0.03 m. The trees had thin branches with few leaves near the top of the tree. The trunk of the trees were brown and the trees were reddish in colour. Adult trees were classified as trees that were at least 6’ tall; saplings were classified as trees not meeting this minimum height requirement. This minimum height requirement was measured using the transect. A measuring tape was used to measure the diameter at breast height (DBH) of both the adult trees and the saplings. The same individual estimated the canopy coverage by making a square with their fingers then estimating how much sky they saw; the canopy coverage was reported as a percentage. The person collecting the canopy coverage data was 5’5 with a thumb length of 6 cm and an index finger length of 9 cm. <i>Hypothesis</i> To compete for resources, plants attempt to maximize height and surface area. This offers the advantage of enabling the trees to increase their acquisition of resources essential for survival, i.e., sunlight and water from rain. Trees that do not have this advantage of height and high surface area will be smaller than those who have the advantage. Thus, in a woodlot area, the trees that form the canopy coverage will be larger than the trees in the nearby surroundings, that are beneath the canopy coverage. <br> <i>Predictions:</i>1. The greater the canopy coverage value, the lower the DBH value of the sapling. 2. The greater the canopy coverage value, the higher the DBH value of the adult tree. 3. The greater the distance between the sapling and the adult tree of the same species, the greater the DBH value of the sapling.