Lab 2- Plant Diversity in Grassland

The objective of this experiment was to use the random sampling by using the quadrats to measure the abundance of various species in the grassland. The site chosen to study- grassland was located beside Danby’s Woodlot. As directed by the TA, 1m2 quadrat and 20 sample points were randomly selected in the grassland. Moreover, it was ensured visually that each sample point was at least 1m to 1.5m apart. To begin with, the data gathering was divided among the group to make it less time consuming. Therefore, sample 1-10 were taken by Fara, Ratiba, and Reena in the shaded regions of the grassland. Meanwhile, sample 11-20 were taken in the radiant part of the grassland by Huda, and Olivia. To collect the sample, the quadrat rulers were tightened using the screw in the corner. Then, it was randomly placed in the grassland. The total abundance of plants in the plot was determined by counting the number of plants in 1/4 of the quadrats by one member of the group. Then, this value was multiplied by 4 to retrieve the total abundance of species. This was done because counting each species within the entire plot was time consuming. Afterwards, species richness within the quadrat was determined by identifying the number of different species within the entire plot. These differences were pointed out by looking at the leaf size, flower size, and leaf form of the plant. Next, total cover of all vegetation within the plot was estimated. The empty spaces were excluded from the total percentage (100%) that declined the percentage cover. In addition, the more standing plants/ grasses covering the area within the plot the higher the percentage cover. Moreover, these measurements were taken visually; therefore, the overlapping of plants was not considered. Lastly, percentage of grass cover was figured out by visually estimating the percentage of the plot covered with only grass. At the end, the data collected for sample 1-10 and sample 1-20 was noted down on one sheet of paper by Olivia.