BIOL 2050 Dataset 1: Danby Grassland Diversity in Vegetation

The data was collected at Danby Grassland at York University: Keele Campus on Thursday, September 24 2015 at approximately 3:00pm. The duration of the experiment took approximately 40 minutes and was completed at around 3:40pm. The temperature was 22°C and it was sunny with clear skies. The area site where the sampling took place was large, dry and open. The vegetation increased as you went further into the site. Species such as Common Milkweed, Common Plantain, Grass, and White Oak were predominate in the area of interest. The sampling was done in groups of four and was divided amongst the group members: Azeb, Eman, Bava and Saraswatie. This particular sampling was conducted by Azeb with the help of Eman. The purpose of this lab was to obtain experience in sampling and publishing data by becoming familiar with the tools and conducting fieldwork experiments. Overall, dataset one was meant to determine the level of diversity in vegetation in a given area. The sample size for this dataset is 20. The data was collected using 1m x 1m metal square quadrats which were placed randomly across the grassland. The plots were scattered randomly to obtain and accurate representation of the area. This was repeated and recorded 20 times using pen and paper in an organized chart. The total abundance was determined by counting every individual plant present within the quadrats with exception of grass which was counted as a whole instead of counting each individual blade. Total percent coverage and total grass coverage was determined by visually estimating the percentage of vegetation and grass occupied in the quadrats. The total number of different species was identified by analyzing the plant based on features such as colour, shape, and size.