A Quantitative Analysis of Four Variables Along a Grassland Transect

Methods: For this lab, students worked in groups of 3-5 individuals. The number of members in this group was five. Four datasets were collected, one published by each group member. Transects were used within the grassland to collect this dataset: randomly place transect tape, walk along it, and select a visible plant species that is relatively simple to identify and recognize quickly. Every time a target plant species was recognized, the distance on the transect found, its height, the number of leaves, the number of flowers, and whether it was in a crowded patch of other plants (0 = open, 1 some plants nearby, 2 = quite a few plants, and 3 = very crowded bunch of plants within 50 cm) were all recorded. At least 50 individuals were sampled. If there was a need to run out another transect to capture 25 plants of the entire species, a random number table was used and the tape was moved over, in order to repeat the experiment. Outside Conditions: 90% shade cover, shards of sunlight coming through the spaces in the trees' canopy, slight breeze, little to no grass in the analyzed quadrats, dead maple leaves of varying colors, cool (lower than room temperature), last set of data recorded at 5:09 pm, occasional encounter of snails on plants, frequent observation of Purple Aster, and Canadian Goldenrod plants, maple leaf saplings varied in size from a bud, to a fully grown plant.