Analysis on Plantago Major Plants Development Based on the Effect of Resource Competition by Crowding on Plant Sunlight Exposure and Leaf Size at York University

The purpose of this experiment was to examine the effect of resource competition and distribution on plants inhabiting grasslands through quadrat sampling technique. Data collection for this study was obtained on the Mondays of 19th and 26th of October 2015 between 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm at the Dandy grasslands of York University. On both collection days, site conditions exhibited temperature ranging from 11°C – 15°C with cool and breezy wind conditions. The data collection for this study was performed by a group comprising of Aziza, Paula, Sahar and Shahana. It was hypothesized that as resource competition increases and plant distribution increases, growth and development of target species will be negatively affected due to reduced accessibility of Plantago major plants to resources such as sunlight essential for growth. This hypothesis was tested through examination of the following variables: average leaf size, crowding, total number of leaves, total number of leaves exposed to sunlight and sunlight percentage. Sampling technique used in this experiment was the quadrats placed at random within target location in order to examine the distribution of the target plant species. Each data collection day produced 70 replicates of sampling Plantago major plants that totalled to 140 replicates by the end of the second day. Crowding was determined by assessment of the density of other plant species relative to the Plantago major plant in one quadrat. The length of Plantago major leaf was measured from the stem of the plant to the tip of the leaf using the measuring tape. The average length was then calculated for each individual Plantago major plant. Sunlight exposure, presented in percentage, was calculated by dividing the number of leaves exposed to sunlight of each individual plant by the total number of leaves from the same plant. It should be noted that this variable is sensitive to time of day and location as exposure to sunlight and shade is relative to the time of day. It was observed that dropping temperature due to season change may have an influence in the abundance of Plantago major plants in grasslands as different species of plants as well as target species prepare for the coming cold temperatures.