Abundance and Cover of Plant and Grass Vegetation in a Grassland at York University

The study explores the diversity of plant species in a grassland. Hypothesis: In a grassland, the distribution of specific plant species and grasses are random. Predictions: The number of plants species in across quadrats should vary. The number of individual plants should also vary across quadrats. We should also see that the areas occupied by grass and vegetation should vary across quadrats. Methods:- 25 quadrats were placed randomly at a grassland near Keele and Steeles at York University, Keele Campus from 3:00 to 4:30 on sunny and warm conditions. Each quadrat has an area of 1m2 and hence, the total sum of the areas of all the quadrats is 25m2.- In each quadrat, the number of individual plants was counted as well as the number of unique plant species. The total cover of vegetation and grass was also approximated for each quadrat.- The data was uploaded to figshare.Meta-data: Abundance of plants: defined as the number of individual plants counted per quadrat. The data is continuous and quantitative. Number of species: defined as the number of unique species seen per quadrat. The data is continuous and quantitative. Total cover of plants: proportion of the area of the quadrat that is covered by plants. The data is continuous and quantitative. Total cover of grass: proportion of the area of the quadrat that is covered by grass. The data is continuous and quantitative.

本研究聚焦草原植物物种多样性的探究。研究假说：草原生境内，特定植物物种与草本植物的分布呈随机状态。研究预测：各样方内的植物物种数量应存在差异；植物个体总数亦会随样方不同而出现变化；同时可观测到，草本植物与植被所占据的面积在各样方间存在差异。
研究方法：
1. 于约克大学基尔校区（Keele Campus）基尔与斯蒂尔斯（Keele and Steeles）附近的草原，在晴朗温暖的天气条件下，于3:00至4:30时段随机布设25个样方（quadrat）。每个样方面积为1平方米，所有样方的总面积合计为25平方米。
2. 针对每个样方，分别统计其内的植物个体总数与独特植物物种数量，并估算该样方内植被与草本植物的总盖度。
3. 本研究数据已上传至figshare平台。
元数据说明：
- 植物丰度（Abundance of plants）：定义为每个样方内统计得到的植物个体总数，属于连续型定量数据。
- 物种数量（Number of species）：定义为每个样方内观测到的独特植物物种数量，属于连续型定量数据。
- 植物总盖度（Total cover of plants）：指样方内被植被覆盖的面积占比，属于连续型定量数据。
- 草本植物总盖度（Total cover of grass）：指样方内被草本植物覆盖的面积占比，属于连续型定量数据。