Cindy Biao
Mr. Kriegler
Biology H
May 19, 14
Final Plot Reflection
In general, our plot visit was pretty fun; even though the weather was almost bad all the time. We had snow, and big rainfall. We still observed a lot of changes during the five times of plot visit. The first time was at October sixteenth in 2013, the weather was chill and things began to die at that moment. We saw many different organisms; there were turkey tail mushroom, pink mushroom, spiders, snails and some bugs.
The second time we visited the weather got colder, and the leaves had been falling off a lot, so the leaves on the ground got sicker, most of the turned yellow or red. However, this time, we couldn’t really see any organisms anymore based on the cold weather, the only things that left were a small baby red oak, some blue fungus and the turkey tail mushroom. And the leaves on the ground also got thicker.
The third time we visited our plot was February 26, 2014, it was already three months after the second one. The weather was still kind of cold, so we didn’t see as much changes as we expected to see, there weren’t much growing plants or any organisms appeared. But we did see some buds growing out.
The fourth time we visit our plot, we didn't take any pictures or videos, or collect any data. We did a silent observation for two minutes. From the observation, I realized that due to the cold weather, there were not many obvious changes, but our plot did have some grass and trees start turning green and there were some baby plants started coming out from ground.
Then, it is our final plot visit; it was on April 30, 2014. The temperature got higher, and it was raining on the day before we got there, so that might be the reasons for the impressing changes in our plot. There were a lot of different organisms growing out in our plot. We saw a kind of organism named bear corn/squaw-roots, which is a fungus-like flower, new growing maple, baby sourwood, white pine, small false solomens seal, turkey tail mushrooms, black cherry, baby white oak, and oak gall. We also could hear bird sing, and some bugs.
Throughout the entire plot visit, I realized that our plot have a lot of sourwood. And what really surprised me is the turkey tail mushrooms, it was always there, no matter what month or season. And we also found this really cool plant called bear corn. On the contrary I didn’t expect that little changes on February since it was almost spring, but I forgot the weather and temperature changes. From the several plot visits; I think that the environment changes are not only depends on the season or months but also the weather and the temperature. May be just one time of rainfall or a suddenly temperature changing can cause a huge difference. In general, I think our plot is in a pretty good shape, we have a good diversity in our plot, we have different kinds of organisms and new plants coming out, but since we have sourwood more than any other plants, I am a little bit worried that the sourwood might take control of the whole plot, became the dominate. If we continually observing our plot, I would expect the bear corns have flowers coming out, and the baby white oak and sourwood grow bigger, and the plot might got expanded due to the increase of sizes and numbers of the plants in our plot. Our plot is like a small version of a forest, it needs to have different kinds of organisms, plants to share nutrition, help each other, and also compete for goods. That is how a forest needs to be.
Mr. Kriegler
Biology H
May 19, 14
Final Plot Reflection
In general, our plot visit was pretty fun; even though the weather was almost bad all the time. We had snow, and big rainfall. We still observed a lot of changes during the five times of plot visit. The first time was at October sixteenth in 2013, the weather was chill and things began to die at that moment. We saw many different organisms; there were turkey tail mushroom, pink mushroom, spiders, snails and some bugs.
The second time we visited the weather got colder, and the leaves had been falling off a lot, so the leaves on the ground got sicker, most of the turned yellow or red. However, this time, we couldn’t really see any organisms anymore based on the cold weather, the only things that left were a small baby red oak, some blue fungus and the turkey tail mushroom. And the leaves on the ground also got thicker.
The third time we visited our plot was February 26, 2014, it was already three months after the second one. The weather was still kind of cold, so we didn’t see as much changes as we expected to see, there weren’t much growing plants or any organisms appeared. But we did see some buds growing out.
The fourth time we visit our plot, we didn't take any pictures or videos, or collect any data. We did a silent observation for two minutes. From the observation, I realized that due to the cold weather, there were not many obvious changes, but our plot did have some grass and trees start turning green and there were some baby plants started coming out from ground.
Then, it is our final plot visit; it was on April 30, 2014. The temperature got higher, and it was raining on the day before we got there, so that might be the reasons for the impressing changes in our plot. There were a lot of different organisms growing out in our plot. We saw a kind of organism named bear corn/squaw-roots, which is a fungus-like flower, new growing maple, baby sourwood, white pine, small false solomens seal, turkey tail mushrooms, black cherry, baby white oak, and oak gall. We also could hear bird sing, and some bugs.
Throughout the entire plot visit, I realized that our plot have a lot of sourwood. And what really surprised me is the turkey tail mushrooms, it was always there, no matter what month or season. And we also found this really cool plant called bear corn. On the contrary I didn’t expect that little changes on February since it was almost spring, but I forgot the weather and temperature changes. From the several plot visits; I think that the environment changes are not only depends on the season or months but also the weather and the temperature. May be just one time of rainfall or a suddenly temperature changing can cause a huge difference. In general, I think our plot is in a pretty good shape, we have a good diversity in our plot, we have different kinds of organisms and new plants coming out, but since we have sourwood more than any other plants, I am a little bit worried that the sourwood might take control of the whole plot, became the dominate. If we continually observing our plot, I would expect the bear corns have flowers coming out, and the baby white oak and sourwood grow bigger, and the plot might got expanded due to the increase of sizes and numbers of the plants in our plot. Our plot is like a small version of a forest, it needs to have different kinds of organisms, plants to share nutrition, help each other, and also compete for goods. That is how a forest needs to be.
Morgan Morris
Mr. Kriegler
Honors Bio
May 16 2014
Final Plot Reflection
I started this plot project at the beginning of the year in October and the first visit was on the 16th. On that day my group and I picked an area that was close to the trail and on a mildly steep incline. We marked off the area using bright colored orange flags and strings that we tied around the trees. Through out the year we monitored the changes of the plot, which includes, the soil temperature, the pH, the leaf litter, the number of trees in the plot, the amount of fungi/protest, and the number of animals.
There were many changes throughout the year in the plot. The leaf litter started off low but then spiked up and the gradually went down. I expected this change though because before our 2nd plot visit I predicted that the leaf litter would increase due to the leaves falling off the trees. Although I did think that the leaf litter would be gone in the spring when it was really warm, however this did not happen, but the leaf litter did decrease significantly. Another change that in our plot was the soil moisture. It started off fairly low in the beginning of the year and then slowly got higher. I believe the soil moisture was higher in the winter months due to the large amount of snow that fell this year. I also think that, the snow and the leaf litter affected the ground temperature as well as the soil moisture. The ground temperature probably would have been warmer if it hadn’t snowed so much and if there was less leaf litter because the sun would have been able to warm it better. I believe that the amount of tall trees also affected the warmth of the ground temperature, because the branches and trees were also blocking the sun. The last major change I noticed in the plot was the number of trees that were growing in the plot. Originally there were 14 trees in the plot, but during the 4th plot visit I noticed that there were 2 more trees growing in the plot. They were identified as a white oak and a sourwood tree. This change surprised me the most because I thought that since the plot was already so densely packed with trees, no more would grow due to lack of space. One thing that stayed the same throughout the whole year was the pH level of the soil; it stayed at a neutral 7 for the entire year.
As for my expectations for the plot, I expected there to be more fungus, because there was only a small patch of fungi on a log. I also expected there to be more animal activity. For all of our 5 plot visits, there was no evidence of any animals. The location of our plot probably had an effect on this because the plot was very near a public trail and a highway. Also because of the plot’s location I did not think that the plot’s health would be as good as it is. The plot is extremely healthy, there are no invasive plant species and none of the trees are dying. I am not concerned for the future health of the plot; I think it will continue to flourish. If I were to do this project again, I think I would choose a different location for the plot. The new location would be on a flat area, near a creek with a lower number of trees. I would choose this kind of location because I really want to see the difference of the plot’s data.
Overall, this plot taught me to be more observant of things on nature, how to identify trees, and mushrooms and how to make connections by using that data that I collected.
Mr. Kriegler
Honors Bio
May 16 2014
Final Plot Reflection
I started this plot project at the beginning of the year in October and the first visit was on the 16th. On that day my group and I picked an area that was close to the trail and on a mildly steep incline. We marked off the area using bright colored orange flags and strings that we tied around the trees. Through out the year we monitored the changes of the plot, which includes, the soil temperature, the pH, the leaf litter, the number of trees in the plot, the amount of fungi/protest, and the number of animals.
There were many changes throughout the year in the plot. The leaf litter started off low but then spiked up and the gradually went down. I expected this change though because before our 2nd plot visit I predicted that the leaf litter would increase due to the leaves falling off the trees. Although I did think that the leaf litter would be gone in the spring when it was really warm, however this did not happen, but the leaf litter did decrease significantly. Another change that in our plot was the soil moisture. It started off fairly low in the beginning of the year and then slowly got higher. I believe the soil moisture was higher in the winter months due to the large amount of snow that fell this year. I also think that, the snow and the leaf litter affected the ground temperature as well as the soil moisture. The ground temperature probably would have been warmer if it hadn’t snowed so much and if there was less leaf litter because the sun would have been able to warm it better. I believe that the amount of tall trees also affected the warmth of the ground temperature, because the branches and trees were also blocking the sun. The last major change I noticed in the plot was the number of trees that were growing in the plot. Originally there were 14 trees in the plot, but during the 4th plot visit I noticed that there were 2 more trees growing in the plot. They were identified as a white oak and a sourwood tree. This change surprised me the most because I thought that since the plot was already so densely packed with trees, no more would grow due to lack of space. One thing that stayed the same throughout the whole year was the pH level of the soil; it stayed at a neutral 7 for the entire year.
As for my expectations for the plot, I expected there to be more fungus, because there was only a small patch of fungi on a log. I also expected there to be more animal activity. For all of our 5 plot visits, there was no evidence of any animals. The location of our plot probably had an effect on this because the plot was very near a public trail and a highway. Also because of the plot’s location I did not think that the plot’s health would be as good as it is. The plot is extremely healthy, there are no invasive plant species and none of the trees are dying. I am not concerned for the future health of the plot; I think it will continue to flourish. If I were to do this project again, I think I would choose a different location for the plot. The new location would be on a flat area, near a creek with a lower number of trees. I would choose this kind of location because I really want to see the difference of the plot’s data.
Overall, this plot taught me to be more observant of things on nature, how to identify trees, and mushrooms and how to make connections by using that data that I collected.