FERMI QUADRAT PRAIRIE STUDY 2006

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Welcome to my prairie quadrat web page!

 

GPS LOCATION: N: 41º50'28.2''  W: 88°16'24.6''

STUDENT RESEARCHER: Caitlin

PICTURES:

 

 

 


 

 

 


 

Table of our Fermi Quadrat

DATA:

 

Plant Name Dominance Importance Value
Big Bluestem 5 31.923
Indian Grass 2 18.769
Rosinweed 3 23.153
Wild Bergamot 5 51.923
Yellow Coneflower 3 27.153
Fox Glove Beard Tongue 1 14.384
Sweet Clovers (tall) 60 313.076
Yarrow 6 44.307
Unlisted Oval Leaf 75 336.461
Kentucky Bluegrass 100 998.846

GRAPHS OF DOMINANCE AND IMPORTANCE VALUE:

 

 

 

 

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS:

 

Comparative Analysis

           

Comparing prairie plots helps when making a hypothesis about how plants grow. A prairie is a field full of a variety of different types of biotic plants. A quadrat is the test area that is one square meter. One thing that helps us learn about prairie plots is dominance. Dominance is the total percent a species of plants covers in an area divided by the area used in square meters. Dominance helps us know what plants are most dominant in the prairie. Frequency also helps us learn more about our prairie ecosystem. Frequency is the total number of quadrats you find a plant species in divided by the total number of quadrats. Frequency helps us to know how much a plant species occurs. Diversity helps as much as frequency and dominance does. Diversity is the total number of different species for all quadrats divided by the total number of quadrats. Dominance, frequency, and diversity have one thing in common. They help us determine how much of a plant is in one area. Without them we wouldn’t know everything we know about prairie ecosystems today.

Comparison

 

Every year, differences and similarities are found between prairie plots. Differences and similarities in dominance, importance value, and diversity for instance. In my quadrat, I found the most dominant plant was Kentucky bluegrass. For everyone’s quadrat in 2006 the most dominant plant was Big Bluestem with a dominance of 24.19. In 2005 the dominant plant is Big Bluestem as well, with a dominance of 4.38. Its’ dominance is 4.38. It has gone down a lot in one year. The reason that the most dominant plant in my quadrat is Kentucky bluegrass is because my quadrat is much smaller than our group’s prairie plot, so the other quadrats had more Big Bluestem than Kentucky bluegrass. Obviously my quadrat is different than the rest of my plot. The plant with the second highest dominance for my quadrat is an unlisted oval leaf. It is funny that it’s very dominant since it needs more water than regular plants. The second highest dominant plant for 2006 and 2005 is Wild Bergamot. Wild Bergamot’s importance value for 2006 is 10.4, and for 2005 it was 4.23. The results for my quadrat our different, again, because my quadrat is smaller than the prairie plot we used.

  Next is importance value. The plant with the highest importance value for 2006 is Big bluestem with 119.02. It’s the same for 2005, but the importance value is 70.41. My plant with the highest importance value is Kentucky bluegrass, but that’s just because the area of land I was using was much smaller than the area of land our grade was using. The second plant with the highest importance value for 2005 in the prairie plot is Indian Grass with 37.3. For 2006 it was Wild Bergamot with 47.92. In 2005 the third one was Wild Bergamot, and for 2006 the third one was Indian Grass. They switched! They also did the same for 2004. My plant with the second highest importance value is Tall Sweet Clovers, butt again, that’s just because the area I used is smaller than the area everyone used. I think that the results above can help us determine what different kinds of plants we’ll be seeing in the future.

            Next is diversity. For my quadrat we found ten different types of plants. This is most likely because the prairie is much, much bigger than my quadrat. From the results above, my quadrat, the 2005 plot, and the 2006 plot, have many differences, and yet many similarities, that we can’t just tell from numbers.

 

Prairie Prediction

 

            I predict that in ten years, the prairie will be different. I predict that Big Bluestem will have the highest dominance and importance value in 2016 because it has for the last three years. I predict that since Wild Bergamot and Indian Grass switch for second and third highest importance value that Wild Bergamot will have the second highest importance value, and Indian Grass will have the third. I also predict that since Wild Bergamot has had the second highest dominance for three years running, it will have the second highest dominance in 2016 as well. I also think that since Indian grass has been fighting for third highest dominance with Stiff Goldenrod, which is now down to tenth highest dominance, that it will have the third highest dominance. So basically I’m saying that we’ll be seeing a lot of Big Bluestem, Wild Bergamot, and Indian Grass in the future.

 

 

Reflection

 

I have learned much while studying the prairie ecosystem. One thing I have learned is some differences between plants and weeds. Weeds need a lot more water than plants do, because weed’s roots are much shorter than plants, and water sinks down into the earth, so weeds can only get there water when and shortly after it rains. Plants on the other hand, have long roots that go deep into the ground, and water there doesn’t sink so quickly. I also learned what dominance, importance value, and diversity is. They help us learn more about how different plants grow, and make predictions about our future prairie. I now know what some of the different plants in the prairie look like, such as Big Bluestem, Wild Bergamot, and Indian Grass. The prairie is a complicated place. Plants die, but replenish because of droughts, or a lot of rain. I also know that the prairie is a perfect home for many small rodents, such as prairie dogs, because of the vegetation, climate, and weather. The plants give the animals food, and the temperature is just right for when there awake, and when their hibernating, and the rain gives the plants there water for when their thirsty. The prairie gives life to things, and if something dies out, it affects the whole prairie. The prairie is an interesting place full of wonders and surprises.

 

 

 

Data

Yellow Coneflower 17 11 5 0.46 0.14 0.3 0.86 3.91 0.5 5.26
Black-eyed Susan 10 40 1 0.27 0.03 1.08 0.51 0.78 1.81 3.09
Tall Coreopsis 20 16 4 0.54 0.11 0.43 1.01 3.13 0.72 4.86
Sawtooth Sunflower 45 62 3 1.22 0.08 1.68 2.27 2.34 2.8 7.42
Wild Bergamot 280 385 21 7.57 0.57 10.4 14.13 16.41 17.38 47.92
Mountain Mint 9 6 1 0.24 0.03 0.16 0.45 0.78 0.27 1.51
New England Aster 14 28 5 0.38 0.14 0.76 0.71 3.91 1.26 5.88
White Prairie Clover 21 30 2 0.57 0.05 0.81 1.06 1.56 1.35 3.98
Tall Boneset 8 7 3 0.22 0.08 0.19 0.4 2.34 0.32 3.06
Heath Aster 7 7 2 0.19 0.05 0.19 0.35 1.56 0.32 2.23
Foxglove Beard Tongue 45 22 5 1.22 0.14 0.59 2.27 3.91 0.99 7.17
Indian Hemp 7 3 2 0.19 0.05 0.08 0.35 1.56 0.14 2.05
                   
Invasives (Weeds)                    
                   
Non-Native Plant Total Plants Found Total Percentage Found # of Quadrats Found In Density Frequency Dominance Relative Density Relative Frequency Relative Dominance Importance Value
Black Raspberry 4 20 2 0.11 0.05 0.54 0 1.94 1.06 3.01
Daisy Fleabane 29 4 3 0.78 0.08 0.11 0.01 2.91 0.21 3.14
Wild Carrot 86 18 3 2.32 0.08 0.49 0.04 2.91 0.96 3.91
Sweet Clovers (tall) 435 280 16 11.76 0.43 7.57 0.18 15.53 14.89 30.6
Yarrow 48 69 9 1.3 0.24 1.86 0.02 8.74 3.67 12.43
Tall goldenrod 121 116 15 3.27 0.41 3.14 0.05 14.56 6.17 20.78
Common Milkweed 2 14 2 0.05 0.05 0.38 0 1.94 0.74 2.69
Clovers (ground) 7 12 2 0.19 0.05 0.32 0 1.94 0.64 2.58
Hairy Vetch 14 65 6 0.38 0.16 1.76 0.01 5.83 3.46 9.29
Hairy Aster 6 7 2 0.16 0.05 0.19 0 1.94 0.37 2.32
Drummonds Aster 16 11 4 0.43 0.11 0.3 0.01 3.88 0.58 4.47
Dandelion 13 5 1 0.35 0.03 0.14 0.01 0.97 0.27 1.24
Unlisted-Round leaf 30 10 1 0.81 0.03 0.27 0.01 0.97 0.53 1.51
Unlisted-Oval leaf 725 192 8 19.59 0.22 5.19 0.3 7.77 10.21 18.28
Unlisted-Grasslike 238819 1056 27 6454.57 0.73 28.54 99.36 26.21 56.14 181.71
Unlisted-Triangular Pointed Leaf 3 2 2 0.08 0.05 0.05 0 1.94 0.11 2.05
Total Data RAW DATA                    

COPYRIGHT:

© Copyright 2006, L&T Natural Images and Madison Jr. High, all rights reserved. Contact information: email at lccwik@comcast.net or tcoutts@naperville203.org

ACKNOWLEDGMENT:
This project was created by the 7th grade students of team 7 UPS from Madison Jr. High, Naperville Consolidated Unit School District #203 in Naperville, Illinois with the help of their teacher Mrs. Trudi Coutts along with Technology Lab Director Mrs. Margaret Gilmore. Support for the project came from Principal Ms. Erin Anderson and the other dedicated and cooperative faculty and staff of Madison Jr. High.

 

REFERENCES:
Fermilab Education Department particularly the SIMply Prairie Project. Authors: Bill Fraccaro, Johnson School, Wheaton, IL; Larry Cwik and Pat Franzen, Madison Junior High School, Naperville, IL; and Bernie Jokiel, Gary D, Jewel Middle School, North Aurora, IL.
Created for the NTEP II Fermilab LInC program sponsored by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Education Office and Friends of Fermilab, and funded by United States Department of Energy, Illinois State Board of Education, North Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium which is operated by North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL), and the National Science Foundation.
 

Prairie Pictures