FERMI QUADRAT PRAIRIE STUDY 2006

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Top Data Table Graphs Comparative Analysis


GPS LOCATION: N: 41°50'27.4"    W:88°16'26.0"

STUDENT RESEARCHER: Vince


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DATA:

Table of our Fermi Quadrat

PLANT NAME Total # Plants Found Total Percentage Dominance Important Value
Big Blue Stem 5 6 6 47.5
Indian Grass 29 8 8 148.5
Tall Boneset 2 3 3 28
Wild Bergamot 23 4 4 114.5
Grey Goldenrod 10 7 7 70
Drummonds Aster 6 4 4 16.5
Hairy Vetch  2 7 7 38
Dog Vein 2 1 1 23

 

 

 

 

 

GRAPHS OF DOMINANCE AND IMPORTANCE VALUE:

(PLACE YOUR GRAPH OF THE DATA HERE)

 

Total Data RAW DATA                    
                   
Native Plant (Prairie Plants) Total Plants Found Total Percentage Found # of Quadrats Found In Density Frequency Dominance Relative Density Relative Frequency Relative Dominance Importance Value
Big Bluestem 1125 895 28 30.41 0.76 24.19 56.79 21.88 40.41 119.07
Stiff Goldenrod 26 31 5 0.7 0.14 0.84 1.31 3.91 1.4 6.62
Compass Plant 42 167 5 1.14 0.14 4.51 2.12 3.91 7.54 13.57
Indian Grass 162 270 13 4.38 0.35 7.3 8.18 10.16 12.19 30.52
Switch Grass 72 95 5 1.95 0.14 2.57 3.63 3.91 4.29 11.83
Rattlesnake Master 1 1 1 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.05 0.78 0.04 0.88
Prairie Dock 14 97 6 0.38 0.16 2.62 0.71 4.69 4.38 9.77
Rosinweed 56 42 11 1.51 0.3 1.14 2.83 8.59 1.9 13.32
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
                   
NATIVE PRAIRIE PLANTS                    
SORTED BY DOMINANCE       SORTED BY IMPORTANCE VALUE            
Native Plant (Prairie Plants) Dominance     Native Plant (Prairie Plants) Importance Value          
Big Bluestem 24.19     Big Bluestem 119.07          
Wild Bergamot 10.4     Wild Bergamot 47.92          
Indian Grass 7.3     Indian Grass 30.52          
Compass Plant 4.51     Compass Plant 13.57          
Prairie Dock 2.62     Rosinweed 13.32          
Switch Grass 2.57     Switch Grass 11.83          
Sawtooth Sunflower 1.68     Prairie Dock 9.77          
Rosinweed 1.14     Sawtooth Sunflower 7.42          
Black-eyed Susan 1.08     Foxglove Beard Tongue 7.17          
Stiff Goldenrod 0.84     Stiff Goldenrod 6.62          
White Prairie Clover 0.81     New England Aster 5.88          
New England Aster 0.76     Yellow Coneflower 5.26          
Foxglove Beard Tongue 0.59     Tall Coreopsis 4.86          
Tall Coreopsis 0.43     White Prairie Clover 3.98          
Yellow Coneflower 0.3     Black-eyed Susan 3.09          
Tall Boneset 0.19     Tall Boneset 3.06          
Heath Aster 0.19     Heath Aster 2.23          
Mountain Mint 0.16     Indian Hemp 2.05          
Indian Hemp 0.08     Mountain Mint 1.51          
Rattlesnake Master 0.03     Rattlesnake Master 0.88          
                   
NON-NATIVE (WEEDS)                    
SORTED BY DOMINANCE       SORTED BY IMPORTANCE VALUE            
Non-Native Plant Dominance     Non-Native Plant Importance Value          
Unlisted-Grasslike 28.54     Unlisted-Grasslike 181.71          
Sweet Clovers (tall) 7.57     Sweet Clovers (tall) 30.6          
Unlisted-Oval leaf 5.19     Tall goldenrod 20.78          
Tall goldenrod 3.14     Unlisted-Oval leaf 18.28          
Yarrow 1.86     Yarrow 12.43          
Hairy Vetch 1.76     Hairy Vetch 9.29          
Black Raspberry 0.54     Drummonds Aster 4.47          
Wild Carrot 0.49     Wild Carrot 3.91          
Common Milkweed 0.38     Daisy Fleabane 3.14          
Clovers (ground) 0.32     Black Raspberry 3.01          
Drummonds Aster 0.3     Common Milkweed 2.69          
Unlisted-Round leaf 0.27     Clovers (ground) 2.58          
Hairy Aster 0.19     Hairy Aster 2.32          
Dandelion 0.14     Unlisted-Triangular Pointed Leaf 2.05          
Daisy Fleabane 0.11     Unlisted-Round leaf 1.51          
Unlisted-Triangular Pointed Leaf 0.05     Dandelion 1.24          
                   
ALL PLANTS SORTED BY DOMINANCE     ALL PLANTS SORTED BY IMPORTANCE VALUE          
ALL Plants Dominance     ALL Plants Importance Value          
Unlisted-Grasslike 28.54     Unlisted-Grasslike 181.71          
Big Bluestem 24.19     Big Bluestem 119.07          
Wild Bergamot 10.4     Wild Bergamot 47.92          
Sweet Clovers (tall) 7.57     Sweet Clovers (tall) 30.6          
Indian Grass 7.3     Indian Grass 30.52          
Unlisted-Oval leaf 5.19     Tall goldenrod 20.78          
Compass Plant 4.51     Unlisted-Oval leaf 18.28          
Tall goldenrod 3.14     Compass Plant 13.57          
Prairie Dock 2.62     Rosinweed 13.32          
Switch Grass 2.57     Yarrow 12.43          
Yarrow 1.86     Switch Grass 11.83          
Hairy Vetch 1.76     Prairie Dock 9.77          
Sawtooth Sunflower 1.68     Hairy Vetch 9.29          
Rosinweed 1.14     Sawtooth Sunflower 7.42          
Black-eyed Susan 1.08     Foxglove Beard Tongue 7.17          
Stiff Goldenrod 0.84     Stiff Goldenrod 6.62          
White Prairie Clover 0.81     New England Aster 5.88          
New England Aster 0.76     Yellow Coneflower 5.26          
Foxglove Beard Tongue 0.59     Tall Coreopsis 4.86          
Black Raspberry 0.54     Drummonds Aster 4.47          
Wild Carrot 0.49     White Prairie Clover 3.98          
Tall Coreopsis 0.43     Wild Carrot 3.91          
Common Milkweed 0.38     Daisy Fleabane 3.14          
Clovers (ground) 0.32     Black-eyed Susan 3.09          
Yellow Coneflower 0.3     Tall Boneset 3.06          
Drummonds Aster 0.3     Black Raspberry 3.01          
Unlisted-Round leaf 0.27     Common Milkweed 2.69          
Tall Boneset 0.19     Clovers (ground) 2.58          
Heath Aster 0.19     Hairy Aster 2.32          
Hairy Aster 0.19     Heath Aster 2.23          
Mountain Mint 0.16     Indian Hemp 2.05          
Dandelion 0.14     Unlisted-Triangular Pointed Leaf 2.05          
Daisy Fleabane 0.11     Mountain Mint 1.51          
Indian Hemp 0.08     Unlisted-Round leaf 1.51          
Unlisted-Triangular Pointed Leaf 0.05     Dandelion 1.24          
Rattlesnake Master 0.03     Rattlesnake Master 0.88          

 

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS:

My team and I, the Seven-ups were going on our first field trip of the year. We were going to the Fermi Lab to study prairie plants there. We were all given quadrats and were in separate groups. A quadrat is a square meter of prairie land that one of our groups studies. There are three main values used to compare prairie plots in our quadrat. One of these values is  dominance. Dominance is the number of how much a plant takes up space in our quadrat. Which ever plant took up the greatest area has the most dominance. Another important value is importance value. Importance value is how important the plant is to the quadrat. If there is not  a lot of it, it is not very important to the quadrat. One last important value that we can compare is diversity. Diversity is the total number of different species for all quadrats.

     We mostly had open ground in our quadrat. Our diversity was good though. We had many different types of plant species. We had ten different types of plants in our quadrat. Our dominance was 64% open ground and 46% prairie plants and weeds. Our importance value was 6 big blue stem, 31 Indian grass, 3 tall boneset, 4 wild bergamot, 20 gray goldenrod, 10 hairy aster, and 1 dog vein.

    I made a ten year prediction about the make-up of the native prairie plant populations in plot 17. In 1992 there was more prairie plants then there were weeds. I think this is because the prairie was brand new back then and they did not plant any weeds to begin with. However though in 2004 there were more weeds then there were prairie plants and in 2005 the same. I think that

after a while prairies begin processing more weeds over time and that there can be more weeds in some areas than others. In 2006 though it was about the same number of prairie plants and weeds. I think this because they probably burned the prairie killing more weeds.

    In conclusion I learned how to accurately study and observe a real prairie and write an entire web page on my quadrat. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.