FERMI QUADRAT PRAIRIE STUDY 2006

Back to Period 3 Student List

GPS LOCATION: N: 41 50' 28.1   W: 88 6' 23.7

STUDENT RESEARCHER: Lauren G

7UPS TEAM!!!!

Arial View of Plot 17

Fermi Lab is Amazing

Top Data Table Graphs Comparative Analysis

(INSERT YOUR LINKS IN THE LINKS TABLE BELOW. DELETE THIS WHEN DONE.)


















 

DATA:

Table of Our Fermi Quadrat

Plant Name Total # Plants Found Total Percentage Dominance Importance Value
Indian Grass 11 4 4 169
Goldenrod 30 29 29 870
Daisy Fleabane 10 8 8 265
Crab Grass 62 54 54 1,623

 

Table of All Quadrats

RAW DATA                        
Native Plants Total Plants Found Total Percentage Found # of Quadrats Found In Density Frequency Dominance Relative Density Relative Frequency Relative Dominance Importance Value  
Big Bluestem 200 423 11 16.67 0.92 35.25 40.57 27.5 48.62 116.69    
Compass Plant 12 30 1 1 0.08 2.5 2.43 2.5 3.45 8.38    
Indian Grass 126 222 8 10.5 0.67 18.5 25.56 20 25.52 71.08    
Switch Grass 34 38 2 2.83 0.17 3.17 6.9 5 4.37 16.27    
Prairie Dock 7 44 3 0.58 0.25 3.67 1.42 7.5 5.06 13.98    
Rosinweed 6 5 3 0.5 0.25 0.42 1.22 7.5 0.57 9.29    
Yellow Coneflower 5 4 2 0.42 0.17 0.33 1.01 5 0.46 6.47    
Wild Bergamot 91 80 4 7.58 0.33 6.67 18.46 10 9.2 37.65    
New England Aster 1 15 1 0.08 0.08 1.25 0.2 2.5 1.72 4.43    
Tall Boneset 8 7 3 0.67 0.25 0.58 1.62 7.5 0.81 9.93    
Foxglove Beard Tongue 1 1 1 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.2 2.5 0.12 2.82    
Indian Hemp 2 1 1 0.17 0.08 0.08 0.41 2.5 0.12 3.02    
                       
Non-Native (Weed) Plants Total Plants Found Total Percentage Found # of Quadrats Found In Density Frequency Dominance Relative Density Relative Frequency Relative Dominance Importance Value  
Daisy Fleabane 1 1 1 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.02 3.03 0.16 3.21    
Wild Carrot 86 18 3 7.17 0.25 1.5 2.02 9.09 2.85 13.96    
Sweet Clovers (tall) 168 140 5 14 0.42 11.67 3.95 15.15 22.15 41.26    
Yarrow 18 27 4 1.5 0.33 2.25 0.42 12.12 4.27 16.82    
Tall goldenrod 25 16 4 2.08 0.33 1.33 0.59 12.12 2.53 15.24    
Clovers (ground) 2 10 1 0.17 0.08 0.83 0.05 3.03 1.58 4.66    
Hairy Vetch 3 17 2 0.25 0.17 1.42 0.07 6.06 2.69 8.82    
Drummonds Aster 6 4 1 0.5 0.08 0.33 0.14 3.03 0.63 3.8    
Unlisted-Oval leaf 111 154 4 9.25 0.33 12.83 2.61 12.12 24.37 39.1    
Unlisted-Grasslike 3831 245 8 319.25 0.67 20.42 90.12 24.24 38.77 153.13    
                       
SORTED DATA BELOW                        
                       
Native Plants by Dominance Dominance   Native Plants by I.V Importance Value                
Big Bluestem 35.25   Big Bluestem 116.69                
Indian Grass 18.5   Indian Grass 71.08                
Wild Bergamot 6.67   Wild Bergamot 37.65                
Prairie Dock 3.67   Switch Grass 16.27                
Switch Grass 3.17   Prairie Dock 13.98                
Compass Plant 2.5   Tall Boneset 9.93                
New England Aster 1.25   Rosinweed 9.29                
Tall Boneset 0.58   Compass Plant 8.38                
Rosinweed 0.42   Yellow Coneflower 6.47                
Yellow Coneflower 0.33   New England Aster 4.43                
Foxglove Beard Tongue 0.08   Indian Hemp 3.02                
Indian Hemp 0.08   Foxglove Beard Tongue 2.82                
                       
                       
Non-Native (Weed) Plants by Dominance Dominance   Non-Native (Weed) Plants by I.V. Importance Value                
Unlisted-Grasslike 20.42   Unlisted-Grasslike 153.13                
Unlisted-Oval leaf 12.83   Sweet Clovers (tall) 41.26                
Sweet Clovers (tall) 11.67   Unlisted-Oval leaf 39.1                
Yarrow 2.25   Yarrow 16.82                
Wild Carrot 1.5   Tall goldenrod 15.24                
Hairy Vetch 1.42   Wild Carrot 13.96                
Tall goldenrod 1.33   Hairy Vetch 8.82                
Clovers (ground) 0.83   Clovers (ground) 4.66                
Drummonds Aster 0.33   Drummonds Aster 3.8                
Daisy Fleabane 0.08   Daisy Fleabane 3.21                
                       
                       
                       
                       
ALL SPECIES Dominance Importance Value ALL SPECIES Dominance   ALL SPECIES Importance Value        
Big Bluestem 35.25 116.69   Big Bluestem 35.25   Unlisted-Grasslike 153.13        
Compass Plant 2.5 8.38   Unlisted-Grasslike 20.42   Big Bluestem 116.69        
Indian Grass 18.5 71.08   Indian Grass 18.5   Indian Grass 71.08        
Switch Grass 3.17 16.27   Unlisted-Oval leaf 12.83   Sweet Clovers (tall) 41.26        
Prairie Dock 3.67 13.98   Sweet Clovers (tall) 11.67   Unlisted-Oval leaf 39.1        
Rosinweed 0.42 9.29   Wild Bergamot 6.67   Wild Bergamot 37.65        
Yellow Coneflower 0.33 6.47   Prairie Dock 3.67   Yarrow 16.82        
Wild Bergamot 6.67 37.65   Switch Grass 3.17   Switch Grass 16.27        
New England Aster 1.25 4.43   Compass Plant 2.5   Tall goldenrod 15.24        
Tall Boneset 0.58 9.93   Yarrow 2.25   Prairie Dock 13.98        
Foxglove Beard Tongue 0.08 2.82   Wild Carrot 1.5   Wild Carrot 13.96        
Indian Hemp 0.08 3.02   Hairy Vetch 1.42   Tall Boneset 9.93        
Daisy Fleabane 0.08 3.21   Tall goldenrod 1.33   Rosinweed 9.29        
Wild Carrot 1.5 13.96   New England Aster 1.25   Hairy Vetch 8.82        
Sweet Clovers (tall) 11.67 41.26   Clovers (ground) 0.83   Compass Plant 8.38        
Yarrow 2.25 16.82   Tall Boneset 0.58   Yellow Coneflower 6.47        
Tall goldenrod 1.33 15.24   Rosinweed 0.42   Clovers (ground) 4.66        
Clovers (ground) 0.83 4.66   Yellow Coneflower 0.33   New England Aster 4.43        
Hairy Vetch 1.42 8.82   Drummonds Aster 0.33   Drummonds Aster 3.8        
Drummonds Aster 0.33 3.8   Foxglove Beard Tongue 0.08   Daisy Fleabane 3.21        
Unlisted-Oval leaf 12.83 39.1   Indian Hemp 0.08   Indian Hemp 3.02        
Unlisted-Grasslike 20.42 153.13   Daisy Fleabane 0.08   Foxglove Beard Tongue 2.82        
                       
                       

 

 

 

 

 

GRAPHS OF DOMINANCE AND IMPORTANCE VALUE:

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS:

Comparative Analysis

Part I

            Recently my class went to a place called Fermi lab. It is a restored prairie. The student prairie at Fermi lab was once farmland. They restored the prairie by plowing and planting a mixture of prairie grasses and seeds. We studied the prairie and are now working with the results.

            You can tell which prairie plants are becoming dominant by using data. Dominant plants are the plants that are the most noticeable and take up the most room. We use the dominance to compare prairie plots because that way we know which plants have the largest population in the prairie. Dominance equals the total percent cover of a species divided by the total area.

            Importance value tells us how dominant, how frequent, and how dense a plant is in the ecosystem. This is useful to compare prairie plots because it tells you all three instead of just one. Importance value equals relative dominance plus relative frequency plus relative density. We calculate values for specie when we combine data for all quadrats.

            Biological diversity means that many different kinds of living things live together in the same area. Health of an environment relies on having a variety of living things. The more diversity of life in an environment the better the environment is. Diversity equals the total number of different species for all quadrats divided by the total number of quadrats.

Part II

            The top ten plants in 2005 were the Big Bluestem, Wild Bergamot, Stiff Goldenrod, Indian Grass, Yellow Coneflower, Compass Plant, Rosinweed, Tall Coreopsis, and Foxglove Beard Tongue. The top ten plants in 2006 are Big Bluestem, Wild Bergamont, Indian Grass, Compass Plant, Prairie Dock, Sawtooth Sunflower, Foxglove Beard tongue, Stiff Goldenrod, New England Aster, and Yellow Coneflower. There are only a few plants that are the same like Big Bluestem, Wild Bergamot, and Stiff Goldenrod. Otherwise they are all different, which is good for diversity.

            The dominance in 2005 for Big Bluestem was 4.38. The dominance in 2006 for Big Bluestem is 24.19. Basically, in 2006 the prairie grew bigger. I know this because the numbers in 2006 have a wider range.

            In 2005 the top number for importance value was 70.41, which was Big Bluestem. In 2006 the top importance value was 135.31, which was also Big Bluestem. These numbers can also tell us that in 2006 the prairie has a larger variety because of all the rain after the drought.

Part III

            In ten years I predict that the prairie will be a lot bigger because from 2005 to 2006 the prairie grew a little bigger, so in ten years the prairie will probably grow a lot bigger. Also there will probably be more of a variety of plants because in 1992 there weren’t that many different plants, but now in 2006 there is a huge variety. Also maybe there won’t be any of the plants we saw in 2006. Because in 1992 I saw a few plants that I didn’t see in 2006. Overall, the prairie will change a lot by getting more variety to losing and gaining plants.

Part IV

            Over this course of time when we have been studying prairies I have come to learn that a prairie isn’t just a big, open field with long grasses. When I first heard we were going on a field trip to the prairie, I thought to myself this is going to be boring. But then once we got to our quadrats and started studying them I was amazed by how many different kinds of grasses there were. Before I thought all the grasses were the same type, but I was definitely wrong. I also learned that diversity is a very important part of the prairie. Without diversity the prairie would not be very healthy. Another thing I learned was that a prairie can change over a course of time. Before I always thought that prairies keep the same plants. But they actually can lose some of their species of plants and increase some new kinds of plants. Overall, people never really thing of a prairie being very important, but it actually has a very big part on our environment.

 

 

 

 

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.