FERMI QUADRAT PRAIRIE STUDY 2006

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DATA:

Table of our Fermi Quadrat

Table of All Quadrats of Plot 17

GRAPHS OF DOMINANCE AND IMPORTANCE VALUE:

Graphs of Dominance and Importance Values for All Quadrats 2006

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS:

Part One

        On October 4, 2006, we went to Fermi Lab to study prairie plots. Everyone had to find the dominance, importance value, and the diversity of their quadrats back at school from the data we all collected. First off, dominance is the amount of area covered by a specific species. We have to keep track of the dominances each year so that we know which plant is dominant. That means the plant that there is most of in an area, and that is most noticeable. That way we’ll know the plant that we don’t need to plant any more of. Some dominant plants are really important because they offer more food and living space for animals, and we need to keep track of which plant it is to make sure that they are healthy and that there are enough of them. Some dominant plants also have a negative effect on the prairie though, some plants get too big and tall that they prevent smaller plants from getting the sunlight that they need. Using our dominance information can help us a lot. Diversity is the total number of different species in all quadrats. We need this information every year to figure out the importance value, and to help us know which plants we need more of because having a bigger variety of species is better for the environment’s health. So, the more diversity, the better it is. Last, we have importance value which is very important! It tells us how dominant, how frequent, and how dense a plant is, and it tells us how important a plant is to the environment. Using the dominance and the diversity, we can know which important plant amount needs to be decreased or increased to help us keep our environment as healthy as possible.

Part Two

Over the years of 2004 to 2006, the Fermilab prairie plot 17 has changed somewhat drastically. My quadrat’s diversity is 6, but for plot 17 it was about over 10. You might be wondering why. It’s mainly because our quadrat is a lot smaller than the whole prairie plot. It may also be because different plants grow in different places and we just happened to get a spot that didn’t have that big of a variety of plants. For dominance, Big Bluestem was the most dominant in my quadrat. Over the years of 2004-2006, Big Bluestem has also been most dominant out of all the plants. Unlisted-Grasslike, which is just a weed that is unlisted and unknown, was also constantly the most dominant over those years in the prairie plot and in my quadrat. For importance value, it was basically the same as dominance. Big Bluestem and Unlisted-Grasslike were the most important in my quadrat and in plot 17 over 3 whole years.

Part Three

In 2016, which would be ten years later, I predict that for weeds, Unlisted-Grasslike will still be most dominant, and for plants, Big Bluestem will also still be the most dominant. I think this because in 1992 until now, 2006, Unlisted-Grasslike was the most dominant and most important. Although, in 1992 Big Bluestem always came right after Indian Grass, but in 2004-2006, Big Bluestem has been ahead of Indian Grass all the time.      

Part Four

When I first found out that we were going to be studying prairies, I thought to myself, great, we’re going to be learning about grass. How important can grass possibly be? Of course, I didn’t know the amazing facts lying underneath the skies over the Midwest.  The grass provides food and shelter for the animals living in the prairie. If it weren’t for these special types of grass, many animals may die out and break the food chain, which will affect other organisms greatly. These types of grass contain Big Bluestem, Indian Grass, Switch Grass, etc. Sometimes a plant gets too dominant that it starts blocking sunlight from smaller plants. Then those plants die out and it causes the environment to become unhealthy because the more diversity in an environment, the healthier the environment is. Just a few weeks ago, I thought grass was just a type of plant, but now I know how much it can affect an environment and just how important it really is.

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.