FERMI QUADRAT PRAIRIE STUDY 2006

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DATA:

Table of our Fermi Quadrat

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 1-Introduction

     Importance Value

This Year when I went to Fermi Lab for the 2006 Quadrat Study, I learned the three major parts, Importance Value, Dominance, and Diversity. If you want to know about them then just keep on reading on. Well, first of all there is Importance Value. Importance Value has a major part to this study. Importance Value tells us how dominant, how frequent, and how dense a plant is in the ecosystem. Sounds like a lot. Well there is more. The importance value is the sum of values, the relative dominance, the relative frequency, and the relative dominance. It also shows us how important a particular plant is to the habitat. The larger the importance value, the more important the plant is.

            Dominance

Next there’s dominance. This probably takes the most space. Dominant plants are the plants that are the most noticeable, and they take up the most room. Dominant plants are important because they supply much of the food and living space for animals.

They are also important because they not only take up the most space above the ground, but below it too. The amount of a prairie plant below the ground is often two or three times the size of the plant above the ground.

Diversity

            Finally, I will talk about diversity. Biological diversity means that many different kinds of living things live together in the same area. Having a variety of living things in an area is important in the health of an environment. How it helps you ask? Well each plant contributes to the environment and that keeps it healthy. We also help it in some ways as well. That means the more diversity of life in an environment, the better the environment is. Increased diversity also increases the habitat for all insects and animals.

 Part 2-Comparison

My Quadrat and Plot 17 has many differences. We are comparing one acre to a one meter square after all. First of all, the diversity of plot 17 is obviously more than my quadrat because plot 17 has greater variety of plants in the prairie. Why you might ask? Well maybe because the size. I don’t know. That does not necessarily mean that the importance value and the dominance of all my plants of my quadrat are the same as plot 17. My Importance value is sometimes more and sometimes less than plot 17. It depends on the plant. Big Bluestem, Compass Plant, Rosinweed, Hairy Vetch, Tall Goldenrod, Yarrow, and Crab Grass have more Importance Value than plot 17, and Indian Grass and Wild Bergamot have less. The there’s Dominance. Compass Plant, Rosinweed, Hairy Vetch, Yarrow, and Crab Grass have more, but Big Bluestem, Indian Grass, Wild Bergamot, and Tall Goldenrod have less. Some of my results are near plot 17, but some aren't. Overall the prairie is doing well because the majority is more in both Importance Value and Dominance.

 Part 3-Prediction

          I think the prairie will not change a lot in 10 years. For example, Big Bluestem has remained the top for many years and I think it will continue to do so. That is what I expect with Indian Grass as well. Unlisted Grasslike and Big Bluestem also have remained top in Importance Value. In ten years I believe it will be the same. So there were not many changes between 1992 through 2006. I think in 2016 it will be the same.

 Part 4-Reflection

     There were many things I learned throughout this 2006 Prairie study. First of all I thought plants were just, plants. I didn’t know that some plants are more important than others. I also didn’t know that some plants are dominant. I also used so new instruments like the Anemometer (measure wind speed), and the Sling Psychrometer (measures humidity). I also learned some about the bison and how it has a thick skull. If you shoot it in the head with a musket, it will not die!

Other pictures

           Big Bluestem                               Indian Grass                       Compass Plant                Foxglove Beard Tongue   Drummond's Aster           

            Sweet Clovers

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.