FERMI QUADRAT PRAIRIE STUDY 2006

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GPS LOCATION: N:__________    W:___________

STUDENT RESEARCHER: ___M. Chappell_________________




Graphs


Comparative Analysis


My Quadrant Data

 




 

DATA:

Table of my Fermi Quadrat

Name # of quadrants Number Percent Cover Dominance Frequency Density Relative Dominance Relative Frequency Relative Density Importance Value
Grass 5 83000 279 55.8 1 16600 44.62 19.23 97.95 161.80
Crabgrass 1 1000 10 10 0.2 200 8.00 3.85 1.18 13.02
Clover 2 540 46 23 0.4 108 18.39 7.69 0.64 26.72
Dandelion 4 63 45 11.25 0.8 12.6 9.00 15.38 0.07 24.46
Plantain 5 69 39 7.8 1 13.8 6.24 19.23 0.08 25.55
Medic 4 65 20 5 0.8 13 4.00 15.38 0.08 19.46
Bare Ground 5 61 12.2 1 0 9.76 19.23 0.00 28.99
#DIV/0! 0
Switch Grass 1 2 9 9 0.2
New England Aster 1 1 5 5 0.2
Prairie Dock 1 4 28 28 0.2
Rosinweed 1 1 1 1 0.2
White Pairie Clover 1 1 2 2 0.2
Hairy Aster 1 2 4 4 0.2
Tall Goldenrod 1 1 1 1 0.2
Unlisted Grasslike 1 32 32 32 0.2
name dominance important value
grass 55.8 161.8
bare ground 12.2 28.99
clover 23 26.72
plantain 7.8 25.55
dandelion 11.25 24.46
medic 5 19.46
crabgrass 10 13.02
name importance value
grass 161.8
bare ground 28.99
clover 26.72
plantain 25.55
danelion 24.46
medic 19.46
crabgrass 13.02

 

Fermi Data 05

Plant Total Plants Found Total Percentage Found # of Quadrats Found In Density Frequency Dominance Relative Density Relative Frequency Relative Dominance Importance Value
Big Bluestem 6301 232 12 118.89 0.23 4.38 49.73 8.39 12.29 70.41
Indian Grass 3018 162 7 56.94 0.13 3.06 23.82 4.89 8.58 37.3
Wild Bergamot 166 224 21 3.13 0.4 4.23 1.31 14.69 11.86 27.86
Prairie Cord Grass 1967 159 2 37.11 0.04 3 15.53 1.4 8.42 25.35
Stiff Goldenrod 189 201 11 3.57 0.21 3.79 1.49 7.69 10.65 19.83
Rosinweed 264 150 13 4.98 0.25 2.83 2.08 9.09 7.95 19.12
Yellow Coneflower 195 154 11 3.68 0.21 2.91 1.54 7.69 8.16 17.39
Compass Plant 64 152 12 1.21 0.23 2.87 0.51 8.39 8.05 16.95
Tall Coreopsis 66 110 12 1.25 0.23 2.08 0.52 8.39 5.83 14.74
Mountain Mint 158 83 7 2.98 0.13 1.57 1.25 4.89 4.4 10.54
Foxglove Beard Tongue 154 88 5 2.91 0.09 1.66 1.22 3.5 4.66 9.37
Prairie Dock 28 34 9 0.53 0.17 0.64 0.22 6.29 1.8 8.32
Switch Grass 39 40 5 0.74 0.09 0.76 0.31 3.5 2.12 5.92
Sawtooth Sunflower 19 36 5 0.36 0.09 0.68 0.15 3.5 1.91 5.55
New England Aster 8 11 3 0.15 0.06 0.21 0.06 2.1 0.58 2.74
Black-eyed Susan 12 10 3 0.23 0.06 0.19 0.1 2.1 0.53 2.72
Rattlesnake Master 6 16 1 0.11 0.02 0.3 0.05 0.7 0.85 1.59
Wild Quinine 4 12 1 0.07 0.02 0.23 0.03 0.7 0.64 1.37
Tall Boneset 10 7 1 0.19 0.02 0.13 0.08 0.7 0.37 1.15
White Wild Indigo 1 6 1 0.02 0.02 0.11 0.01 0.7 0.32 1.02
Dense Blazing Star 1 1 1 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.7 0.05 0.76
WEEDS
Plant Total Plants Found Total Percentage Found # of Quadrats Found In Density Frequency Dominance Relative Density Relative Frequency Relative Dominance Importance Value
Unlisted-Grasslike 84310 2258 38 1590.75 0.72 42.6 97.24 21.71 53.22 172.17
Tall goldenrod 1065 1077 38 20.09 0.72 20.32 1.23 21.71 25.38 48.33
Unlisted-Oval leaf 517 253 20 9.75 0.38 4.77 0.6 11.43 5.96 17.99
Wild Carrot 66 62 13 1.25 0.25 1.17 0.08 7.43 1.46 8.97
Clovers (ground) 389 85 11 7.34 0.21 1.6 0.45 6.29 2 8.74
Yarrow 69 63 12 1.3 0.23 1.19 0.08 6.86 1.48 8.42
Unlisted-Triangular Pointed Leaf 104 71 11 1.96 0.21 1.34 0.12 6.29 1.67 8.08
Sweet Clovers (tall) 34 139 8 0.64 0.15 2.62 0.04 4.57 3.28 7.89
Drummonds Aster 68 77 8 1.28 0.15 1.45 0.08 4.57 1.81 6.46
Common Milkweed 10 124 6 0.19 0.11 2.34 0.01 3.43 2.92 6.36
Unlisted-Round leaf 52 16 3 0.98 0.06 0.3 0.06 1.71 0.38 2.15
Hairy Vetch 6 7 2 0.11 0.04 0.13 0.01 1.14 0.16 1.31
Thistle 7 6 2 0.13 0.04 0.11 0.01 1.14 0.14 1.29
Hairy Aster 3 3 2 0.06 0.04 0.06 0 1.14 0.07 1.22
Daisy Fleabane 3 2 1 0.06 0.02 0.04 0 0.57 0.05 0.62
SORTED DATA
PRAIRIE PLANTS
By IMPORTANCE VALUE by Dominance
Big Bluestem 70.41 Big Bluestem 4.38
Indian Grass 37.3 Wild Bergamot 4.23
Wild Bergamot 27.86 Stiff Goldenrod 3.79
Prairie Cord Grass 25.35 Indian Grass 3.06
Stiff Goldenrod 19.83 Prairie Cord Grass 3
Rosinweed 19.12 Yellow Coneflower 2.91
Yellow Coneflower 17.39 Compass Plant 2.87
Compass Plant 16.95 Rosinweed 2.83
Tall Coreopsis 14.74 Tall Coreopsis 2.08
Mountain Mint 10.54 Foxglove Beard Tongue 1.66
Foxglove Beard Tongue 9.37 Mountain Mint 1.57
Prairie Dock 8.32 Switch Grass 0.76
Switch Grass 5.92 Sawtooth Sunflower 0.68
Sawtooth Sunflower 5.55 Prairie Dock 0.64
New England Aster 2.74 Rattlesnake Master 0.3
Black-eyed Susan 2.72 Wild Quinine 0.23
Rattlesnake Master 1.59 New England Aster 0.21
Wild Quinine 1.37 Black-eyed Susan 0.19
Tall Boneset 1.15 Tall Boneset 0.13
White Wild Indigo 1.02 White Wild Indigo 0.11
Dense Blazing Star 0.76 Dense Blazing Star 0.02
WEEDS 
Unlisted-Grasslike 172.17 Unlisted-Grasslike 42.6
Tall goldenrod 48.33 Tall goldenrod 20.32
Unlisted-Oval leaf 17.99 Unlisted-Oval leaf 4.77
Wild Carrot 8.97 Sweet Clovers (tall) 2.62
Clovers (ground) 8.74 Common Milkweed 2.34
Yarrow 8.42 Clovers (ground) 1.6
Unlisted-Triangular Pointed Leaf 8.08 Drummonds Aster 1.45
Sweet Clovers (tall) 7.89 Unlisted-Triangular Pointed Leaf 1.34
Drummonds Aster 6.46 Yarrow 1.19
Common Milkweed 6.36 Wild Carrot 1.17
Unlisted-Round leaf 2.15 Unlisted-Round leaf 0.3
Hairy Vetch 1.31 Hairy Vetch 0.13
Thistle 1.29 Thistle 0.11
Hairy Aster 1.22 Hairy Aster 0.06
Daisy Fleabane 0.62 Daisy Fleabane 0.04

 

Fermi Data 06

 

Native Prairie Plants
Plant Total Plants Found Total Percentage Found # of Quadrats Found In Density Frequency Dominance Relative Density Relative Frequency Relative Dominance Importance Value
Big Bluestem 618 156 4 123.6 0.8 31.2 86.31 19.05 49.37 154.73
Stiff Goldenrod 5 4 1 1 0.2 0.8 0.7 4.76 1.27 6.73
Compass Plant 23 37 2 4.6 0.4 7.4 3.21 9.52 11.71 24.45
Switch Grass 2 9 1 0.4 0.2 1.8 0.28 4.76 2.85 7.89
Prairie Dock 4 28 1 0.8 0.2 5.6 0.56 4.76 8.86 14.18
Rosinweed 1 1 1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.14 4.76 0.32 5.22
Yellow Coneflower 1 1 1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.14 4.76 0.32 5.22
Tall Coreopsis 5 3 1 1 0.2 0.6 0.7 4.76 0.95 6.41
Sawtooth Sunflower 4 15 1 0.8 0.2 3 0.56 4.76 4.75 10.07
Wild Bergamot 16 16 2 3.2 0.4 3.2 2.23 9.52 5.06 16.82
Mountain Mint 9 6 1 1.8 0.2 1.2 1.26 4.76 1.9 7.92
New England Aster 7 10 3 1.4 0.6 2 0.98 14.29 3.17 18.43
White Prairie Clover 21 30 2 4.2 0.4 6 2.93 9.52 9.49 21.95
Plant Total Plants Found Total Percentage Found # of Quadrats Found In Density Frequency Dominance Relative Density Relative Frequency Relative Dominance Importance Value
Sweet Clovers (tall) 212 90 4 42.4 0.8 18 31.93 36.36 54.55 122.84
Tall goldenrod 1 1 1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.15 9.09 0.61 9.85
Hairy Aster 6 7 2 1.2 0.4 1.4 0.9 18.18 4.24 23.33
Dandelion 13 5 1 2.6 0.2 1 1.96 9.09 3.03 14.08
Unlisted-Grasslike 432 62 3 86.4 0.6 12.4 65.06 27.27 37.58 129.91
Native Species Dominance Native Species Importance Value
Big Bluestem 31.2 Big Bluestem 154.73
Compass Plant 7.4 Compass Plant 24.45
White Prairie Clover 6 White Prairie Clover 21.95
Prairie Dock 5.6 New England Aster 18.43
Wild Bergamot 3.2 Wild Bergamot 16.82
Sawtooth Sunflower 3 Prairie Dock 14.18
New England Aster 2 Sawtooth Sunflower 10.07
Switch Grass 1.8 Mountain Mint 7.92
Mountain Mint 1.2 Switch Grass 7.89
Stiff Goldenrod 0.8 Stiff Goldenrod 6.73
Tall Coreopsis 0.6 Tall Coreopsis 6.41
Rosinweed 0.2 Rosinweed 5.22
Yellow Coneflower 0.2 Yellow Coneflower 5.22
Weed Species By Dominance Dominance Weed Species by IV Importance Value
Sweet Clovers (tall) 18 Unlisted-Grasslike 129.91
Unlisted-Grasslike 12.4 Sweet Clovers (tall) 122.84
Hairy Aster 1.4 Hairy Aster 23.33
Dandelion 1 Dandelion 14.08
Tall goldenrod 0.2 Tall goldenrod 9.85
ALL Species Dominance Importance Value ALL Species by Dominance Dominance ALL Species by IV Importance Value
Big Bluestem 31.2 154.73 Big Bluestem 31.2 Big Bluestem 154.73
Stiff Goldenrod 0.8 6.73 Sweet Clovers (tall) 18 Unlisted-Grasslike 129.91
Compass Plant 7.4 24.45 Unlisted-Grasslike 12.4 Sweet Clovers (tall) 122.84
Switch Grass 1.8 7.89 Compass Plant 7.4 Compass Plant 24.45
Prairie Dock 5.6 14.18 White Prairie Clover 6 Hairy Aster 23.33
Rosinweed 0.2 5.22 Prairie Dock 5.6 White Prairie Clover 21.95
Yellow Coneflower 0.2 5.22 Wild Bergamot 3.2 New England Aster 18.43
Tall Coreopsis 0.6 6.41 Sawtooth Sunflower 3 Wild Bergamot 16.82
Sawtooth Sunflower 3 10.07 New England Aster 2 Prairie Dock 14.18
Wild Bergamot 3.2 16.82 Switch Grass 1.8 Dandelion 14.08
Mountain Mint 1.2 7.92 Hairy Aster 1.4 Sawtooth Sunflower 10.07
New England Aster 2 18.43 Mountain Mint 1.2 Tall goldenrod 9.85
White Prairie Clover 6 21.95 Dandelion 1 Mountain Mint 7.92
Sweet Clovers (tall) 18 122.84 Stiff Goldenrod 0.8 Switch Grass 7.89
Tall goldenrod 0.2 9.85 Tall Coreopsis 0.6 Stiff Goldenrod 6.73
Hairy Aster 1.4 23.33 Rosinweed 0.2 Tall Coreopsis 6.41
Dandelion 1 14.08 Yellow Coneflower 0.2 Rosinweed 5.22
Unlisted-Grasslike 12.4 129.91 Tall goldenrod 0.2 Yellow Coneflower 5.22

 

 

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GRAPHS OF DOMINANCE AND IMPORTANCE VALUE:

My Quadrat 06

Fermi Plant Data 06  (All Species Dominance and Importance value)

Fermi Plant Data 05 (All Species Dominance and Importance value)

 

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS:

 

Background Information

 

There are three major components used to compare different prairie plots.  There’s the importance value, the dominance value, and the diversity.  The importance value is the sum of relative dominance, relative frequency, and relative density.  Dominance is used to tell which plants are taking up the most room and are the most dominant.  It is figured out by taking the total percent coverage of species and dividing it by the total area.  Diversity is the total number of plants of a certain species divided by the total area sampled.  Diversity is important because the more diversity there is, the better the environment will be.

 

Comparison

 

            My quadrant’s data was very different from the data of Fermi Lab.  The 2005 data showed that there were many different types of plants.  Some of the plants included were the Big Bluestem, Indian Grass, Wild Bergamot, Stiff Goldenrod, Rosinweed, Yellow Coneflower, Compass Plant, Tall Coreopsis and Mountain Mint.  These were the plants that were in the top ten.  A change came in the 2006 data.  New plants were introduced into the top ten, like New England Asters, Prairie Dock, Switch Grass, Prairie Clover, and Sawtooth.  There was a drastic difference between my quadrant and the other data from Fermi Lab.  There were a total of 6 different types of plants and a total of 2 weeds.  The plants that I observed were Indian Grass, New England Aster, Prairie Dock, Rosinweed, White Prairie Clover, and the rest was grass.

 

My Prediction      

 

            After looking at all of my data I predict that the amount of certain species will increase drastically.  I predict this from looking at the behavior of the Big Bluestem in Plot 17.  The amount of Big Bluestem more than doubled its dominance between 2005 and 2006.  I also predict that some of the species will decrease in dominance or become non-existent.  This was observed in the 2005 and 2006 data of Rosinweed.

 

Reflection

 

            Overall I learned a lot from this project.  I learned how to measure dominance, importance value, and diversity.  I learned things that I never knew about the prairie.  I never knew how many different plants the prairie contained or how important it is to have prairies.  I hope to do more work with prairies to learn more about my state and how it use to be.

 

 

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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 Honors Biology ll  students of Seton Academy in South Holland, Illinois with the help of their teacher Mr. Cwik. Support for the project came from Principal Ms. Ingia Jackson and the other dedicated and cooperative faculty and staff of Seton Academy.

 

REFERENCES:
Fermilab Education Department particularly the SIMply Prairie Project. Authors: Bill Fraccaro, formerly of Johnson School, Wheaton, IL; Lawrence Cwik, Seton Academy and Pat Franzen, formerly Madison Jr. High Naperville, IL; and Bernie Jokiel, formerly from 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.