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Ponderosa Pine Species Observation Report

640 Words3 Pages

Introduction The number of plant species inhabiting Earth keep our planet highly diverse as well as play a vital role in sustaining our environment and our population. The understanding of plant species and their diversity and abundance is important because plants are vital to maintaining Earth and its atmosphere. In our research project, we addressed the question: How does the abundance of the ponderosa pine species vary within different elevation levels on the Bear Peak Trail? The article by Wathen et. al (2014) studies the spatial and temporal distribution of species richness within two National Parks. The study shows plants species to be at a maximum richness at middle to high altitudes (2000-3000m) and decline dramatically after 3000m. The article represents the positive relationships between the richness of plant species and elevations and demonstrates that as elevation increases the species richness also increases until you reach 3000m. Zhang et. al (2016) experienced findings …show more content…

In this study we will examine how elevation gradients influence the abundance of the ponderosa pine species. We hypothesize that the abundance of ponderosa pine increases as elevation increases and predict that we will find differences in the ponderosa pine abundance at different elevations.
Methods
Study System
Bear Peak is a trail located in Boulder Open Space with the lowest elevation of 5,623 feet (1713.89m) and with the highest elevation reaching a peak of 8,453 feet (2576.474m). The Bear Peak Trail is rich in flora and fauna and a great place to explore ponderosa pine trees. This study will compare the diversity of ponderosa pine at low, medium, and high elevations.
Experimental design For this study we will measure the abundance of ponderosa pine at different elevations by using the quadrat method. The elevations and GPS coordinates will be recorded.
Response

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