Background Information Marram Grass Essay Example

we will find any Marram grass here, due to the conditions.

Next there are the white dunes, this is where the Marram grass community is likely to be found. Here the Marram grass stabilizes the dunes, through its roots; clumps of Marram grass are continually being buried only to regrow again. The sand dunes go on to become stable dunes and then we get dune scrub, finally having a woodland. In the lower areas of the dunes or in between, there are very likely to be slacks, these are wet areas where there is little vegetation, if the water is too salty, thus having a low water potential, which affects transpiration, or maybe the water is suitable for plant growth yet no Marram grass grows there.Proposed MethodBased upon the above information, I can conduct an experiment that will allow me to investigate an abiotic factor upon Marram grass distribution.

We know that Marram grass is a xerophyte, and therefore has adaptations in order for it to lower its transpiration rate, and thus reducing water loss. Therefore, it is sensible to investigate an abiotic factor, which causes the plants to loose water. Hence, I can either investigate the salt content causing a difference in water potential, meaning that it would be hard for the plant to draw water through its roots, or I could investigate the temperature, and its effects on the Marram grass distribution.After careful consideration of the above abiotic factors and others as well, for example humus content, or pH, I have decided to investigate the effect of temperature.

The reason for this is that at the sand dunes, the temperature varies greatly because it is an

uneven surface, causing shades and sunny spots in different areas. Also I can use a digital temperature meter to determine the temperature in which the Marram grass grows thus gaining data up to a few decimal places, making my investigation more accurate.Equipment neededTemperature probe/meterOne meter squared quadratTable of resultsTape measurePoint marker sticksI shall carry out this investigation at Sefton Coast Sandhills, near Formby, I have chosen this location because there are natural sand dunes, and also because it is a reserve aiming at sustaining the sand dunes. Because the sand dunes are not greatly disturbed, we can clearly see the sand dune and ecological succession; ecological succession is where we can see how the plants are growing along the sand dunes, as we go further away from the sea, starting at pioneer plants, going to Marram grass going to fast growing trees and ending up at slow growing trees.

For this investigation, I have selected to use quadrat sampling, as it is the most useful at determining populations, and also it allows for a systematic approach. Upon arriving at the sand hills, I shall get a one meter squared quadrat. I will place the quadrat at the beginning of a white dune, ignoring a pioneer dune, as there aren't likely to be any Marram grass populations. When I have placed my quadrat down, I shall use a temperature probe to record the temperature, I shall place the probe into the grass as to get the exact temperature, that Marram grass is living in.

Then I shall estimate the population of Marram grass in that quadrat in percentages, for example if the quadrat is half full with Marram

grass, the estimate is going to be 50%. Unfortunately, I cannot separate the quadrat into fractions, because the holes in the fractions (made by a string) would be too small for the Marram grass to fit through, nevertheless it would mean that I would get a more accurate estimate. I shall record my estimate in a results table. Subsequently I shall flip the quadrat to the right, whilst keeping the right side firmly on the floor, and flipping the left side, repeating the above procedure, finally I shall flip to the right again and repeat the method.

This makes sure, that the estimate and the temperature for that area is accurate, allowing me to work out an average. From that point, I shall get a tape measure, and shall measure out 30m, placing a point marker stick at that point, there in a straight line to the first measure, I shall repeat the above procedure again three times, and then shall adavance 30m again. I shall repeat this until I have at least 15 sets of three results. Because this will then allow me to analyze the data closely and also I will be able to carry out a statistical test, a Spearman rank correlation test. This is a measure of the strength of a correlation (on a scatter graph). We can correlate two variables, allowing us to see the effect of the variables, and how closely related they are.

There are factors in this investigation which need to be controlled, in order for me to get accurate results. For example, it is logical that I cannot carry out the experiment if there is a slack where

I was supposed to measure, therefore I will ignore this slack and move next to the slack, carrying out the procedure there. Also, I must be careful not to place the probe directly close to the stems on the grass, close to the floor, as this is likely to be the coldest place, yet not being the overall average temperature, thus providing me with an inaccurate measure.Therefore, I will try to place the probe into the middle of the grass, on the grass, if the floor is not hollow, giving me a better estimate. Next, when estimating the coverage, I must be careful not to overestimate or underestimate, and in my analysis I must be aware of human error. Next I must also be careful that I flip the quadrat correctly, where one side remains on the floor, allowing me to again get a better estimate, and furthermore the data is going to be closely related.

Finally the last major variable which I must be aware of is the distance between the dunes, as it needs to be as close to 30 meters as possible if I encounter a slack.I have selected the above method, due to the reason that it is quiet kind to the environment as I am not damaging it. However I must still be careful not to affect the sand dunes greatly as this is also a habitat for not only plants but animals.