![]() | Project title | To mow or not to mow: the impact of plant communities on biodiversity![]() ![]() |
Difficulty Level | ||
Project page |  Click here to view this science project | |
Description | ||
Biodiversity hotspots are regions of the Earth with a high concentration of species. Plants are often important components of biological communities because they are at the base of the food web and provide living structures for other organisms. Species richness, or the number of species in an area, is one measure of biodiversity. In this science project, you are going to test the hypothesis that communities with more plant species will also have more animal species. | ||
Instructions preview | ||
* Identify two very different biological communities that are accessible to you. One of the communities should consist of only one or very few types of plants. Ideally, choose a grass lawn if that is available. The other community should have a greater variety of plants, such as a forest or forest edge, shrubland, field of wildflowers, or even an abandoned lot overgrown with weeds. * Pick three plots of land within each of your two chosen communities (6 plots total). The plots should be at least 5 feet x 5 feet in size. Measure your chosen plots with ..... |