Ecological principles, biodiversity and identification skills

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UC107731     Ecological principles, biodiversity and identification skills

This Assignment is worth 40% of the total available marks for this module

Produce a scientific report of 750 words based on the information and task below. Word count excludes tables, graphs and references

All reports should be uploaded to Turnitin on Brightspace

Submission deadline 17 April 2020

Penalties for late submission will be applied as per UHI regulations

Information and Task

A highland Local Authority wishes to enhance the biodiversity value of some of its areas of regularly mown recreational grasslands. Both sites are flat homogeneous areas approximately 30m x 30m in full sun, they receive twelve cuts per year and no chemical treatments. An ecologist has carried out a plant surveys of potential sites and collected environmental data. The field data from these surveys are given in Table 1 and Table 2. Your task is too:

1 Identify the site with the highest biodiversity, giving a reason for your decision based on analysis of the field data

2 Consider how the environmental factors may have influenced the biodiversity of the two sites with reference to ecological principles

3 Briefly consider how you could enhance the biodiversity of the site using alternative cutting regimes. Refer to ecological principles to supports your recommendations

Table 1 Plant abundance and environmental data for Site 1

% cover per quadrat
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Rye Grass 50 30 40 37 56 48 57
Bent Grass 10 5 3 10 6 12 5
Germander speedwell 8 3 0 6 0 3 0
Clover 9 6 8 10 0 13 6
Moss 10 15 20 10 5 21 9
Bugle 3 5 4 0 10 0 1
Cats Ear 4 0 0 0 8 0 1
Dandelion 1 0 0 0 1 0 0
Creeping Buttercup 5 36 25 27 14 3 21
pH 6.8 5.2 5.8 5.1 6.0 6.2 5.4
Nitrogen Low Medium Low Low Medium Low Low
% Moisture Content 30 52 30 40 30 40 26

Table 2 Plant abundance and environmental data for Site 2

% cover per quadrat
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Rye Grass 72 70 72 75 66 76 72
Bent Grass 13 15 18 12 14 19 15
Germander speedwell 3 0 0 4 2 0 2
Clover 2 8 3 5 5 0 3
Moss 10 5 7 3 8 2 5
Bugle 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Cats Ear 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Dandelion 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Creeping Buttercup 0 2 0 0 5 3 3
pH 6.8 6.3 6.0 5.8 6.2 5.3 6.4
Medium High High Medium Low High Medium
% Moisture Content 20 15 20 21 35 10 8

Report Format, indicative content and marking

Indicative content  Marks available
Aim Give a suitable aim. It should be clear, concise and accurate 2
Method Describe the method that you would use to collect the above data 5
Results Convert the field data to results using appropriate format, clearly labelled 5
Results Analysis Analyse your results using appropriate statistical methods 15
Discussion Discuss your results with reference to your aims and the task.

10
References Appropriate references cited correctly in the text 3

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