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Factors On The Effect Of Elevation Effects On Plant Growth

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Elevations Effects on Plant Growth
James Walters, 8/25/2017, Biology 132-01, Alan Liang & Jillian Beard
Introduction
Plants rely on the environment in which they live to grow, and different environmental conditions provide a wide array of different foliage. Many studies have concluded that altitude effects the heights of a variety of different species (1). In a study comparing beech tree growth, factors such as light and nutrient availability were shown to increase as tree height increased. Along with these findings, it was found that growth rate declined as altitude increased (2). Another study observing elevations effect on Malosma Laurinais showed that increased altitudes were correlated with stronger and healthier leaves for the plants (3). Plants primarily rely on water, and sunlight to grow, but other factors play a role in development as well. Elevation can have a drastic impact on the speciation and growth of different plant species for many reasons. Surface level determines soil moisture content, wind speed, and the amount of sunlight that a plot of vegetation will receive. Common knowledge of how plants grow, suggest that the high soil moisture content at low elevations will increase plant height due to the excess of resources being provided.
Plants in the campus lodge area in Brocton, NY have a vast variety of different growing conditions and climates. We decided to examine if different soil elevations had an impact on the growth of plants in this area. Foliage

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