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
This investigation was designed to compare the height of Pteridium aquilinum in a light area and a dark area of Rushy Plains, Epping Forest and to establish if light intensity does have an effect on the growth of Pteridium aquilinum, commonly known as Bracken. From my research it was clear that the height of Bracken is affected by abiotic factors, other than light intensity, such as: soil moisture, soil temperature, air temperature and soil pH so I had to control these factors. I carried out preliminary experiments to find a suitable site where all these factors where constant. For my actual investigation I measure
The growth rate of native tree species compared to the shade tolerance can be viewed in Figure 1. The general trend is as growth rate increases, the shade tolerance decreases. Trees that depend on sunlight, like the American beech, need to have a faster growth rate in order to compete with other species. On the other hand, trees with shade tolerance such as the sugar maple don’t need to grow as fast, as they can still thrive with less sunlight. An exception to this general trend would be striped maple, whose growth rate is fast and is also shade tolerant. This species has adapted itself
Plants are found everywhere on earth, up high on the ridge and down low in caves and caverns. The types of plants that live in these places depends on many factors. These factors are separated into two different categories, the biotic factors and the abiotic factors. Some of the biotic factors include, predation, competition, and habitat destruction. Plants with limited competition and large amounts of resources will be in a higher abundance than plants with limited resources and higher competition rates will be confined to areas and either out competed or will be the dominant species. Certain plants adapt to these factors and thrive and others don’t do as well. Some of the abiotic factors include, sunlight, water, temperature, and wind. These
When planting a seed, many factors allow the seed to grow and become a plant. To sprout from the ground, and to survive, seeds need water, air, and a certain temperature. Seeds can get water, oxygen, and sun by being placed at the proper planting depth. Planting depth is the depth at which a seed is placed in the soil. If a seed is exposed to these important needs, it goes through a process called germination. According to the Wise Geek article, “What is Germination?”, “Germination is a process in which a seed or spore awakens from dormancy and starts to sprout.” (“What is Germination?”).
Biomes are appropriate conditions for organizing the natural world because the organisms that live in them common constellations of adaptations, particularly the climate of each of the areas and the characteristic vegetation types that develops in these divisions. It should be understood that the climate is perhaps the most important in determining classes of individuals who may live in an area and the ways they should be amended to live under different conditions of temperature and precipitation and seasonal distribution of these factors element. Every place on Earth has its own climate, influenced by both macroclimate regions as the particular microclimate. The soils are very important because they are essential to determine the types of plants that will grow into a bioclimatic zone in partical, in addition, also as substrates for animals serve. In turn, the soils are heavily influenced by regional climate, as well as the geology of the bedrock. At the same time we have to keep in mind the diversity of plants like the flora just like the diversity of the fauna as well as the adaptation of both.
The annual rate of precipitation, and elevational range once generated a strong foundation for a wide diversity of vegetation
Adaptations in terrestrial environments involve the structural and functional qualities of the organism, to achieve the adequate intake of oxygen and other essential substances for the animal to survive, the evolution of more complex anatomical structures were required. Gravity is stronger on land than water, which means terrestrial organisms have to be more structural than aquatic organisms. Also, the balance of gas exchange with water loss is a key feature to survive in land. For example plants, when doing photosynthesis require carbon dioxide and water to produce oxygen, at the end of this process a lot of water is lost and terrestrial plants have to compensate the water being lost and the water taken from soil. Furthermore, the dispersal of gametes by wind or other animals have helped plants reproduce in large amounts and create varieties of species of the same kind. Short-term weather patterns as well as long-term climate conditions based on precipitations, temperature, wind, humidity as well as other factors are survival obstacles that organisms in land have to adapt to live; endothermic organisms have to maintain a constant internal
might affect the fitness of each variant. In other words which factors might increase plant growth, survival,
A plant's growth ability is dependent on its ability to acquire the resources it needs to survive. Competition such as interspecific and intraspecific, limiting resources, and population density affect the fitness level of a plant. This experiment was conducted in order to test the capability of collards and radishes to grow in manipulated densities under interspecific and intraspecific competition. I hypothesized that both collard and radish plants will grow more efficiently in single species pots under low-density conditions. I also hypothesized that in the mixed species plots the radishes will be more fit to survive and grow better than the collard plants in both the high and low-density pots. Both high and low density and single and mixed species plots were planted and results were observed. There was a significant
Temperature influences the distribution of plants and this is another abiotic factor. In the Lions club tower I could feel the difference in temperature. Bottom at being cold and moist whereas the top is warm and dry. This is shown clearly on the average table. Temperatures such as snow or frost determines the distribution of plants as most plants cannot prevent freezing because of their tissues and this abiotic factor affects the plantae group. Other effects that could cause an establishment to particular plants due to temperature is the gemination of biennial plants, and this is during spring or summer known as vernalization. This is the cooling of seed in order to quickly adapt to the environment and the abiotic factors. As of the forest
For example, the trees of tropical rain forests usually grow closer to the equator, while the mosses and lichens of the tundra usually grow closer to the poles. The land located in the temperate region of the world, between about 30° and 60° north latitude and 30° and 60° south latitude, is where most of the food in the world is grown. This region includes biomes such as temperate forests and grasslands, which usually have moderate temperatures and fertile soil that is ideal for agriculture.” As the latitude and altitude increase the land became drier and colder , which means that most plants and animals may and may not survive.
In this experiment, I tested the theory of how light would affect the growth of a bean plant. According to gardenguides.com, lack of light is detrimental to plant growth.”Plants that don't get enough light don't have the resources they require, and fail to bloom or fruit.” It is also stated that every plant will need a different strength of sunlight such as full sun, partial sun, or indirect sunlight (also known as full shade). Plants that receive inadequate amounts of sunlight will not thrive.The reasoning behind this is due to a process called Photosynthesis, stated in gardeningknowhow.com. Photosynthesis is a chemical process which converts energy in the form of light into a chemical energy which is a vital food source for plants to thrive.
Climate change is a crucial issue which every living organism in this planet should cope with. Plants are in a disadvantaged position because they cannot move, like other organisms for avoiding the effects of the global warming. Thus, they should find ways to adapt to these changes, even when they are in very harsh environments, like in high altitude habitats. The effects of climate change could alter the functional traits and the phenology of the plants. This review article deals with the differences of the flowering time of Arabidopsis thaliana in low and high altitudes and also with the alteration of this due to the effects of global warming. As it is already discussed in the previous paragraphs, the flowering time of Arabidopsis thaliana
A plant is any of the boundless number of living beings within the biological kingdom Plantae, these species are considered of low motility since this species generally generate their own food by sunlight. They incorporate a large group of commonplace life forms including trees, forbs, bushes, grasses, vines, plants, and greeneries. In this task we are experimenting the relationship between light and plant growth by growing plants in three different lights which are red light, blue light and white light. As I stated above that plants generate their own food by sunlight. Sunlight can be broken up by a prism into respective colors of red, blue, orange, yellow, green, indigo, violet and white. All this lights have specific
The overall variation of the mean moisture content of tree bark, and the mean distribution of the Lichen population in relation to the increasing height of the tree from the ground level is shown in Figure 1. It was observed that there is a remarkable reduction in the mean moisture content of the bark as the height of the tree increased. Hence there is a strong relationship between the mean moisture content and the tree height as supported by the high coefficient of determination value (R2 = 0.96136). The mean moisture content from the tree height of 0.50 metres to 1.00 metre has a percentage reduction of 18% (Refer to Appendix VI for equation), and this value increases to 24% from the tree height of 0.50 metres to 1.50 metres. Fielding (1952) on his research on Monterey pine trees, also found that some trees showed a progressive decrease in the moisture content, as the tree height increased. The reason for this maybe due to the fact that the lower parts of the trees have a closer proximity to the soil surface. In this location the organic matter content of the top layer of soil is relatively high due to seasonal tree leaves deposition of perennial trees and a good cover of grass surface, this creates a higher moisture retention of top soil therefore lower parts of the trees get more moisture contact. Claire Shi (2016), conducted a similar research on trees at a different area at the Victoria Esplanade. The results from her research show that the moisture