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Ecological principles, biodiversity and identification skills.
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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Ecological principles, biodiversity and identification skills