Download Fieldstudy Worksheet - Riverina Environmental Education Centre

River Red Gum Ecosystem Fieldwork
Date: ___________________________
Time: _______________________________
Introduction Notes: Latitude- 35 S, Longitude- 147 E
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Landform
Description:
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Describe what "runners" are and explain why they are important.
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Explain how this ecosystem developed.
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Abiotic Features
Abiotic Features
Instrument/tests
Results and Interpretation
Slope (deg)
Air temperature
Humidity (%)
Light intensity
(lux)
Wind
speed/direction
Soil temperature
Soil colour
Soil pH
Soil texture
Problems or flaws in fieldwork methods
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Transect
Record the height and location of trees and animal signs and other features on a transect
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Analysis of transect
Describe and explain the biodiversity of tree species
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Describe and explain the vegetation form, which major form is missing? Why?
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Describe the structure- height, diameter, layers
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Explain why old trees are important
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Leaf Litter (1 Newton equals 100 grams)
Ave.
Leaf litter biomass results
(g/25cm2)
Leaf litter biomass g/m2
Multiply the figure by 16 to
calculate the biomass per square
metre
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Water:
Feature
Results
Interpretation
Turbidity
(Ntu)
Salinity (EC)
Temperature
(0C)
Nitrogen
(Ammonia)
Phosphorus
Dissolved
Oxygen
pH
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Understorey Quadrat
Randomly select an area ___m x ___m. Identify the plants in the quadrat. Record the
species and their location. Estimate the percentage cover for numerous plants and count
individual numbers of larger plants.
Plant Key
Distribution and Abundance of an Organism
Describe the distribution and abundance of a single plant species. Mark out quadrats 1m x
1m every 5 metres along a transect line. Record the number in each quadrat then explain
the distribution and abundance
Plant Species ____________________________________________________________
Quadrat :
number of
plants or
percentage
of cover
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Herbivory of Leaves
Collect 10 leaves (random sample) and calculate the average percentage of leaf area eaten
by herbivores.
Average Herbivory of the class group: ____________
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Food Chains and Food Webs: there are several food webs in this ecosystem- terrestrial,
aquatic, arboreal, nocturnal
Food Chain: draw 2 food chains to show the flow of energy through the ecosystem.
Complete a diagram of a food web for this ecosystem
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Human Impacts
What are the two main impacts of river regulation:
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How has this impacted on:
River red gum trees
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Soils and floodplains
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Native fish and Aquatic birds
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What impact does logging operations have on the age structure of the forest? How
does this impact on animals and birds?
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Explain the impact of grazing on biodiversity
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Bird Survey Results
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