Draft 1: Miami Leaf Drop

This topic submitted by Liz Hauser, Spencer Davis, Marty Pazol, Kristi Gerard (pazolmh@muohio.edu) at 4:36 pm on 10/2/99. Additions were last made on Wednesday, August 9, 2000. Section: Nicholson

I. Introduction
Our lab consists of an in scientific study of the falling-rate of leaves outside of Boyd Hall during the autumn season. Our focus of research is on two species of trees: the ginkgo biloba and quercus robur. We anticipate being able to compare the age of each tree species to the rate at which its respective leaves fall. Through this lab, we aspire to further develop our observation, data collecting, and interpretation skills. We also hope to discover new questions and interests involving seasonal changes.
As our group began to plan our lab, we found that there were many questions concerning the process when trees shed their leaves. At first we became interesting in whether the color of the leaves effected the time in which they dropped. We also considered studying how the weather effected when the leaves would drop. We struggled with finding accurate methods to approach researching these problems. As we walked to Natural Systems class one morning, we noticed the great variety of tree species surrounding Boyd. We questioned our professor about the history of leaf-fall for the trees we had observed. She mentioned the significance of the ancient ginkgo biloba, which was located directly outside our classroom window. This tree was the central root of our research idea. We took particular interest in her mentioning of the possibility that the ginkgo biloba might drop its leaves over the course of one night. Our group was ready to decide on our hypothesis.
We predict that the older species of tree will drop its leaves at an accelerated rate as compared to the younger species of tree.
We look forward to beginning our research project. As the leaves begin to change color, we wait in anticipation for our particular trees to shed their leaves. Because so many people are familiar with the scientific process involved with seasonal changes, we feel that this is an excellent opportunity to really involve our classmates in our lab. We hope to look beyond the familiar and help our classmates to do the same.

II. Materials and Methods
The fundamental method in which we will be researching our problem is through the use of leaf collection and bio massing. We will be constructing several large “leaf traps” under three trees surrounding Boyd Hall. We have selected two quercus robur and one ginkgo biloba. We will construct our “leaf traps” by securing large nets with stakes around the base of our subject trees. Each morning at 8:30am, we will collect the leaves in the nets and place them in large trash bags. We will weigh the leaves in the bag to figure out the total mass of leaves that fell over the course of one day. We will record this data in charts for later analysis. We also plan to use a time-lapse camera to record the actual leaf fall of the ginkgo biloba.
We acknowledge that there will be many variables that will affect the accuracy in our results. One of our biggest concerns is that many leaves have already fallen off the trees. It would be nearly impossible to collect all of the leaves that fall off our three trees. Weather also plays a major role in our experiment. Wind and rainfall will affect the rate and placement of leaf fall-rate. We also know that our nets will not capture all of the leaves that fall. This will require us to collect each tree’s specific leaves that are in the surrounding environment. Hopefully, passing students will not tamper with our experiment. We know that it will be very tempting for them to play with our nets, so we will have to take this into careful consideration.
We are unable to describe the types of nets we will be using for our leaf collection because we have not be able to visit nurseries due to transportation problems. Our professor will be helping us to locate nets that will be capable of catching our leaves effectively and will allow rain to reach the base of our trees. We are also still working to locate a time-lapse camera for observation.
Our class’ participation in our research will be invaluable, as we will conduct a “hands-on” nature walk behind Boyd hall. We will have our class collect the leaves out of a selected area and will observe what they find. We will have them categorize the leaves and see if there were patterns in the sample that we took. We will also have the class do the normal lab procedure for the day (the collection and weighing of the bio-mass in our nets).
In our lab proposal, we have included a sample blank chart we will use to record our data. We will record the mass of the total amount of leaves for each day of the week. The total length of our research period is un-determinable because there is no way to predict when the leaves will fall off the trees. We will extend our observations until all of the leaves have fallen from our three trees around Boyd.

Monday|Tuesday|Wednesday|Thursday|Friday|Saturday|Sunday
Gingko Biloba |_____|_______|_________|________|______|________|____
Quercus Robur1|_____|_______|_________|________|______|________|_____
Quercus Robur2|_____|_______|_________|________|______|________|_____

The time line for our lab procedure is as follows.
October 1:
Assemble nets around three trees.
October 1 until last leaf falls off of each tree:
Collect leaves and weigh daily.
October 21(tentative):
Compile data and begin final analysis

III. Relevance of your research question
To our knowledge, this research project has never been conducted before. It is a very specific research topic because it concerns three specific trees outside of Boyd. We have been unable to find any other similar research projects. We will continue to search for past research on similar topics and ideas. We found the following websites that contained information that will aid us in our experiment:

·http://www.shu.ac.uk/schools/sci/sol/ihuest/trees/oak.htm
The site gives a brief summary of the physical characteristics of the Quercus robur. It includes information from the average diameter to the average age of this particular species.
·http://www.bluehen.ags.udel.edu/udbg/trees/desriptions/q-robur.html
·http://www.bcc.orst.edu/hortpm/quro-i.htm
·http://www.okstate.edu/OSU-
Ag/asnr/hortla/needham/extension/ffa/engloak.html
·http://www.shu.ac.uk/schools/sci/sol/invest/trees/oak.htm

This list will be up-dated as our research continues.
Even though our research takes place outside of Boyd Hall, it can also be viewed from a much larger perspective. The simple comparison of the three trees’ leaf drop-rates can correlate with trees from around the world. This lab is designed to become a discovery of “seeing the familiar.” Worldwide, the cycle of leaves growing and falling continues to occur. This research will help us to find relationships between species of the past and present.

IV. Proposal Conclusion
Through careful execution of this lab, we hope to successfully solve our research question. We are open to any suggestions and constructive criticism available. Please feel free to contact us with your ideas.

For Further Info on this Topic, Check out this WWW Site: http://www.shu.ac.uk/schools/sci/sol/ihuest/trees/oak.htm . Next Article
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