An Ecological Sampling Exercise 
Processing & Interpreting Raw Data
Contents

The Raw Data 

This sampling exercise provides raw data for students to test their skills in processing and interpreting sampling results. For more information on the exercise, see the Introduction.

The raw data presented below was collected by students in a practical ecological sampling exercise on the Heathland Restoration Project area, at the Woodland Education Centre, Offwell.  The students were investigating the effect of different types of management on Bluebell survival on the heathland site. The site was formerly woodland and Bluebells are a woodland indicator species.

wpeBE.jpg (37319 bytes)
Looking north across the centre of the site
from strip 1 (foreground) to strip 5 (tall gorse)

 

Bluebell % Cover in Random 1m2 Quadrats on the Heathland Restoration Project area at Offwell.
Data collected by students of Axe Valley Community College, in March

Quadrat No.

Strip 1 Strip 2 Strip 3 Strip 4
  (undivided) Top Bottom Top Bottom Top Bottom
1 20 20 40 60 25 30 1
2 45 25 10 70 55 15 1
3 90 80 8 80 10 0 1
4 5 25 20 45 9 1 0
5 10 10 20 60 20 8 6
6 20 15 15 45 8 6 2
7 70 20 8 40 13 60 0
8 30 15 20 10 49 75 4
9 5 25 25 45 67 - 0
10 50 85 15 24 27 - 0

 

Continue to the Exercise

 

Thanks are due to Dr Wendy Graham and the Axe Valley Community College,
for permission to publish the data and follow-up exercise.

 

Contents