Physical Flashcards
What is the title for physical fieldwork
Investigate the changes to the characteristics of the sand dunes at Knoll beach in Studland Bay Dorset
What is the hypothesis for physical fieldwork
There is significant changes to the shape and vegetation on the sand dunes at Knoll beach studland bay
Why is our location suitable for our investigation for physical fieldwork
Lots of plants on sand dunes, dunes have changed over time so compare results to previous years
Types of dunes in order
Embryo, fore, yellow, grey, mature
Properties of sand dunes
Marram grass, heather, couch grass, nutrients, humus, bacteria, vegetation
How are the sand dunes altered by human activity both in present and past
Last year lots of fencing to restrict people from walking on them
Lots of people trampling on embryo dune when walking on beach
Sand dunes were over protected so dominant plant species like heather outcompeted other plants
Man made through the middle footpath around so used my people and horse rider
Students frequently stepping on dunes for similar investigations
Methodology
Where did we collect our data
for physical fieldwork
We collected data from Knoll beach in Studland bay on Thursday in middle of September at 3:00
Methodology
How did you measure the transect for physical fieldwork
First we unravelled the measuring tape to 50m. Starting at 0m every 5m we put the ranging poles in the ground. Using the clinometer and lining it up on the lines on the poles we measured the gradient
Methodology
Where and how was the data recorded
for physical fieldwork
We used systematic sampling every 5 meters and recorded it onto the data sheet
Methodology
How did you use equipment to ensure the data was collected accurately
for physical fieldwork
When using the quadrant we made sure we had a second opinion on the percentage cover and then agreed the best percent. When using the clinometer we had someone reading it from the side and the back. If there was any plants we couldn’t identify we asked a teacher
Methodology
What was the second piece of data you collected for physical fieldwork
Our second piece was identifying the plants and species from our species ID card and also every 50m we collected a sample of soil to later test the Ph of
Methodology
How was the vegetation selected at each point
for physical fieldwork
Randomly we would place the quadrant in that selected area the further we went the more likely there was 100% vegetation. We would then identify the plants in the quadrant and write them down
Justification
Why did you pick the dunes at knoll beach
We chose them because they are old and have a mixture between young and mature dunes so we could see the difference between them
Justification why the data collection method helps us prove / disprove our hypothesis
for physical fieldwork
Our data was quantitative data which was easy to present and analyse therefore we were able to prove or disprove our hypothesis
Justification
Why did we use systematic sampling to measure dune height
So we could see a clear pattern at regular intervals. It provided us with a lot of data to pick out patters
Justification
What sampling method did you use for vegetation data collection
We used random systematic, we still measured it every 5m but we put it anywhere randomly within the 5m distance
Justification
Why was the equipment you used appropriate for your level of study for physical fieldwork
It was accurate and easy to understand. It also wasn’t expensive so affordable to use.
Justification
What constraints were you under in the completing this method for physical fieldwork
Sometimes the tape measure may of given inaccurate data because it became loose so not exactly every 5m. We also had to avoid the brambles so was not going in a completely straight line so we maybe mesurer more than 200m. We also were a bit rushed near the end so data could have become inaccurate.
Conclusion for height shape of dunes
Height increased rapidly then decreased very dramatically between 150 and 200m
Conclusion for PH in soil
Soil PH decreased then went up at the end, acidity increased
Types of vegetation found along transect
Marram grass, heather, litchen
What have you noticed in your data
To do with height and shape use evidence
There was a clear fore dune. Then not much increase. Yellow and grey dune more visible. No dune slacks only footpaths. No embryo dune.
Sand dune elevation increased from 1.2 at 50 meters to 5.1 at 150 meters
What have you noticed in your data
To do with the vegetation use evidence
Rapid change. Low percentage to 100%. Marram grass near the beginning then changes to heather and gorse. Not big variety of plants .
Limited species diversity, mainly recorded heather, marram and 50m. Soil Ph of 7.72 at 0m to 3.76 at 150m
Conclusion
Did we prove or disprove our hypothesis and why
Shape and height
Partly proven
Changed rapidly to 1.8 m from the beach, this is the fore and yellow dune that had a very clear steep. This was maybe because the embryo dune on the beach would be trampled on. The rest of the dunes were very similar to each other
Conclusion
Did we prove or disprove our hypothesis and why
Vegetation
Partly proven
From 0 to 10m there was very little vegetation and then till the next 50m there was close to 100% but just marram grass. After this it was all 100% cover but not as much plant variation as might have expected. Mainly marram and heather
Evaluation
Strengths of investigation for physical fieldwork
-used simple and appropriate methods for gcse level
-we had chosen a suitable location to complete our research, the dunes at Studland were very unusual so made our analysis interesting
- title and hypothesis was not overly complicated, meant we were successful in drawing conclusions and proving hypothesis
-used reliable methods which gave us accurate results
Evaluation
Weaknesses of our investigation for physical fieldwork
-There was potential for human error when recording and collecting data. Sometimes we didn’t measure angle with clinometer correctly
-when collecting data the tape measured was not always straight, some also broke and tangled, this lack of precision may have lead to inaccurate results
-we didn’t repeat investigation further down beach, this may have improved validity of investigation
