Physical fieldwork Flashcards
Where was the fieldwork conducted?
In Oxwich bay, on the Gower peninsula, West of Swansea, South Wales.
Why was Oxwich bay chosen?
As it has sand dunes where primary data can be collected. This is due to the supply of sand, large tidal range and the onshore wind.
What are the risks and precautions taken(3)?
Sunburn-wear sunscreen
Risk of drowning-stay 5 m from the sea
Getting lost-have an emergency contact number
What is primary and secondary data?
Primary data is collected ourselves through field work and secondary data is researched and taken from other sources.
What is systematic sampling?
A system to collect data e.g. every 10cm across a river
What is stratified sampling?
A sample made up of different parts e.g. in a site in each section of the regeneration.
What is random sampling?
Samples chosen randomly e.g. every location has an equal chance to be selected. Also requires a method to select randomly, e.g. random numbers generator on a calculator.
What is opportunistic sampling?
Where you more or less have to take the sample as it is.
What are dune profiles, why did we conduct it, what didn’t go well and what could be improved.
They are primary, quantitative data which is used to see if they match dune theory. However one limitation was the pH measure not working. An improvement could be checking the pH measures before and after using.
What is a vegetation biodiversity survey, why did we conduct it, what didn’t go well and what could be improved.
It is primary, quantitative data to test if biodiversity increases inland. However it was difficult to identify species and difficult to count squares of plants that were overlapped. We could use a plan identifier app in a phone to increase effectivity.
What are vegetation height surveys, why did we conduct it, what didn’t go well and what could be improved.
They are primary, quantitative data to see if vegetation height increases inland. However some areas were trampled so to improve it you would be better picking an average height.
What are pH meter measurements, why did we conduct it, what didn’t go well and what could be improved.
They are primary, quantitative data to test if the pH falls(increasing acidity) as we move inland. However the pH meters were not working effectively so to improve the test we need to check if they are working before and after using.
What was the pattern in the dune cross section?
The dunes would rise in gradient at the beginning signalling the embryo dunes at 29 degrees. It would then decrease until rising again until evening out at around 100m from the shore where the wasting dunes are.
What is the pattern in the vegetation survey?
It starts off in the beach with 100% bare ground and as it goes further out, there is up to 5 species in zone 2. However an anomaly is zone 5 where 97% is bare ground. You may also argue that the vegetation does not become more diverse with the final transect having over 90% fern.
What is the pattern in the vegetation height survey?
It starts off with no vegetation until it increases up to 80cm at zone 2. However after that, there are no drastic changes apart from an anomalous zone 4 where it is 32cm, compared to the 44cm either side.
