EDGE EFFECTS IN SECOND GROWTH FORESTS

The goal of this project is to identify the species diversity at the edges of parcels of woodland as compared to their interiors, and to document the `thickness' of such edge effects. Teachers would select 10 x 10 m quadrants along a transect extending into a large block of second growth forest bordering cropland or pasture land, and identify every plant species encountered within that quadrant. Species composition and diversity would be compared among quadrants collected at the forest edge, along the transect, into the forest interior (200 m inside the forest?). Quantitative emphasis would be on plant species, but composition and diversity of animals would be noted as well. This project would necessitate the presence of facilitators (perhaps the teachers themselves?) familiar with the botany of second growth forests in the east. Do we have any expertise in this area to date?

MATERIALS: The usual maps and transportation, survey flags; ideally a survey transit (alternatively, Brunton compasses), handbooks of trees and shrub species of eastern North America.

Teams which have selected this project.

Woodrow Wilson Leadership Program in Environmental Science lpt@www.woodrow.org
The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation webmaster@woodrow.org
CN 5281, Princeton NJ 08543-5281 Tel:(609)452-7007 Fax:(609)452-0066