Allison Morey, Alexis Clay, Jacob Turley & Jill Ross 1

October 24, 2016

AP Environmental Science
Forest Report
Introduction
On Friday, October 14, 2016, my scientific team and I trekked out to Parkland
Foundation property along Merwin trail. Founded in 1967, the Parkland Foundation protects
more than 3200 acres of prairie, oak savanna, floodplain forest, and river habitat within McLean
county (History, 3). On our trip, we focused our attention on the forest. Specifically, whether the
section of forest we evaluated was healthy.

What is a healthy forest?

The health of a forest is determined
by its biodiversity and the number of
niches it has. A niche is the evolutionary
result of a species' morphological,
physiological, and behavioral adaptations to
its surroundings (Moyle, 1). For example, if
a tree falls, the plants on the ground receive
more sunlight, flourishing in a place they once struggled. This spot attracts new wildlife as well,
offering new shelter, scenery, and resources. The more niches a forest has, the more change it has
endured. According to John Greene in his Ecological Succession Crash Course, change is
good. If a forest goes without change, it can become stagnant and more susceptible to natural
disasters, like wildfires.

Morey, Clay, Jacob, Ross 2

This brings us to biodiversity. Biodiversity is the amount of difference among and within
plant and animal species in an environment. The more diverse an ecosystem is, the more
balanced it is. The predator-prey cycle keeps each species at its carrying-capacity, allowing other
species to live and grow. If one predator reigns without competition, resources and prey will
soon be scarce. Overpopulation could also lead to extinction. Both situations are less than ideal
for a healthy forest. On this trip, biodiversity was measured by the number of animals and
amount of evidence of life we observe.
Weather also plays an important role in the health of
plants. Danvers, Illinois, a city close to Merwin Trails,
receives 9.51 inches of rain, on average, in the fall
(weatherdb.com). This, along with an average temperature
of 56 degrees Fahrenheit, creates optimal living conditions
for trees to thrive. According to SFGate, Oak Trees, along
with other Midwestern trees, thrive in temperatures of 4570 degrees Fahrenheit.

Methods
Upon arriving at the Parkland Foundation forest, the group began making observations
that would carry on throughout the entire visit. These observations include the presence of
disturbance sensitive plants, common native plants, exotic plants, gypsy moths, and evidence of
animals and humans. The group then came to a consensus about the wind level using the
Beaufort scale, and the cloud coverage at arrival using approximate percentage clear and
percentage cloudy, both were recorded in the Forest Journal. When the group entered the forest
the canopy cover was observed and then decided using a percentage leaf and percentage sky

Morey, Clay, Jacob, Ross 3

visible from below the trees. Due to the absence of a thermometer the group used the weather
channel to recorded the approximate temperature at the time of the visit.
Once the group had traveled into the forest along the trail a plot of land was chosen to be
the quadrant where the main observations would take place. By using a 10 meter long string and
four stakes one member (Alexis) hammered in the first stake marker, then used the string to place
two other stakes equally distant and at a 90 degree angle from the first. This was repeated so that
a 10m x 10m square was created. Within this quadrant the trees found were mapped out
approximately in the Forest Journal according to north, south, east, west. One member of the
group (Allison) found the DBH (diameter at breast height/3m) of each tree using a meter stick, a
skill which had been previously learned in the classroom. After, another member (Jill)
determined the species of each tree using the plant identification document provided. The height
of each tree was then determined by a member (Jacob) using a method also learned in class.
Rising their arm to a 45 degree angle the member backed up until their hand visually touched the
top of the tree. Their distance from the tree was then recorded to be the approximate height of the
tree. All this information was recorded in the graph section of the Forest Journal. Finally the
entire group then observed throughout the quadrant what evidence of animals/insects could be
found, which was then graphed and recorded. When leaving the group decided on cloud
coverage upon departure. To conclude the visit, data was shared amongst the group to make
findings more complete and all finally observations were recorded.

Morey, Clay, Jacob, Ross 4

Observations
Observations that were studied within the quadrant provided much insight on the quality
of the forest. Such observations included: Measurements of the 4 trees (height and
weight{DBH}) located within the 10 x 10 meter quadrant, examination of the animals located
within the specified perimeter along with evidence of animals that were possible in the quadrant
before but absent at the time (animal feces and tracks was found), and locations of plausible
micro climates.

Morey, Clay, Jacob, Ross 5

Evidence of animals: tracks

Evidence of life: Spider sightings

Data
Overall, the animal diversity, out of the chart the group was given, was fairly uniform.
Out of the 13 categories that were listed, only 4 of them were spotted. The four species that were

Morey, Clay, Jacob, Ross 6

found resulted in a fair dominance in Ants/Flies/Bees/Mosquitoes/etc, with a 55.88% dominance.

This was followed somewhat closely by spiders with a density percentage of 38.24%.
Throughout the entirety of the groups research our amount of trees was quite small
compared to other groups. While our group measured 4 trees with the largest DBH being 20.130 cm and the other 3 resulting in 10.1-20 cm. The largest tree measured from all groups that
participated in was more than 60 cm with only one tree present, while the smallest recorded was
5.1-10 cm with an abundance of 3 trees with this DBH. The most dominant of the DBH species
was 0.1-20 cm with an exact 40% dominance.

Conclusion
We have determined that our segment of the forest was a healthy one because it answered
every part of the question: What is a healthy forest? In our 10m X 10m section of the forest,
we measured the height of the 4 trees in our quadrant, 37, 1176, 1157, 34. We also
measure the DBH of all the trees, 3 of which had the same DBH of 10.1-20 cm. and the last one
had a DBH of 20.1-30 cm.. Those are good numbers for the DBH the height of the trees. We also
had a dead tree that we presume that had been hit by lightning a couple years ago. It had a dark,
burnt inside with most of the tree fallen onto the forest floor with a lot of fungi and moss built up
onto it, showing its been down for quite some time. Do to the colder weather, there wasn't as
much diversity of animals and insects. We found at least 13 spiders or evidence of spiders, at
least 19 ants, flies, bees, or mosquitoes, 1 beetle, and at least 2 birds with a total of 34 animals
and insects in our quadrant. Not a very big diversity of animals, but there was a diversity of
animals. We found a lot of poison ivy, hepatica (disturbance sensitive plant) and moneywort and
ground ivy (exoctic plants) within our quadrant. According to mylandplan.org, a healthy forest
consist of 3 or more different kinds of tree species indicates a good and healthy forest. In our

Morey, Clay, Jacob, Ross 7

quadrant we had 2 different kinds of trees, but as a class, we had well over 3 different species of
trees. Our most popular tree species was the American Elm. We had 3 American Elms in our
quadrant.
Our methods in seeing if our part of the forest was a healthy one started with the
temperature, which we found to be about 58 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade. The next step we
took was measuring the amount of wind according to the Beaufort Scale which so happened to
be a 4 (small branches moving). Our 3rd step was finding evidence of animals and humans. We
found animal droppings, a possible decaying animal or something in the back of our quadrant,
foot tracks, squirrel chatter, and bird chirping. We found trails, voices, signs, and cars in the
distance as signs of humans. Next we determined the cloud coverage which we found was 0 :
100 sky. Meaning it was a very clear day! We also determined the canopy above our quadrant,
70% coverage: 30% sky. There was no Gypsy moths present in our quadrant. After we
determined all of those, we went and found how many standing trees (4), we found the DBH of
all the trees, the height of the trees and the species of the tree (American Elm, and ash). The
shannon index of the plants in our quadrant was .98 and the evenness was .89 and the shannon
index of animals is also .98 and the evenness is .71. After all that we left and saw that the cloud
coverage was still 0:100 sky. Meaning that the sky was still very clear. Then we went back and
shared some more data and took a walk around some more on the trail and saw some more
diversity of trees, plants, and animals. With all that, we went back to the buses and concluded our
forest trip!

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Works Cited
Amberg, Credit: Rob. "Natives and Transplants." My Land Plan. N.p., 26 Aug. 2015. Web. 23
Oct. 2016.
"Compare Average Rainfall for US Cities." Average Rainfall for US Cities. N.p., n.d. Web. 17
Oct. 2016.
Crashcourse. "Ecological Succession: Change Is Good - Crash Course Ecology #6." YouTube.
YouTube, 10 Dec. 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
"Create a Pie Chart." , Free . Customize, Download and Easily Share. Just Enter the Amounts,
Pick Some Colors/fonts, and We'll Take It from There! N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
"The Definition of Biodiversity." Dictionary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.

Morey, Clay, Jacob, Ross 9

Moyle, By Peter. "Chapter 7: Niche and Habitat." Niche and Habitat. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct.
2016.
"Strategic Plan." ParkLands Foundation. N.p., 23 Nov. 2015. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.