Red+Maple+Trees

 THESIS - Our group is focusing on the density of Red Maple Trees in Flat Rock Brook. We are going to compare the number of trees in areas that are certain distances away from the water source. A significant difference in the quantity of trees will compare the quantity of Red Maple Trees in relation to the quantity of other trees in these areas. What is the percentage of red maple trees in flat rock brook. The number of red maples trees is in correlation to all the tress in relation to the certain distance from the water. ABSTRACT - For our Watershed project, we are finding the density of Red Maple tress in areas specific distances from a water source. We are trying to find and show a relationship between this distance and the number of trees because Red Maple trees may grow in a different behavior depending on their distance from the water source. There will be 6 sites of approximately 20 square meters in area with two sites at each distance from the water source. From counting the trees we learned that the number of red maple trees did decrease as we got further away from the water, as did the total number of trees. From our analysis of the data, we found our hypothesis to be correct. BACKGROUND - The independent variable is the distance (meters) from the water source and the dependent variable is the growth/amount of trees. The distance of the tree from the water source affects the growth or amount of trees because Red Maple trees may grow in a different behavior when it is closer to the water rather than being further away from the water source. MATERIALS  - We will use a meter stick to measure the length of the string we will use to map out our area for counting the trees. METHODS - The density of trees will be measured certain distances from a water source in areas of about 20 square meters. After the total in this first area is found, a second area of the same size will be measured. This second area will be further away from the water source. The process will be repeated at 6 different sites (2 sites close to a water source, 2 sites far from a water source, and 2 sites in between the two previously determined areas. Distinguishable rocks and items will be placed to mark each area. Within these areas, the number of Red Maple Trees and the number of non-Red Maple trees will be counted to find a percentage. We identified the red maple trees by looking at the shape of each tree's leave shape and the type of bark each tree had. This is an example of the type of leaf we looked for to identify the red maple trees. A photo of an actual tree counted in our data:  We used this map to find different locations of where we would measure 20 meters away from a water source. This map was helpful because it showed us a quick overview of where the water source was and what location we would choose. http://www.flatrockbrook.org/features/trails.html RESULTS - We did not encounter any disruptions during our data gathering. This makes our data accurate. The following chart displays the number of red maple trees in relation to the total number of trees within the 3 different specific 20 meter diameters. Graph of our Data: **figure 1** **figure 2**
 * || Area 1 || Area 2 || Area 3 ||
 * Red Maple Trees || 12 || 6 || 5 ||
 * Total Trees || 50 || 38 || 37 ||
 * Figure 0**

figure 3 figure 4 figure 5 DISCUSSION - As seen in Figures 1 and 2 the percentage of red maple trees in Flat Rock Brook are displayed. Figure 1 shows the amount of trees in the areas we chose (including the red maple tree). One can use these two graphs to get the percentage of how many red maple trees there are compared to the total number of trees in Flat Rock Brook. As seen in Figure 2 the chart depicts the total of the all the trees in an area. As seen in figure 3, one can identify the percentage levels for red maple trees in the specified area. Figure 3 shows the amounts for Area 1; the amount of red maple tree's is 24%. Figure 3 also shows the amounts for Area 2; the amount of red maple tree's is 16%. Figure 3 also shows the amounts for Area 3; the amount of red maple tree's is 13.5%. As seen in figure 4, one can see a complete and clear graph of the total data. It shows one bar explaining the total number of trees with a second bar adjacent to it explaining the number of red maples. In figure 5 you can see the data being gathered. Frederick is going out the length of 20 meters, Eileen is holding the other end of the tape measurer to make our data accurate while Ariel is capturing the moment. CONCLUSION - Our hypothesis was deemed to be correct. According to the graphs and charts, the amount of red maple trees were related to the distance from the water source. The further away we got from the water source the fewer the red maples there were. <span style="color: rgb(4, 146, 149)">REFERENCES - Flat Rock Brook Nature Center: http://www.flatrockbrook.org/features/trails.html We used the Flat Rock Brook website to find a map of the Nature Center. We used the map to determine where our measured areas 1, 2, and 3 were.

Virginia Department of Forestry: [|http://www.dof.virginia.gov/trees/maple-red.shtml] We used this website to learn about identifying the Red Maple. It was very helpful because it provided visual examples with the explanations of how the tree looks.

http://www.arborday.org/treeguide/TreeDetail.cfm?id=28 We used this website to learn more about identifying the Red Maple. It has more information about what areas of the country the tree grows in and its different preferences for growth.