exploring woodland in cheung chau (1 day) · your group will be assigned to different sections of...

Caritas Chan Chun Ha Field Studies Centre

Field Studies Courses for SS Geography 2020-21 1

Exploring Woodland in Cheung Chau (1 day)

Student Name: Group no.:

Course Date:

Objectives Knowledge: - To understand abiotic, biotic components and their

interrelationships

- To understand the structure of woodland

- To assess the impact of human on vegetation, e.g.

woodland

Skills: - To collect data collection of vegetation and micro-climate

- To compare and analyze first-hand data

Value: - To cherish the interdependence of human and

natural environment

- To develop a sense of conservation of tropical rainforests



EQUIPMENT & MATERIALS CHECKLIST

FIELDWORK

Equipment/ materials Quantity (each group)

Thermohygrometer 1

Light meter 1

Anemometer 1

Abney level / Rangefinder 1

Grid quadrat 1

Measuring tape (15m) 1

Measuring tape (30m) 1 (whole class share)

Meter ruler 1

Trowel 1

Plastic bottle (for soil sample) 1

Glove 1

Clipboard 1

Densiometer 1

Soil moisture and temperature meter 1

LABORATORY WORK & DATA PROCESSING

Equipment / Materials Quantity (each group)

Soil NPK test kit (include aluminum foil and spatula) 1 (share)

Distilled water 1



Fieldwork equipment

1. Thermohygrometer 2. Light meter 3. Anemometer

4. Measuring tape 5. Meter ruler 6. Grid quadrat

7. Trowel 8. Plastic bottle (soil sample) 9. Abney level

10. Densiometer 11. Soil moisture and

temperature meter 12. Rangefinder



Relevance to the DSE geography curriculum

Disappearing Green Canopy – Who should pay for the massive deforestation in rainforest

regions?

Key point of fieldwork: Abiotic and biotic components, human impact

What data to collect? (Prior knowledge) Refer to the module of “Disappearing Green Canopy” in the textbook. List the elements of the rainforest ecosystem in the table below.

Rainforest ecosystem

Inputs Processes Outputs

Knowledge re-cap: What are the relationships between the components of

woodland ecosystem?

Select TWO components and explain how they affect each other in a woodland ecosystem.

Components Relationships

Vegetation e.g. canopy closure, vertical

stratification, vegetation height

Soil quality e.g. soil texture, moisture, nutrient

Micro-climate e.g. temperature, humidity, light

intensity, wind speed

Human activities e.g. trampling, construction



--------------------- STAGE 1: PLANNING & PREPARATION -------------------

To set hypothesis

With reference to the above table, construct your own hypothesis in the space below:

e.g. How will _______________ affect _______________?

e.g. ____________ increases, ____________ increases.

When to collect data?

Date: _____________________ Time:_________ to __________

Cloud cover: __________ Relative Humidity: % Wind speed:

Weather warning and signals within last 2 days:

Strong Monsoon Signal Rainstorm Warnings Tropical Cyclone Warning Signals

Thunderstorm warning

Precipitation within last 2 days: heavy rain / drizzle / never rain

What are the merit and demerit of

conducting such a field study today?

Why is weather

information important?



Where to collect data?

Refer to the maps on p.12 and 13, what are the locational characteristics of the field site below?

Complete the form below.

Study area Chi Ma Hang Nam Tum

Locational

characteristics

Is it appropriate of choosing these two

field sites to conduct this fieldwork?

Why?



What data to collect? Refer to the information on p.3, match the following research items with the appropriate

primary data collection method and the equipment.

Research items Primary data

collection

methods * （You may

choose more than one options）

Required

equipment

(refer to p.3

if needed)

Need to take

sample?

(/)

Operational

precautions

Micro-climate

Air temperature (°C)

Relative Humidity (%)

Wind speed (m/s)

Light intensity (Lux)

Vegetation

Height of tree and

shrub (m)

Canopy closure (%)

Vegetation cover (%)

(undergrowth)

Soil

Soil moisture & soil

temperature

Soil texture

Soil nutrient

Human factors Trampling

Other factors

* A - measurement, B - counting, C - drawing graphs, D- observation, E - others

Risk assessment

Suggest TWO safety precautions of carrying out fieldwork in woodland.



- STAGE 2 &3: DATA COLLECTION, PROCESSING & PRESENTATION -

Your group will be assigned to different sections of the transect. Write down the field site, group

number and the study section of transect in the spaces below.

Group no. ＿＿＿ Field site: ____________

Study section of transect：＿＿＿＿＿＿

［0-4 m／4-8 m／8-12 m／12-16 m／16-20 m／20-24 m／24-28 m／28-32 m］

Micro-climate

At the 4th

metre of the transect, measure the micro-climate at every 2 minutes.

Your group should measure for three times and then record the data on the table below.

Table 1 Micro-climate

Study Area Woodland

Measurement

Item 1

st 2

nd 3

rd Average

Sunlight (Lux)

Temperature (℃)

Relative humidity (%)

Wind speed (m/s)

Soil quality

At the 2nd

metre of the transect, measure the soil moisture and soil temperature.

Take a bottleful of soil sample for laboratory work of soil analysis later.

Table 2 Soil quality

Study Area Woodland

Fieldwork Soil moisture (%)

Soil temperature (°C)

Labwork Soil texture

Soil nutrient Low / Medium / High



Vegetation (measurement at every 2 metres)

Table 3 Data record of woodland

Vegetation ___m ___m ___m ___m ___m ___m ___m

Tree #

Distance from tree (D)

Elevation angle (α)

Height of observer

[from eye to ground] (H1)

D x tan α (H2)

Total height (H1 + H2)

Crown width (m)

Circumference (cm)

Canopy closure (%)

Shrub Shrub height (cm)

Undergrowth % of Undergrowth

Degree of trampling *

* At one armlength distance from the footpath, assess the degree of trampling (see Table 4).

# refer to Figure 1

Figure 1 How to measure tree height

Table 4 Trampling Scale

Level of trampling Score Description

None 0 - no impact on vegetation

- flower heads present and stems of plants not broken

Slight 1 - vegetation obviously affected

- plants present are mainly grasses

Moderate 2 - 1-25% topsoil exposed

- plants very short or squashed

Considerable 3 - 26-50% topsoil exposed


Strong 4 - 51-75% topsoil exposed


Very strong 5

- 76-100% topsoil exposed




0

Hei

ght

(m)

2

Dis

tance

alo

ng

tran

sect

(m

)

Un

der

gro

wth

Tre

e

Shru

b



-------------- STAGE 4: INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION -------------

Discussion Questions

1. Is your hypothesis valid or not? Explain the reason with reference to the data collected. Explain

any other factors which might support your conclusion.

2. Using the data collected, describe and explain the structure of the studied woodland. Epain the

discrepancies from a typical tropical rainforest.

--------------------------- STAGE 5: EVALUATION --------------------------

Fieldwork

1. Review the advantages and difficulties/ limitations of sampling method and data collection

methods. Suggest the ways to improve the validity and reliability of data and information.

2. Other than the data collected in this field study, suggest the data and information you may need

to further investigate the degree of human impact on woodland environment. Justify your

suggestion.

Further investigation

1. According to the findings of studies today, suggest one relevant topic about woodland for

further investigation. Explain your planning of field study.

Key point of fieldwork/ topic

Date/ time of fieldwork

Location of fieldwork

Data to be collected

Sampling methods & quantity of samples

Primary data collection method(s) and equipment needed

Homework:

After the fieldwork, please organize this fieldwork experience in field trip diary on p.14-15, as a

reference for the revision of field-based question.



My Field Trip Diary

Related modules: Disappearing Green Canopy

Key point of fieldwork/topic: To understand the characteristics of different types of

vegetation, e.g. grassland and woodland/ To understand abiotic, biotic components and their

interrelationships/ to assess the impact of human on vegetation

Date:___________________ ( Weekday/ Public holiday ) Weather condition:

Time:______________ Field site: ____________

Is the above planning appropriate for the fieldwork?

Primary data:

Data collection

method Data collected

Equipment/

Material (if any)

Merits/ Demerits of the

data collection method

(give examples)

Suggestion for

improvement

(give explanations)

Measurement

Observation

Counting

Questionnaire/

Interview

Other (if any)

Exploring Woodland in Cheung Chau



Secondary data (for supplementary information only):

Data collected Use Data obtained from

Apart from the above, what other secondary data could be used for further investigation?

Sampling method (if any):

Sampling method Applied in the following Merits/ Demerits

Data processing and presentation:

Type of graph/ chart Content shown and function of graph/chart

For deeper learning or further study, I suggest modify the following aspects.

Suggestion (give examples)

Key point of fieldwork/ topic

Data to be collected and method

of data collection

Date and time of fieldwork

Field site

exploring woodland in cheung chau (1 day) · your group will be assigned to different sections of...

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