For the research proposal, our group wants to look at microclimates in the soil under various trees on the UMASS campus. There is very few research on the microclimates present under trees on the campus. Some research states that natural forests have greater invertebrate diversity than managed trees (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/000632079500015V). However, since all of the trees on campus are considered “managed” we will not be considering this factor in our prediction. Other research suggests that ants are great ecological indicators of the microclimate found in the soil under trees (https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1890/1540-9295%2...) therefore ants will be one type of invertebrate that we are going to consider when measuring diversity under various trees across campus. Other research uses invertebrate diversity as a indicator of sustainability however invertebrates are not known as well and are too diverse to create a proper report. (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1013397410297) “In ecology, sustainability (from sustain and ability) is the property of biological systems to remain diverse and productive indefinitely. Long-lived and healthy wetlands and forests are examples of sustainable biological systems. In more general terms, sustainability is the endurance of systems and processes” (Wikipedia). The sustainability of the tree could be measured by collecting/recording the species diversity and comparing it to other trees on campus. Some factors we can consider are: the distance of the tree from the road, from a body of water, the diameter and height of the tree and which side the tree is facing the sun vs which side isn’t.
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