plant update 4

As our plants get older, they are constantly growing and their leaves are turning even darker!  Some abiotic factors that help our plants grow are; sunlight, water, soil and climate. Sunlight gives our plants every to fuel itself and continue growing.  Water helps keep our plants hydrated.  Soil helps our plants grow and germinate and climate can greatly affect our plants with wind and precipitation.  Some biotic factors that help our plants are; other organisms, such as insects, predators, and disease.  Disease and predators and negatively affect our plants because they can kill them.  But, other organisms can help by pollinating or even bacteria can fight off diseases.

I know our plants are involved in competition because they need to compete for sunlight and water with other plants in the plant bed.

Winners and losers are determined when you see which plant grew the tallest, strongest, germinated faster and greenest.  It also is obvious if a plant lives or dies.  From the beginning it is not a clear cut about who will win, but sometimes after multiple weeks you can tell.

Another interaction our plants are involved in is predation.  This process occurs when one organism traps and eats the other.  Many different bugs and bacteria are they predators and our plants are the prey.

Some evidence in are garden can show that secondary succession is occurs.  This evidence is the amount of plants growing in the garden because all the plants need soil and secondary succession only starts with soil.

Ecological Institutions

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Level of Organization: Marine Biology

Location of Organization: Monterey, CA

Methods of Study: animal tagging, diving, boating

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org


Carniege Institution for Science

Level of Organization: Global Ecology

Location of Organization: Stanford, CA

Methods of Study: laser imaging, gardens, observatories

http://carnegiescience.edu/


The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

Level of Organization: Conservation Ecology

Location of Organization: Front Royal, Virginia

Methods of Study: surrogate birds/mammals

plant update 4

Some of the abiotic factors that affect my plants are sunlight ,water ,and amount of good soil. How this affects is the growth.

it is engaged in a competition is how deep the roots are and how tall the plants also they compete for the amounts of sunlight it gets. the competitor is the other plants and weeds

how you can determine the winners and the losers is on who lives and who dies.

interaction between two plants ,between bugs,  and between humans and predators

bugs birds and other plants

Plant Update 3

This week our plants have not made any improvement in growth, but their leaves are in full bloom and greener than ever. Our plants haven't grown any bean pods so far, but I'm hoping soon they will!

Because of transpiration and root uptake, plants can fall under the water cycle.  Transpiration happens when water is evaporated through the leaves into the atmosphere. Then the water can be precipitated in thew form of water, snow, hail, etc.  Root uptake occurs when the roots of the plant take in water to fuel the plants.

Photosynthesis helps plants play a role in the carbon cycle.  Photosynthesis happens when plants take in carbon dioxide and then release it back into the atmosphere as oxygen.

Plants are part of the nitrogen cycle because many different types of bacteria live on them.  The plants make nitrates into protein then the bacteria turns it to ammonia. In order to survive, plants need to make proteins.

Plant Update 4

Some abiotic, nonliving, factors that my plant depends on for survival are water, temperature, sunlight, and soil.  The plants are dependent on biotic, living, factors because they need insects to pollinate the sprouts in order to grow a bean.  Other biotic factors that affect the plants are diseases, predators, and other organisms.  

I know my plants are engaged in competition because there are other plants growing in the same planter as the beans.  Each of the plants are competing for sunlight and food.

"Winners" and "losers" are determined in the struggle for sunlight and food by which ever plant is bigger and germinates faster.  Another factor would be if the plant is living or if it dies.  Sometimes, it is complicated to determine who the "winner" and "loser" are because there could be more than one plant living in the designated area.  

Another type of interaction, besides competition, that our plants are involved in is predation.  Predation occurs when one organism eats another.  The plants need to try and fight off the other bugs and organisms that are trying to eat them before they die completely.  

Some evidence in the garden showing that succession (or something like it) is occurring in the garden ecosystem is the fact that there are organisms growing and living there.  It is more like secondary succession because the garden has been there for a couple years and it previously had soil there.  

Plant Update 4

Our plant needs abiotic factors of sunlight, and water to get the neutrience it needs to survive. Some biotic factors it need are the small insects that eat the plants dead leaves. Every plant is in competition with each other. They mainly fight for the water for neutrience. The winner is the one who absorbs the most and eventually grows the most. The loser does not get as much neutrience and in the end does not grow as big. Where the plants grow is a primary succession. The grass around the plants seem to grow at a rapid pase, almost as much as the actual plant itself.

Plant Update 3

The three plants have not grown larger, but the leaves have grown wider and a much darker green color.  There are still no sprouting beans growing on the plant but we are hoping that will happen soon.

Plants are a member of the water cycle because they use processes called root-uptake and transpiration.   Root-uptake occurs when the plant's root take in water through the soil to help water and fuel the plant.  Transpiration happens when water is evaporated off of the plant's leaves or stem into the atmosphere.  The water vapor evaporated off of the plants then condenses into clouds and is precipitated in the form of either rain, hail, sleet, or snow.  

The carbon cycle also uses plants because they use a process called photosynthesis.  Photosynthesis occurs when a plant takes in carbon dioxide from the air and releases oxygen back into the atmosphere.  

Plants are also a part of the nitrogen cycle because they are homes for many various types of bacteria.  Our plants make proteins by using the nitrates that the bacteria convert into ammonia.  Plants use the proteins in order to help their growth.  

Plant Update 3

The main thing that has grown so far on the plant is the leaves. They have become much wider and a darker green. There is still no sign of beans growing on the plant, but we are hopeful something will grow in the next week or so.
Plants are part of the water cycle. They use root uptake and transpiration.
When plants absorb water through the soil for nutrience it is called root uptake. During transpiration, the water evaporates from the leaves into the atmosphere.

plant update 1

5 weeks ago we planted our bean plants in the school garden and they have grown lots since we have planted them. They have also changed color the have become a solid darker green color instead of a light green color. Overall our plants are doing pretty good but i guess we will have to wait until next week.

Plant Update 2

 

Now that it has been about five weeks since we planted our bean seeds.  Since our last update, the leaves have bloomed and became a very dark green.  Our plants are very healthy and are in great condition! I cant wait until the beans are in full bloom!

Plant Update 2

The plants leaves seem to have grown more than the actual stem itself. It has also gotten a darker green since the experiment first started five weeks ago. There is no sign of beans growing yet, but we are hopeful they will grow soon.

Plant Update 2

It has been about 5 weeks since we have planted our plants and two week since we have checked on them.  The plants have grown a little bit bigger, but not by much.  The plant's leaves have grown bigger and gotten darker since the last time we checked them.  If I were to classify our plants on a trophic level, then I would put it under the producer category.  The plant is taking in energy from the sun, in the form of heat, which makes the plant a producer.  Producers are categorized on the bottom section of an ecological pyramid diagram.