Proposal Of An Ecological Study In FRIM

8/7/2019 Proposal Of An Ecological Study In FRIM

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SEKOLAH MENENGAHKEBANGSAAN LAKI-LAKI

METHODISTJALAN HANG JEBAT,

50150 KUALA LUMPUR

PROPOSAL ABOUT:

THE STUDY OF EDAPHIC FACTORSTHAT INFLUENCE THE

DISTRIBUTION OF PLANT SPECIESAND SOIL ORGANISM IN FOREST

RESEARCH INSTITUTE MALAYSIA(FRIM), KEPONG

2010/2011

Members: Teh Choon Siang (Group Leader)See Bee YingTin Yen RuDeirdre Lee Shu Yi



CONTENTS

Indeks Page Number

Chapter 1: Introduction«««««««««««««.«««««1. Ecology«««««««««««««««.«««2. Ecosystem«««««««««««««««.««3. Niche and habitat««««««««««««««..4. Abiotic and biotic factors«««««««««««..

Chapter 2: The Research««««««««««««««««««1. Introduction of ecological study««««««..««..2. Problem Statement«««««««««..««««...3. Hypothesis««««««««««««..««««....4. Objective««««««««««««..«««««...5. Area of study««««««««««««««««...

Chapter 3: Methodology«««««««...««««««««««...

1. Soil analysis«««««««.««««««««««.y Soil sampling techniquey Determination of the texture of soily Determination of water content of soily Determination of organic matter contenty Determination of air content of soily Determination of soil pH

2. Determination of the type of organism...............................3. Determination of the density of plant species in a habitat...

y Quadrat sampling technique

Chapter 4: Apparatus and Materials.................................. ........................ .

Chapter 5: Conclusion................................................ .................... .............

Chapter 6: Appendix....................................... .............................................







2. ECOSYSTEM

Ecosystem is a natural system consisting of ecological communities of livingorganisms(biological communities) interacting with each other and with the abiotic (non-living) components of the environment to form a stable and equilibrium system

An ecosystem is a dynamic system. The dynamic of an ecosystem can be disturbed if thereare changes in biotic or abiotic environment. Examples of ecosystem are the pond, lake,ocean, grassland and tropical forest.

Overview

The entire array of organisms inhabiting a particular ecosystem is called a community. In atypical ecosystem, plants and other photosynthetic organisms are the producers that providethe food. Ecosystems can be permanent or temporary. Ecosystems usually form a number of food webs.

Ecosystems are functional units consisting of living things in a given area, non-living

chemical and physical factors of their environment, linked together through nutrient cycleand energy flow in Natural places such as Terrestrial ecosystem and Aquatic ecosystem.Aquatic ecosystem has 2 type of ecosystem which is Lentic, the ecosystem of a lake, pond or swamp and Lotic, the ecosystem of a river, stream or spring. Besides that, there is Artificialecosystem, which is environments created by humans.

Central to the ecosystem concept is the idea that living organisms interact with every other element in their local environment. Eugene Odum, a founder of ecology, stated: ³Any unitthat includes all of the organisms (ie: the ³community´) in a given area interacting with thephysical environment so that a flow of energy leads to clearly defined trophic structure, bioticdiversity, and material cycles (i.e.: exchange of materials between living and nonliving parts)within the system is an ecosystem.

Because we share the world with many other species of plants and animals, we must consider the consequences of our actions. Over the past several decades, increasing human activity hasrapidly destroyed or polluted many ecological habitats throughout the world. It is importantto preserve all types of biomes as each houses many unique forms of life. However, thecontinued heavy exploitation of certain biomes, such as the forest, freshwater, and marine,may have more severe implications.

Forests are important as they are home to the most diverse biotic 4cosystem4s in the world.Hidden within these biomes are potential medicines and many thousands of unseen andundiscovered species. Also, forests have a global climate-buffering capacity, so their destruction may cause large-scale changes in global climate.

Logging has depleted many old-growth temperate forests. The increased demand for homes,paper, and other wood products have not allowed for much conservation. More recently,people have begun to realize that logging has cleared much of these forests. Wiser use of theforests and efforts to replant trees have helped to slow down the depletion of thesecommunities.



Tropical forests have fallen victim to timber exploitation, slash and burn farming, andclearfelling for industrial use or cattle ranching, particularly in Latin America. Our increasingdemand for meat products has spurred these events. For years, this destruction was 5cosystemat a rapid rate. Over half of the world¶s original tropical forests are already gone. Publicattention to this exploitation have helped to alleviate the problem somewhat, though manychallenges are still to be faced.

The freshwater and marine biomes are probably the most important of all the biomes. Their medium, water, is a major natural resource. Water is the basis of life, it supports life, andcountless species live in it for all or part of their lives. Freshwater biomes supply us with our drinking water and water for crop irrigation. The world¶s oceans have an even greater effecton global climate than forests do. Water has a high capacity for heat, and because the Earth ismostly covered with water, the temperature of the atmosphere is kept fairly constant and ableto support life. In addition to this climate-buffering capacity, the oceans contain severalbillion photosynthetic plankton which account for most of the photosynthesis 5cosystem onEarth. Without these, there might not be enough oxygen to support such a large worldpopulation and complex animal life.

Freshwater biomes have suffered mainly from pollution. Runoff containing fertilizer andother wastes and industrial dumpings enter into rivers, ponds, and lakes and tend to promoteabnormally rapid algae growth. When these algae die, dead organic matter accumulates in thewater. This makes the water unusable and it kills many of the organisms living in the habitat.Stricter laws have helped to slow down this thoughtless pollution.

Overfishing and pollution have threatened to make oceans into ecological disaster areas.Industrial pollutants that are dumped upstream of estuaries have rendered many marinehabitats unsuitable for life. Again, tighter regulations have been used to prevent further destruction of the ocean biomes.

By educating people about the consequences of our actions, we can all gain a better understanding of how to preserve the Earth¶s natural biomes. The areas that have beendestroyed the most will never regain their original forms, but conservation will help to keepthem from getting worse.

Water covers 71% of the Earth¶s surface. Image is the Earth photographed from Apollo 17.

Every part of the planet, from the polar ice caps to the Equator, supports life of some kind.Recent advances in microbiology have demonstrated that microbes live deep beneath theEarth¶s terrestrial surface, and that the total mass of microbial life in so-called ³uninhabitablezones´ may, in biomass, exceed all animal and plant life on the surface. The actual thicknessof the biosphere on earth is difficult to measure. Birds typically fly at altitudes of 650 to

1,800 meters, and fish that live deep underwater can be found down to -8,372 meters in thePuerto Rico Trench.

There are more extreme examples for life on the planet: Rüppell¶s Vulture has been found ataltitudes of 11,300 meters; Bar-headed Geese migrate at altitudes of at least 8,300 meters(over Mount Everest); Yaks live at elevations between 3,200 to 5,400 meters above sea level;mountain goats live up to 3,050 meters. Herbivorous animals at these elevations depend onlichens, grasses, and herbs.



Microscopic organisms live at such extremes that, taking them into consideration puts thethickness of the biosphere much greater. Culturable microbes have been found in the Earth¶supper atmosphere as high as 41 km (25 mi) (Wainwright et al., 2003, in FEMS MicrobiologyLetters). It is unlikely, however, that microbes are active at such altitudes, wheretemperatures and air pressure are extremely low and ultraviolet radiation very high. Morelikely these microbes were brought into the upper atmosphere by winds or possibly volcanic

eruptions. Barophilic marine microbes have been found at more than 10 km (6 mi) depth inthe Marianas Trench (Takamia et al., 1997, in FEMS Microbiology Letters). Microbes are notlimited to the air, water or the Earth¶s surface. Culturable thermophilic microbes have beenextracted from cores drilled more than 5 km (3 mi) into the Earth¶s crust in Sweden (Gold,1992, and Szewzyk, 1994, both in PNAS), from rocks between 65-75 °C. Temperatureincreases with increasing depth into the Earth¶s crust. The speed at which the temperatureincreases depends on many factors, including type of crust (continental vs. oceanic), rock type, geographic location, etc. The upper known limit of microbial is 122 °C ( Methanopyruskandleri Strain 116), and it is likely that the limit of life in the ³deep biosphere´ is defined bytemperature rather than absolute depth.

Our biosphere is divided into a number of biomes, inhabited by broadly similar flora andfauna. On land, biomes are separated primarily by latitude. Terrestrial biomes lying withinthe Arctic and Antarctic Circles are relatively barren of plant and animal life, while most of the more populous biomes lie near the equator. Terrestrial organisms in temperate and Arcticbiomes have relatively small amounts of total biomass, smaller energy budgets, and displayprominent adaptations to cold, including world-spanning migrations, social adaptations,homeothermy, estivation and multiple layers of insulation.



3 . NICHE AND HABITAT

Niche

A niche refers to the functional role of an organism in its ecosystem and the habitat or physical area where it lives and grows.

An organism¶s ecological niche is defined by the natural habitat in which the species lives,The periods of time during whichit occurs in that habitat (in its life cycle) and it active there,The way it utilises the environmental resources, for example, the type of food it cosumes, itstrophic level in the food chain and interaction with other species in the 7cosystem.

Two different species cannot coexist stable if they were to occupy identical ecological niches.They will compete in all aspects of their life and the superior competitor will cause theexclusion of the less competitive species from the same niche.

If two species have a similar but not identical niche, they will only compete for certainaspects, for example, for food and breeding places in the overlapping regions of the niche. Asthey do not compete in other ways, they usually can coexist with each other.

Habitat

Habitat is the natural place where an organism or individuals of a population normally live.The living place is characterised by physical (abiotic) or biotic factors that influence the lifeof the organism.

Example of habitat include ponds, rivers, lakes, deserts and tropical rainforests.

Definition

The term ³population´ is preferred to ³organism´ because, while it is possible to describe thehabitat of a single black bear, it is also possible that we may not find any particular or individual bear but the grouping of bears that constitute a breeding population and occupy acertain biogeographical area. Further, this habitat could be somewhat different from thehabitat of another group or population of black bears living elsewhere. Thus it is neither thespecies nor the individual for which the term habitat is typically used.

Microhabitat

Microhabitat is a particular location where an individual species is normally found. The termmicrohabitat is often used to describe the small-scale physical requirements of a particular organism or population. A microhabitat is often a smaller habitat within a larger one.

For example, Woodlice may be found in the shady and moist microhabitat beneath rottingwood and leaves on the ground and In a river which exists different microhabitats due todifferent speed of water flow, oxygen level, pH of water, and organic matter in localisedareas of the river.



4. Abiotic and Biotic Factors

Abiotic Factors

Abiotic factors are those non-living physical and chemical factors which affect the ability of organisms to survive and reproduce. Some Abiotic Factors that influence the ability of

organism to survive and reproduce are such as light intensity, temperature range, type of soilor rock, pH level , water availability, dissolved gases and level of pollutant.

Abiotic factors vary in the environment and determining the types and numbers of organismsthat exist in that environment. Factors which determine the types and numbers of organismsof a species in an ecosystem are called limiting factors. Many limiting factors restrict thegrowth of populations in nature. An example of this would include low annual averagetemperature average common to the Arctic restricts the growth of trees, as the subsoil ispermanently frozen.

Biotic Factors

Biotic factors are all the living things or their materials that directly or indirectly affect anorganism in its environment. This would include organisms, their presence, parts,interaction, and wastes. Factors such as parasitism, disease, and predation (one animal eatinganother) would also be classified as biotic factors. Some Biotic Factors that affect organismin its environment are such as parasitism, disease and predation.

A System

Biotic and abiotic factors combine to create a system or more precisely, an ecosystem. Anecosystem is a community of living and nonliving things considered as a unit.

The Impact of Changing Factors

If a single factor is changed, perhaps by pollution or natural phenomenon, the whole systemcould be altered. For example, humans can alter environments through farming or irrigating.While we usually cannot see what we are doing to various ecosytems, the impact is being feltall over. For example, acid rain in certain regions has resulted in the decline of fishpopulation.



CHAPTER 2RESEARCH





2. PROBLEM STATEMENT

The Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) is a large terrestrial area where there aremany plants of different species thrive here. The animals found are mostly insects and birds.This study is carried out to investigate the dominant plants that are found in this area. Thedominant plants are found scattered in different zones. Other factors might influence thisdistribution. This study will focus on the edaphic factors which are soil, air content in the soil,organic matter content and the pH value of the soil.



3 . HYPOTHESIS

1) H0: The percentage of sand, clay and stone (texture) in the soil sample will not affect thedistribution of the plants and soil organisms

H1: The percentage of sand, clay and stone in the soil sample will affect the distributionof the plants and soil organisms

2) H0: The percentage of water content in the soil sample will not affect the distribution of the plants and soil organisms

H2: The percentage water content in the soil sample will affect the distribution of theplants and soil soil organisms

3) H0: The percentage of organic matter content in the soil sample will not affect thedistribution of the plants and soil organisms

H3: The percentage of organic matter content in the soil sample will affect the distributionof the plants and soil organisms

4) H0: The percentage of air content in the soil sample will not affect the distribution of theplants and soil organisms

H4: The percentage of air content in the soil sample will affect the distribution of theplants and soil organisms

5) H0: The pH value in the soil sample will not affect the distribution of the plants and soilorganisms

H5: The pH value in the soil sample will affect the distribution of the plants and soilorganisms



4 . OBJECTIVE

The goals intended to be obtained from this task based on academic are:

1. Learning the basic principle of ecology through student¶s own effort1.1 Elements of ecosystem: biosis and abiosis1.2 Dynamic relationship of elements and flow of energy through ecosystem

2. Using the simple apparatus and instruments in ecological studies

3. Learning the methods of collecting and analysing ecological data

4. Writing an ecological study report

5. Inculcating nature loving altitude

6. Inculcating good moral values ± cooperation, independence, and self-confidence

The goals intended to be obtained from this task based on hypothesis are:

First objective is to find out the percentage of sand, clay and stones (texture) in the soil

sample collected from the area of study which will affect the distribution of the plants andsoil organisms

Second objective is to find out the percentage of water content in the soil samplecollected from the area of study which will affect the distribution of the plants and soilorganisms

Third objective is to find out the percentage of organic matter content in the soil samplecollected from the area of study which will affect the distribution of the plants and soilorganisms

Fourth objective is to find out the percentage of air content in the soil sample collectedfrom the area of study which will affect the distribution of the plants and soil organisms

Fifth objective is to find out the pH value in the soil sample collected from the area of study which will affect the distribution of the plants and soil organisms

Sixth objective is to find out the factors that affect the population of plants in the area of study which will affect the distribution of the plants and soil organisms



Seventh objective is to find out the type of soil organisms in the area of study which willaffect the distribution of the plants and soil organisms



5. AREA OF STUDY

Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), Kepong

FRIM or Forest Research Institute of Malaysia is a must for all nature lovers who arein the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. It is located in the suburb city of Petaling Jaya,

approximately 16km north west of the capital city. It was founded in the year 1929 and is oneof the leading institutions in tropical forestry research both locally and abroad. This 600hectares tropical forest contains a wealth of flora and fauna with approximately 15,000species of plants though for a layman in botanic, all of them look like greeneries.

As you enter FRIM, you will be amazed by the arboretums or living museum of trees.walk through the many nature trails and discover the many species of flora and fauna here.remember to go to the information counter for a briefing and purchase some brochures on theplants that you will encounter before you move out to explore the surrounding area.

The Reason Choose FRIM A Our Research Place

FRIM gives opportunity to visitor to learn much further of forest and at the same timerelaxing in environment that does not polluted. With offers various outdoor activity and alsogeneral study, FRIM affords be focus destination to tourists shelf also environmentalist.Apart from that, FRIM can be made into site to range of activities such as family day, camp,and others more.As Taman Hutan's Science, FRIM welcomes arrival of visitors to be looking natural beauty.By luxuriated in, educational visit can be organized with as many as one group 20-40 people.This visit give opportunity to understand of forest ecosystem and various his importantfunction. We will go to FRIM from 25th of November until 3 rd of December.

Operating Hours and Fees

The operating hours of the park is from 8:00am to 6:00pm daily. However, take note that thecanopy walkway operating hours is from 9:30am to 2:30pm. If you are driving, the entrancefee to the park is RM5/car else the fee charged is RM1/person. The address and contactnumber of the FRIM Park:

Forest Research Institute MalaysiaKepong,52109 Selangor Darul Ehsan,Tel : +603 6279 7000



Getting Here

FRIM is located along the Selayang-Kepong Highway. You can take the KTM Komuter trainfrom the Kuala Lumpur Railway station or any KTM Komuter station that is in the vicinityand head for Kepong station. Once you reach Kepong station, alight from the train and take ataxi to FRIM.



CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY



Soil Analysis

Soil Sampling Technique and Dertermination Of The Texture Of Soil

The metal cylinder is pressed into the soil. The piston is used to remove the soil sample fromthe cylinder. The soil sample is added to the measuring cylinder and covered with water. The

contents is shaked vigorously. Then the mixture is allowed to settle out according to densityand surface area of particles for 4 hours. the volume of the various fractions of soil sample ismeasured.

Determination Of Water Content Of Soil

An aluminium foil pie dish is weighed while still empty. The mass is recorded. the broken-upsoil sample is added to the pie dish and weighed. The mass is recorded. The pie dishcontaining the soil sample is placed in the oven at 110 oC for 24 hours. Then the sample isremoved from the oven and cool in desiccators. The sample is weighed after cool, and themass is recorded. The sample is returned to the oven at 110 oC for a further 24 hours. Stages(d) and (e) is repeated until consistent weighings are recorded (constant mass). The mass is

recorded .Determination Of Organic Matter Content

The crucible and lid is heated strongly in the Bunsen flame to remove all traces of moisture.Then the crucible and lid is placed in the desiccator to cool. The mass (a) is weighed andrecorded. The dried soil sample (kept from the previous experiment) from the desiccators isdried and weighed. The mass (b) is recorded. The soil sample is heated in the crucible,covered with the lid, to red-heat for 1 hour to burn off all the organic matter. Then the soilsample is allowed to cool for 10 min and remove to the desiccator. The crucible and sample isweighed after cool. (c) and (d) is repeated until constant mass is recorded.

Determination Of Air Content Of Soil

The empty can open end uppermost is placed into the 500 cm 3 beaker and the beaker is filledwith water above the level of the can. The water level is marked in the beaker. The cancontaining the water is removed carefully and this volume of water is measured in ameasuring cylinder. The volume (a) is recorded. The water level in the beaker will fall by anamount corresponding to the volume of water in the can. The base of the can is perforatedusing a drill, making about eight small holes. Then the open end of the can is pushed into soilfrom which surface vegetation has been removed until soil begins to come through theperforations. The can is gently dig out, turn it over and soil from the surface is removed untilit is level with the top of can. The can of soil with open end uppermost is gently placed back into the beaker of water and will be used to replace the air which was present in the soil. Thewater level in the beaker will be lower than the original level because water will be used toreplace the air which was present in the soil. Water is added to the beaker from a full 100 cm 3 measuring cylinder until the original level is restored. The volume of water added (b) isrecorded.



Determination Of Soil pH

About 1 cm 3 of soil and 1 cm 3 of barium sulphate, which ensures flocculation of colloidalclay is added to the test-tube. Then 10 cm 3 of distilled water and 5 cm 3 of B DH universalindicator solution is added. The test-tube is sealed with the bung and shaked vigorously toallow contents to settle for 5 min. The colour of liquid in the test-tube is compared with the

colours on the B DH reference colour chart and read off the corresponding pH. Theexperiment on soil samples from different areas is repeated.

Determination Of The Types Of Soil Organisms

A n appreciable amount of soil from the collected soil sample was placed on the sieve of theTullgren funnel which was clamped to a retort stand. Then, a lamp was fixed above the soilsample. The apparatus was left under the light for 24 hours. A fter that, the 4% formalinsolution was poured into the beaker and was placed under the Tullgren funnel to collectwhatever terrestrial organism that has escaped from the soil sample. The organisms werethen observed with a magnifying glass or a microscope. The organisms were identified anddrawn.

Determination of the density of plant species in a habitat

A field area to be studied was picked which is Forest Research Institute Malaysia. The areaunder study was then determined. The plant species in the garden was collected andexamined. 10 plant species was then selected and determined. The plant species were namedand recorded in the table. The quadrat was picked at 10 random places. The occurrence of theselected plants in the quadrat was marked (/) and the results were recorded in the table. Thelength area of coverage of each species in the quadrat was estimated and recorded in the table.Step 6 and 7 were repeated for quadrat 2 until quadrat 10. The percentage of relative speciescoverage, relative density and relative frequency of each plant species were determined.



CHAPTER 4

Materials And Apparatus



4.1 SOIL SAMPALING TECHNIQUE APPARATUS QUANTITY

Hammer 1

Metal cylinder and piston (to dig out soil) 1

Plastic bag (to preserve soil sample) 9

MATERIAL QUANTITY

Soil sample 500g

4.2 DETERMINATION OF THE TEXTURE OF SOIL

APPARATUS QUANTITY

500 cm 3 measuring cylinder 1

MATERIAL QUANTITY

Soil sample 100 cm 3

Water 300 cm 3



4 .3 DETERMINATION OF THE WATER CONTENT OF SOILAPPARATUS QUANTITY

Aluminium foil pie dish 1

Electronic balance 1

Oven 1

Desiccator 1

Tongs 1

Thermometer 1

MATERIAL QUANTITY

Soil sample 80g

4 .4 DETERMINATION OF THE ORGANIC MATTER CONTENT OF SOILAPPARATUS QUANTITY

Desiccator and lid 1

Crucible and lid 1

Tripod stand 1

Bunsen burner 1

Asbestos mat 1

Fireclay triangle tongs 1







CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION



Ecology concerns with the associations and interactions of the organisms and theenvironment in general. The living place or dwelling place of an organism is called habitat.Within a given habitat there exist variations or micro habitats. In a given habitat we canobserve physical environment (abiotic) and living organisms (biotic). There isinterdependence between organisms of a habitat.

The major habitats are the aquatic, terrestrial and arboreal. The organisms influence thephysical environment influences the organisms and their distribution in different habitats. Theabiotic components of an ecosystem are dividing int 2 types. Climatic, including temperature,light, wind, gases, humidity, rain and water which include wave action and water currents andedaphic factors including soil, substratum, topography, background minerals and pH. Theedaphic factors will affect the population of plants in the area of study.

The adaptations shown by organisms living in a given habitat such as aquatic, xeric or mesic are unique and enable the organisms to live in that particular physical environment.Each and every organism has a role to perform called niche. The types of soil in the area of study through observation and collection of data will affect the distribution of plants



CHAPTER 6

Appendix



REFERENCE LINK

1. Lee Ching, J. Arunasalam, Longman, Pre-U Text STPM Biology Volume 2, PEARSONMALAYSIA S DN. BH D.

2. http://www.eoearth.org/article/Ecology

3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecosystem

4. http://www.abheritage.ca/abnature/Ecosystems/intro.htm

5. http://regentsprep.org/regents/biology/units/ecology/biotic.cfm

6. http://www.water.rutgers.edu/Rain_Gardens/factsheet29.pdf

7. http://web1.msue.msu.edu/imp/modzz/00001813.html

8. http://www.landfood.ubc.ca/soil200/components/air.htm

9. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_pH

10. http://wiki.answers.com/ Q/What_types_of_organisms_are_found_in_soil

11. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Species_distribution

12. http://www.malaysiavacationguide.com/frim.html

13. http://www.expat.com.my/Forest%20Research%20Institute%20of%20Malaysia%20FRIM.htm

14. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecology



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Proposal Of An Ecological Study In FRIM