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Purpose

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The purpose of this project is to see if certain environmental factors and tree characteristics affect the stomatal density on the leaves of different species of trees.

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Hypothesis

Before starting our project our hypothesis was that the size of the leaf and tree circumference have a positive correlation with the stomatal density. Therefore as the leaves and the tree circumference get bigger the number of stomata in specific area of the leaf will increase. Also the trees that have diseases will have less stomatal density; however, we think that there will no be a clear correlation between the stomatal density, and humidity and temperature.

Project Summary

This project is all about leaf stomata and determining the correlation between certain factors and the stomatal density in five tree species. We are trying to learn how: Humidity, temperature, leaf size, tree circumference, and tree diseases affect the stomatal density in the leaves of certain species of trees. The tree species being studied are the following: Sugar Maple, Norway Maple, Honey Locust, American Elm, and Slippery Elm. In the field acrylic nail polish is applied in the backside of the leaf to get an imprint of the leaf and in the lab we observe it to get the stomatal density of the leaves.

Background Research

Stomata is the plural of Stoma. Stomata are microscopic openings (or holes) on the surface of the leaves of the plant, which are surrounded by two guard cells that regulate the opening and closing of Stomata. Stomata allow the entrance and emission of gases, mostly Carbon Dioxide, Oxygen respectively, which helps the plant to produce its food. Apart from the two gases mentioned before, water also passes through the Stomata. In hot days the plants transpire or "sweat" water to keep cool.

It is also known that the stomatal density may be affected by certain "outside" factors like humidity, or temperature. But more studies around the world need still to be done to make a better conclusion.

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Resources

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Brief explanation of what are the Stomata (https://www.britannica.com).

 

Document of a similar experiment to determine the correlation between stomatal density and certain factors (http://www.scielo.br).

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Related Projects

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A citizen science project by the National Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center studied the effect of climate change on the life on our planet in long-term was made by looking at leaf stomata fossil samples.

This data helped analyze the climate of the earth million of years ago (https://www.zooniverse.org).

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Humidity_and_COPD.jpg
plantain-lily-stomata-marek-mis.jpg
Temperature gauge.jpg
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