Coastal Succession
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January 2008 G3a Paper

  
  A group of 3 students, on a field course in October, were asked to investigate an area of coastal sand dunes. They were set the following question:  
  "Does this coastal area show a distinctive natural vegetation succession along a transect inland from the beach?"  
  To do this they decided to establish a transect going inland at right angles from the high water mark. They were given permission to do this work in a conservation area where their transect was normally no public access.  
     

1a

 Explain why it was important for them to be able to undertake this work in a conservation area. (2)  
     

b

 Suggest why it would have been better for the students to have recorded data along more than one transect. (3)  
     
  The students decided to collect their vegetation data by taking measurements every 10 metres. They wanted to measure how the % ground cover of different vegetation types changed along their transect, using a 1m by 1m quadrat.  
     

2a

 

 Name and describe one other sampling technique which could have been used to collect the required vegetation data along this particular transect. (3)  
     

b
 

 Explain why a quadrat was used to determine the % of ground cover of the different types of vegetation  
     
  Diagram 1 below shows the % vegetation cover recorded with a quadrat at a distance of 20 metres going inland along the transect from the beach.  
 

 

3a

 Using Diagram 1, estimate the % cover of sea lyme grass (1)  
     

b

 Using Diagram 1, estimate the % cover of marram grass (1)  
     
  The students recorded the data in Table 1 below. Two values are missing from the table fill them in!  

     
  The students represented the data graphically to see if there were any specific patterns. Diagram 2 shows how one student represented the data from Table 1.  
 

 
     

4a
 

 Complete Diagram 2 by drawing in the % cover, at 20 metres, of sea lyme grass and marram grass. (1)  
     

b

 Using Table 1, Transect 1 and Diagram 2, describe the pattern of bare sand and types of vegetation along the transect. (5)  
     

5

 Discuss any limitations in the design of the fieldwork and suggest how it could have been improved to fully answer the question being investigated. (6)  
  You need to look back at the question (hypothesis) at the start that the students had been set and then consider all the information given. [Evaluation].