Science 10 Ecology

Project

Title: Gee, Variety Is The Spice Of Life!

Background: Biodiversity is an important feature of a healthy ecosystem. If an area contains just one species of something, a single negative factor could kill the entire population. In a severe situation, perhaps an entire level of a small food chain might be affected.

Process: Go into your backyard and look around. How many living things do you notice? What plants are there? What animals? Make a simple chart to summarize your findings. The chart should indicate the variety of lifeforms and the population of each.

Question:

1. Some homeowners strive to create a monoculture lawn - all just one type of grass and definitely no weeds. Do you find this type of lawn attractive?

2. a) What would be its biodiversity?

b) Would it be likely to survive the variety of adverse conditions often encountered during a summer?

3. Ten homeowners on the same street go to the gardening store where you work to purchase grass seed. Your store carries a variety of grass seed. After you explain the benefits of biodiversity to the homeowners, what advice would you offer about their grass seed purchases?

4. The homeowners understand the benefits of biodiversity and are not fussy about what type of grass seed they buy but each still wants their lawn to be a monoculture. With this in mind, what advice might you give to each homeowner individually to try to create a healthy grass neighbourhood as a whole?