International Research

Experiences for Students(IRES)

Da Lat, Vietnam

1 August – 9 August 2015 By Cheng Li Ling, Janelle Ong and Claudia Chua (Sec 3 2015)

Overview Of iREs

Where We Went

• Đà Lạt, Vietnam

• Capital of Lâm Đồng Province in southern Vietnam

• Bidoup Nui Ba National Park - Established in 2004, it is named

after the 2 highest peaks of the Langbiang plateau: Bidoup(2,287m) and Nui Ba(2,167m)

The iREs Family

• consists of 32 iREs staff, volunteers, participants and teachers.

4 Fields Of Research

•Soil Science

•Water & Atmospheric Chemistry

•Tree Identification & Biodiversity

•Dendrochronology

Soil Science

By: Janelle

Soil Group members

Rachel Khoa Janelle Crystal Nyung Ten

Our Research Motivations:

Soil Science (Janelle)

Our goal was to find and collect the

data of the amount of nutrients in

the soil and the main composition

of the soil.

Our Research Motivations:

Soil Science Equipment used:

Different depths of soil recorded

Topsoil

10cm

20cm

30cm

Experiments Carried Out:

Our Research Methods:

Soil Science (Janelle)

Our Results

•Soil Chemistry •Nutrients are essential to tree

growth (promotes the growth and health of the tree.)

•Temperature and moisture of the soil also largely affects the growth of the trees in the forest.

Conclusion:

The data we collected was given to the Professor. He will compare to results from previous years. The results will be given to the forestry staff at BNBNP to aid them in their research.

Water & Atmospheric Chemistry Claudia..

Our Research Motivations:

Water & Atmospheric Chemistry (Why?)

• —Water carries nutrients e.g. calcium and

potassium which are needed for

photosynthesis

• —To know the different factors that affect

the biodiversity

• —To allow us the access to clean water

• —To understand the importance of water

as it contributes to tree growth

Our Research Methods:

Water & Atmospheric Chemistry

(Equipment)

Dissolved Oxygen Probe

Turbidity Sensor pH Probe

Flow Rate Sensor

CO2 Sensor

Light Sensor

Relative Humidity

Probe

Temp Probe Venier

Our Research Methods:

Water & Atmospheric Chemistry (Locations/Water)

Giang Ly Pond

Soil Pit #2

Hon Giao Stream Giang Ly

Natural Pit

Big Waterfall

Our Research Methods:

Water & Atmospheric Chemistry (Lab Analysis)

★Calibration ○ Zero error

★2nd measurement of data

★Turbidity Data Collection

★Collation of Data

Our Results

Our Research Methods:

Water & Atmospheric Chemistry (Lab Analysis)

Sample Average Corrected

Turbidity

Giang Ly pond near

(Glen) 4.67

Giang Ly pond far

(Ashley) 5.00

S2 (Janelle) 86.20

Giang Ly natural water pit

(Paco) 0.00

Giang Ly natural water pit

(Coral) 3.30

Big Waterfall (Thiet) 7.22

Big George Waterfall 7.37

Hon Giao stream (Ling) 5.54

Hon Giao stream (Ten) 2.26

Our Research Methods:

Water & Atmospheric Chemistry (Lab Analysis)

Our Conclusion • Water and Atmospheric Chemistry:

• Water is a necessary factor to both atmosphere and biodiversity.

• The quality and condition of the water source affects the surrounding tree growth and atmospheric condition.

• water is essential to the biodiversity and that the factors change along with the biodiversity.

•Linking back to our motivations

•Extension research question •how does the change in temperature of the water actually affect the micro-organisms?

Dendrochronology By: Li Ling

dendrochronology |ˌdendrōkrəˈnäləjē|

(noun)

the science or technique of dating events, environmental changes, and archaeological artifacts by using the characteristic patterns of annual growth rings in timber and tree trunks.

*source: New Oxford American Dictionary

Thiet

Trung

Zang

Mr Koh

Summer

Our Research Motivations:

Dendrochronology (Li Ling)

To examine the growth rates of the trees

in order to draw preliminary conclusions

on the trees' average age as well as their

habitat's natural conditions throughout

the years.

Our Research Methods:

Dendrochronology (Li Ling)

1)Identification of suitable Coniferous trees

1)Tree Coring

1)Mounting

1)Sanding

1)Ring Counting

1)Creation of skeleton plots

Increment Borer

Spoon

www.cspforestry.com

Research Methods:

Identification Of Trees & Tree Coring

Research Methods:

Mounting

Research Methods:

Sanding

Sandpaper with different levels of roughness

Research Methods:

Ring Counting annual growth rings

> 100 rings

Our Tree Cores

Research Methods:

Skeleton Plotting

a method of crossdating where ring-growth characteristics across many samples from a

homogeneous area is matched

Generally, the longer the line, the wider the annual growth ring & the more the tree grew in that particular year. (length of lines are subjective)

Data Analysis

Data Analysis

Sunlight Rainfall

Dendroclimatology

• Oldest: 250 • Youngest: 77 • Average age of the trees cored(& suitable

for analysis) were about 190 years old. • Core samples and results were given to the

Professor. • Data would be compared to previous

years results and data across the fields of research

Our Results

Conclusion

Growth rates of trees correlate.

No one element relating to weather/climate affects tree growth independently. (More studies are required to show the extent of how each element affects tree growth.)

Overall significance Of our results

During our on-field research,

• Species of trees not usually found in BNBNP

With our data,

• Forestry department of the NP may be able to use it to track the conditions of the trees, and the state of their habitats

The Experts & Our Research

The Experts & Our Research

Our venue of analysis: Thang Long High School

for the Gifted

The Experts & Our Research

The Experts & Our Research

What do they actually do? •Aiding research in and out of lab • lectures •prompting questions •help the entire project to function (logistics etc)

Global Interaction

Our Reflections - What we learnt

•Determination •Adaptability & flexibility •Importance of forest conservation •Importance of symbiotic

relationships in nature (every environmental element affects the condition of the plants & wildlife)

Thank You!