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The Lichen of OZ

Organization(s):Chartiers-Houston Jr./Sr. High School
Country:United States of America
Student(s):Period 2 Students of Gary Popiolkowski
Grade Level:Secondary School (grades 9-12, ages 14-18)
GLOBE Teacher:Gary Popiolkowski
Contributors:
Report Type(s):
Protocols:(Protocol Deactivated), Biometry (including Tree Height)
Language(s):
Date Submitted:05/13/2013
Screen capture from presentation
Students will collect information about the types and percent lichen coverage on our campus and in their neighborhoods and compare those results to ozone strips we prepare. Lichens will be classified into three categories as to their sensitivity to air pollution. We hypothesize that the bioindicators will compare favorably with the ozone strips and be a reliable method to measure air quality.


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Comments

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Julie Malmberg
10 Years Ago
I think I am going to be whistling songs from The Wizard of Oz for the rest of the day! Excellent work, everyone - I really enjoyed watching your video and reading your report. I do, however, have a few questions for you -

1. I don't know a whole lot about lichens and their growth conditions, so can you tell me how you determined which lichens grow in different air quality conditions?

2. How could the results from your study be shared with your community? And, do you think they would like to know this information?
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Gary Popiolkowski
10 Years Ago
Thank you for your interest, questions, and kind words about our project.
1. We determined which lichens fit with which air quality by using background information from our research.
2. We can share our results by doing the following:
a. Putting videos on Youtube and Teachertube
b. An article in the school district's news letter
c. Producing an information pamphlet/brochure about our work in the community library and township and borough buildings
3. Yes we think they would like to know and maybe they don't know the effects of poor air quality such as respiratory illnesses.
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Jessica Mackaro (inactive)
10 Years Ago
This is so interesting - thank you so much for sharing! What was the motivating factor behind choosing this project to research? Would you do anything differently if you were to repeat the project?
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Gary Popiolkowski Jessica Mackaro
10 Years Ago
Thank you for your questions and nice comments.
1. We learned about lichens throughout the year by investigating our study site plus we had the materials in order to make the ozone strips. What motivated us was that through our discussions and talking and research, we found out what lichens are and that they can be bio indicators. We thought that using the ozone strips as a way to maybe compare them with our survey of lichens to see if lichens can be used to see what the ground level of ozone is. 2. If we repeated the project we would a. survey more areas in our community b. comparing lichen growth on coniferous to deciduous trees c. compare types of lichens that face each of the cardinal directions on the trees
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Jessica Mackaro (inactive) Gary Popiolkowski
10 Years Ago
What do you think surveying additional trees would reveal?
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Gary Popiolkowski Jessica Mackaro
10 Years Ago
This could give us more precise data and a better picture of our overall area,such as seeing if the different types of trees grow different types of lichens, ex. the acidity in coniferous trees would allow different lichens to grow there.
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Gary Randolph
10 Years Ago
Hello Lichen of O3z Team,
Nicely made adaptation to the film! Did you discover anything about the juxtaposition of the various lichens? Were certain lichens more prevalent at certain location than others? Were they more likely on a particular type of tree (deciduous versus coniferous)?