Hello Everyone! In this site we will present our work on our Group 4 Project where three biologists, three chemists and two physicists joined to create a general scientific project. Our investigation was based on samples and information collected in the Parco della Caffarella. Our research question is based on creating a connection between the structure and the amount of roots and mosses growing in a particular zone of the stream with the water consistency and the water velocity. In other word, also analyzing required environmental conditions for the particular samples of roots and moss we found. In this home page you will be able to access the investigation of the different sciences and our conclusion.
You will find the different structures of the samples collected in Bio, the measure of water velocity in different areas in physics, and the water consistency as pH or temperature in 4 different zones of the stream.
In this lab Arianna Bragaglia and Giulio Bianchi measured the velocity of water to understand how a change in the velocity of water can affect the values measured in chemistry and biology.
In this lab students determined the chemical consistency of the water to understand how a change in the water consistency of water can affect the values measured in physics and biology.
The environment in which a plant grows is an important factor for the plant to develop. Plants obtain their nutriments from the soil in which they live in, as long as the water around them, therefore both the soil and the water have to be adapted to the plants structure. The reason why different kinds of plants are found in different places is because every plant has its own factors of growth, and its own requirements to develop. We divided the stream in Parco della Caffarella into four zones, blocks A, B, C and D, carefully picking up mosses and roots from each one of them in order to investigate how the consistency of water (found in the chemistry part) and soil affect the structures of these different organisms.
General conclusion:
To generally conclude our experiment, we can say that the amount and type of plant life in the Parco Della Caffarella stream was most probably affected by the velocity of the water as well as the chemical consistency such as the amount of extraneous residue and pH. The fact that the stream was faster in some sections as compared to others could explain the difference in thickness of the root epidermises found in the different zones. Where the stream was faster, the roots needed a stronger hold, thus possibly explaining stronger epidermis structure.
Also, one could say that the slightly alkaline pH of the stream probably affects the abundance and variety of plant life in the stream. The fact that the roots with least protective features grew in the area with less Calcium-carbonate deposits could show that the plant life in the stream had also adapted to not absorbing unwanted substances by developing thicker epidermises. However, we could also conclude that the water and the soil sediments that mixed with it, coupled with all the waste, did not produce extremely favorable growth conditions for plant life since predominantly plants that looked like egeria densa, hydrilla, or elodea, all of which are tough water weeds, were found. One can thus also conclude that these plants are most suitable and relatively unaffected by pollution of a normal stream. Furthermore, we were able to conclude that zone D, with one of the lowest stream velocities and lowest amount of calcium carbonate deposits, allowed the easiest and most abundant plant growth as seen by the large amount of moss and the great amount of roots with thinner epidermises. The moss itself was not affected by the pollution of the water since it was outside on rocks or soil, serving as a sort of control variable.
In conclusion, we believe we have carried out our experiment successfully by discovering the above facts about plant life in streams and how different factors affect it as seen in the Parco Della Caffarella stream. It was a great practical experience which allowed us to critically think and contemplate about similar scientific occurrences in order to draw conclusions for each of our subject areas.
Arianna Bragaglia
Giulio Bianchi
Brandon Lomax
Eddie Simon
Alan Bokayev
Margaux Chatelan
Chris Much
Anna Nikolskaya
