Disturbed vs. Undisturbed Forest

            
             The amount and type of ground cover in various areas depends greatly on if it is in a disturbed or undisturbed area. Experiments were conducted in order to analyze the presence and type of materials. Disturbed areas were observed to contain more trash and less coarse woody debris, while undisturbed areas disclosed opposite results. This experiment is useful when comparing past and / or future data from the same areas to determine the change and the impact. .
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             INTRODUCTION.
             Long-term ecological research is particularly valuable for understanding disturbance dynamics over long time periods and placing those dynamics in a regional context. The important role of disturbances in shaping landscapes and influencing ecosystems is now well recognized in ecology. Fires, storms, floods, pest outbreaks, species invasions, human interaction and resource extraction, to name but a few types of disturbance, affect many ecosystems over a range of scales. Disturbance is defined as any relatively discrete event in time that disrupts ecosystem, community, or population structure and changes resource pools, substrate availability, or the physical environment (White and Pickett 1985).
             The relationship between humans and the environment is extremely important to planet survival. All living things must live together forming a type of harmony and balance. .
             The Disturbance and Ground Cover experiment was conducted in an effort to understand the effects human interaction has on the environment and to compare disturbed with undisturbed areas. Disturbed sites are more likely to have significantly less vegetation, leaf litter and coarse woody debris than the less disturbed sites. .
             METHODS AND MATERIALS.
             In order to survey vastly different areas, four groups were formed and sent to separate areas throughout the Miami University Middletown campus. The areas of interest included disturbed, or better traveled locations, and undisturbed, less traveled areas.