Victoria Colvin Ralphie Almaraz Devin Glass Jordan Artis THE VENUS FLY TRAPPERS

QUESTION AND PURPOSE How do forest fires effect seed germination? Purpose: We wanted to test the seed germination response to fire products depending on the species and/or dormancy type of the plant. We also wanted to test if forest fires insure that seeds remain dormant until environmental conditions are best for germination.

EXPERIMENTAL HYPOTHESIS If we grow a wild flower then place the plant in the oven the wild flower will germinate slower than that of a flower not exposed to heat because the heat will cause the seed to die. If we grow a pine tree, and then place the plant in the oven the pine will germinate faster then that of a pine not exposed to heat because the heat will cause the seed to emerge from dormancy. If we grow wheat, and then place the plant in the oven the wheat plant will germinate slower than that of a wheat plant not exposed to heat because the heat will cause the seed to die.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN For our experiment we will have three different types of plants. Within the groups of plants there would be a control group and a burned soil group. The control group would have the same amount of water, soil temperature, and location as the burned soil group. The only difference between the three groups would be that one would be exposed to heat. After the experiment we would compare the percentage of seeds sprouted in each of the plant groups. In order to expose the plant to heat we would put the plants in the oven.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN CONTINUED To heat the seeds, we put them and the soil in the oven at the same time. We spread the soil out in dishes and placed the 7 seeds on top of the soil. We adjusted the oven temperature to 350 and cooked the seeds for seven minutes. After heating, we planted all the seeds in pots, placed them under grow lights and gave each plant 100 milliliters of water.

SUPPLIES -6, 4 inch Pots -Bag of Soil-Tin Foil -14 Wheat Seeds-Water -14 Pine Seeds-Grow Lights -14 Russell Hybrid Mix-Timer -100 Milliliter Beaker-Peat Moss -Oven Sheet (for oven placement)

PROCEDURE 1. Select six pots 2. Into three of the six pots place half soil half peat moss 3. Label the pots: Wheat, Burned Wheat, Wildflower, Burned Wildflower, Pine, and Burned Pine 4. Plant seven Wheat, Wildflower, and Pine seeds into the corresponding pots labeled non burned 5. Line an oven sheet with tin foil 6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F 7. Place one cup of soil/peat moss onto the oven sheet and evenly spread throughout the dish 8. Place seven wheat seeds in the middle of the oven dish

PROCEDURE 9. Repeat the same process described in steps 6 and 7 for both pine and wildflower seeds 10. Place the oven sheets into the oven 11. Heat for seven minutes at 350 degrees F (use timer) 12. Take oven sheet out and let cool for 20 minutes 13. Once cool take the seven seeds out of each plant group and set them aside 14. Then pour each burned plant soil group into their corresponding pots 15. Proceed by planting seven burned seeds into each of the corresponding pots 16. Next water each plant with 100 milliliters of water and place under grow lights (repeat step 16 every day)

DATA

ANALYSIS The Wheat, Wild Flower, and Pine groups responded to the burned soil (dependent) variable by not germinating. The Wheat and Wild Flower groups responded to the (independent) non burned soil variable by having over 50% germination. We observed a trend between the Wheat and Wild Flower indicating non burned seeds germinate while burned seeds do not ( with respect to species). To increase the predictability of our experiment we could have tested the viability of our seed types to determine the average germination rate of the seed groups. Germination rates are particularly important in pines because 30% of seeds from a pine cone naturally do not germination. Because of the low germination rates for pines the number of seeds may have to be increased for a pine to have the same chances of germinating as the other plant species.

CONCLUSION Both our Wild Flower and Wheat hypotheses where proven correct. The results showed that the non-burned soil groups germinated before the burned soil groups. Our hypothesis for the Pine seeds was not proven or disproven because neither plant germinated. We believe that the lack of germination was because the Pine did not have enough time to germinate. We came to this conclusion because our research showed that Pines take up to a month to germinate and even then may not have contained viable seeds. From our experiment we learned that forest fires negatively affect the seed germination of Wheat and Wild Flower. No data was collected for the Pine seeds, so no conclusion about the effects of forest fires can be made. We have also learned how to take tender love and care of plants.

WORKS CITED Biology of Plants: Starting to Grow." Biology of Plants: Starting to Grow. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar "Chemicals in Forest Fire Smoke Studied." UPI. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar Melendez, Jarrett. "How to Germinate Pine Cone Seeds." EHow. Demand Media, 03 Dec Web. 09 Apr "Review of the Promotive Effects of Smoke on Seed Dormancy." The Promotive Effects of Smoke on Seed Dormancy. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar