Results

Interpretations

The tree with the largest circumference, had the largest average Phi II values(p<0.001,f=13.3, Figure 1). Additionally, the tree with the smallest circumference had the smallest average Phi II value. The null statistical hypothesis was rejected, which supports the notion that there was a statistical difference between circumference of trees and their Phi II values(larger circumference means larger Phi II values). This supported our hypothesis.

T-tests supported our research hypothesis as the three larger trees that we studied(09,02,07) had a much higher average Phi II value(t=6.486, df=1538, p=<0.0001, Figure 2) than smaller trees(around 0.57). The null statistical hypothesis was rejected as they are statistically significant.

Overall, our research hypothesis was supported by the two Figures given above. Trees with larger circumferences had higher average Phi II values.

Discussion

The data supported the original hypothesis that trees with larger circumferences of the same species show higher photosynthetic rates, and smaller circumferences show lower rates, which was supported by statistically significant phi II values.

Possible alternative biological explanations include: Trunk size affected the trees ability to store water and photosynthesize more efficiently supported by research performed by Phillips et. al (2003). Light absorption for leaves due to leaf surface area and total number of leaves on trees.

According to Day et al. (2001), photosynthetic rates in older trees were significantly lower than rates in younger trees, which shows different results than this study. These results differ from ours simply because the age of the tree does not necessarily determine the size, which might explain why the results were not consistent with our exact hypothesis.

The data that were collected is very important scientifically in the world today. Photosynthetic rates increased with the size and circumference of the tree in the study and proved to be statistically significant. Researchers could use this to compare and contrast different tree species and on a global scale as it relates to the destruction of forests and the use of different trees for goods in excess. From the research, the larger the tree, the larger the surface area was for each leaf which could lead to the higher photosynthetic rates Boardman (1977) stated that sun leaves are able to be more efficient by using high light intensities, even though the leaves are able to avoid a decline in photosynthetic performance.

This study can be used to protect future forests and conserve the environment. It may be possible to tell whether or not large-scale operations that cut down mature forests for urban development are affecting the environment. To combat the loss of these photosynthetic products, more research needs to be done to try and provide alternate means of oxygen production such as conservation of older and larger forests. Times and days that data were collected can be the same every week simply for consistency and accuracy. In addition to this, more samples of each size of tree will give a better representation of data.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SksVgPgYYQBwpIo3T4cacF0xudqe0r6XlM2YVqwmpjI/edit?usp=sharing![Screen Shot 2016-12-13 at 11.41.21 AM.png]![Screen Shot 2016-12-13 at 11.41.21 AM.png]