The data below was taken during a study of an abandoned agricultural field. Scientists counted the number of different kinds of herbs, shrubs, and trees present in the field one, 25, and 40 years after it has been abandoned.
Time after abandonment of agri. field
1yr 25 yr 40 yr
Number of herb species 31 30 36
Number of shrub species 0 7 19
Number of tree pecies 0 14 22
TOTAL number of species 31 51 77
Question 1: What are three conclusions about what is occurring in the field after analyzing the trends in these data?
Question 2: What is your prediction of the relative numbers (less than, greater than, equal to) of herbs, shrubs, trees, and the total number of plant species that you would expect to see 100 years after abandonment of the field? (Simple prediction and reasoning?)