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How-to video: Making observations and recording data
How-to video: Making observations and recording data
Winterberry making observations updated.MOVData collection overview
Data collection overview
Collect your first data as soon as the majority of berries on the plant are ripe (this is usually when you set up your site). Collect data once a week until the plant are covered with snow or until you can no longer monitor them without disturbing them (by shaking snow off, for example).
During the period when plants are covered with snow you will take snow depth measurements once a month and take some pictures. Once the snow melts you start monitoring once a week again. If the snow melts in the middle of winter, resume monitoring until the ground is covered with snow again. When all the fruits are gone OR when the plants flower again (whichever comes first), stop monitoring. When the majority of berries are ripe, start monitoring again for year 2.
Here's how to collect data
Here's how to collect data
Fill out the top part of the data sheet. Go to the "Step 5: Submit Data" page to find out your options for submitting data and to download the datasheets. Site name, date and species MUST be filled in for the data to be of any use to us!
Check your plant name or number and write it on the datasheet. We are tracking individual plants, so we want to make sure we know who is who!Note: youth groups will likely use names while individuals may use just numbers. As long as we can keep track of individuals, we don't care!
Count the number of berries ON the plant and record on the datasheet. Count berries in six different categories (see the berry category page for more pictures):
Unripe - green or only partially colored
Ripe - red or (for crowberry) black and healthy looking
Rotten - berries are discolored (black, brown, moldy)
Dry - berries are shrivelled up
Damaged - part of the berry was removed
Both rotten and dry - berries are black and rotten looking but also dried out, and you can't tell which category fits best.
Take pictures. Take a picture of any damaged berries or any other category that looks interesting. Also take a picture of any obvious animal activity. For example, if you see some animal scat full of berries, take a picture of it!
Take notes. Make a note of anything interesting that you saw. For example, maybe you saw ants scurrying around the berries, or a bird removing one. Maybe a moose bedded down on your berry patch and knocked most of the berries off.
Write down when the plant is done. When the plant no longer has any berries on it write DONE and remove the tag.
Make sure to keep track of which plants are done so you don't go looking for it the next time! Record zeros for the berries in each category on your datasheet from now until the end of the project for this plant.
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