Moss grows in mats on a sloping earth bank. A student carried out a pilot survey along one line from the bottom to the top of the bank.
| Distance from the bottom of the bank (m) | Moss cover (%) | Soil moisture (%) | Light intensity (lux) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 78 | 68 | 7200 |
| 2 | 69 | 61 | 9600 |
| 4 | 53 | 49 | 13400 |
| 6 | 35 | 36 | 18100 |
| 8 | 16 | 24 | 23700 |
The student concludes that the decrease in moss cover is caused by the decrease in soil moisture.
The student has tape measures, gridded quadrats, a soil moisture meter and a light meter.
Describe how the student could carry out a field investigation to provide stronger evidence for or against this conclusion.
109 exam-style questions on OCR GCSE Biology 6.1 Monitoring and maintaining the environment, covering 6.1.1 Field investigation of distribution and abundance, 6.1.2 Human interactions and biodiversity, 6.1.3 Maintaining biodiversity, and 6.1.4 Environmental change and distribution of organisms. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.