Assessment of a multi-year restoration experiment as a tool for teaching and research at a primarily undergraduate institution

I designed an experiment that could be performed at a local restoration site, on a minimal budget, to give undergraduate biology majors hands-on experience with field methods, statistical analysis, and scientific writing. The experiment tests the hypothesis that increased mowing, coupled with biomass removal, will promote decreases in soil nitrogen and consequent increases in recruitment of native species in a highly disturbed Mediterranean grassland. The cost of setting up the experiment was approximately $250, along with an initial investment of about 40 person-hours in laying out plots, performing the treatments, and handling samples. Students learned to identify local plant species and sample plants and soils in the field, and then did follow-up work on the samples in the lab. A restoration ecology class of 15 students was able to complete the experimental work in the course of four weekly 3-hour lab periods. Additionally, two lab periods were devoted to scientific writing and data analysis. In all, the experiment consumed slightly more than half of the quarter’s lab time. On written evaluations, 50% of the students gave the experiment the highest rating (“really worthwhile”) and 35% gave it the second highest rating (“definitely helpful”). Students also said the course significantly improved their skills at “understanding experimental design” (77%) and “writing in scientific style” (61%). The course is offered on a bi-annual basis. In the second year, when the course was not in session, the experiment was maintained by a part-time research assistant, opening up the possibility of an eventual publication with an undergraduate co-author.