Grasses and Weeds
Grasslands cover about 2.3 billion hectares of the landmass of the world and make up one-fourth of the earth’s surface. Although grasslands contain mostly grasses of which 10,000 species have been documented, they are actually areas of great diversity because they provide a habitat for over 12,000 species of legumes and other plant families that often grow associated with grasses. Most natural grasslands exist between deserts and forests although man-made grasslands have been developed to accommodate trees. Grasslands are valuable to us; in fact, they are sometimes referred to as the birthplace of mankind.
The Ateneo de Manila University in Loyola Heights, Quezon City, has an area of 83 hectares, of which a considerable part is covered with grasslands. With constant development, the campus has evolved to possess many other natural habitats. These habitats include the plants, trees, and some aquatic environments, and occupy one-half of the area. The other one-half of this area is occupied by infrastructures, which include buildings, roads, or recreational areas.
Still maintaining a relatively wide natural habitat cover, the campus is a haven for taxonomic studies for grasslands species. Relevant to this field is the establishment of a campus herbarium, which can monitor the natural grassland species while the grassland habitat is still around. The campus is expanding its infrastructures rapidly, and these developments are sacrificing the valuable taxonomic data.
It is evident that the most affected with developments are grassland species, since they are included in the sacrificed land for construction purposes. Trees and ornamental plants are readily transferred and/or replanted into another area. Grassland species also occupy the biggest land cover, an estimated area of 40 hectares that posses a number of possible grassland species that is composed of different species of grasses, legumes, or herbs. It is implied by these that a documentary effort of the species are most necessary. This documentation is in terms of site location, identification, collection, classification, and basic ecological description.
This study will initiate the documentary effort of the grassland species in the campus. This will provide then, valuable baseline information of the grassland species of the campus for future reference, may it be as a subject for further research or as a teaching material. Baseline information will be made available through several products of this study: map with legends, archival pictures and documents, and a herbarium plant preserves. Furthermore, data that will be obtained from this study will be encoded into a interactive computer database in an html (hyper text mark-up language) format that will be made for the purpose of having a digital photo-document. This is for easier access of the grassland species accounts using a personal computer.
The focus of this study will be the grassland areas of the Ateneo College Complex, which is circumscribed by the University Road and the Diversion Road, which spans from Gate 2 to Gate 3. It will not be confined however to lawns, but also to recreational fields and wastelands also found within the area. It will also include natural grasslands or artificially propagated grasslands. It will be conducted in the months of October 2001 to February 2002.
The derived baseline information of this study will be mostly coming from plant identification and location, and from basic ecological survey. This baseline information should always be constantly updated and monitored so that we, the people of the university can be aware of the richness of grassland flora the campus offers.
The Ateneo de Manila University in Loyola Heights, Quezon City, has an area of 83 hectares, of which a considerable part is covered with grasslands. With constant development, the campus has evolved to possess many other natural habitats. These habitats include the plants, trees, and some aquatic environments, and occupy one-half of the area. The other one-half of this area is occupied by infrastructures, which include buildings, roads, or recreational areas.
Still maintaining a relatively wide natural habitat cover, the campus is a haven for taxonomic studies for grasslands species. Relevant to this field is the establishment of a campus herbarium, which can monitor the natural grassland species while the grassland habitat is still around. The campus is expanding its infrastructures rapidly, and these developments are sacrificing the valuable taxonomic data.
It is evident that the most affected with developments are grassland species, since they are included in the sacrificed land for construction purposes. Trees and ornamental plants are readily transferred and/or replanted into another area. Grassland species also occupy the biggest land cover, an estimated area of 40 hectares that posses a number of possible grassland species that is composed of different species of grasses, legumes, or herbs. It is implied by these that a documentary effort of the species are most necessary. This documentation is in terms of site location, identification, collection, classification, and basic ecological description.
This study will initiate the documentary effort of the grassland species in the campus. This will provide then, valuable baseline information of the grassland species of the campus for future reference, may it be as a subject for further research or as a teaching material. Baseline information will be made available through several products of this study: map with legends, archival pictures and documents, and a herbarium plant preserves. Furthermore, data that will be obtained from this study will be encoded into a interactive computer database in an html (hyper text mark-up language) format that will be made for the purpose of having a digital photo-document. This is for easier access of the grassland species accounts using a personal computer.
The focus of this study will be the grassland areas of the Ateneo College Complex, which is circumscribed by the University Road and the Diversion Road, which spans from Gate 2 to Gate 3. It will not be confined however to lawns, but also to recreational fields and wastelands also found within the area. It will also include natural grasslands or artificially propagated grasslands. It will be conducted in the months of October 2001 to February 2002.
The derived baseline information of this study will be mostly coming from plant identification and location, and from basic ecological survey. This baseline information should always be constantly updated and monitored so that we, the people of the university can be aware of the richness of grassland flora the campus offers.