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Analyzing Forest Area Data
Now that you have measured some forests and at least one area in Google Earth, you are ready to analyze the data. Microsoft Excel is one of the most common tools used by scientists to record, sort, and analyze data, so we'll practice that same skill in this lab. You will need to have access to Excell on your home or school computer, but we have provided a file that you can use, even if you are not familiar with using formulas.
First, download this Forest Mapping Worksheet spreadsheet first. Once you have downloaded it, open it on your computer.
DOWNLOAD FOREST MAPPING Worksheet spreadsheet
Now that you have measured some forests and at least one area in Google Earth, you are ready to analyze the data. Microsoft Excel is one of the most common tools used by scientists to record, sort, and analyze data, so we'll practice that same skill in this lab. You will need to have access to Excell on your home or school computer, but we have provided a file that you can use, even if you are not familiar with using formulas.
First, download this Forest Mapping Worksheet spreadsheet first. Once you have downloaded it, open it on your computer.
DOWNLOAD FOREST MAPPING Worksheet spreadsheet
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Entering Data
When you open the Forest Mapping Worksheet file, you will see sections where you can enter data for four different selected sites. You or your group can select various sites, such as your home area and a rain forest somewhere else in the world. You can also look at multiple sites to get a better idea of patterns you might find in your area or around the world. If you have NOT used Google Earth to save some data, go back to the Google Earth instructions in the Navgation Links at the bottom of this page. 1) Find saved data in Google Earth - Open your Google Earth account and view the Forest Mapping Project you created. The image at the right is an example with 6 "forests" measured. Each section of the worksheet has space for 8 forests, but you can add more rows if you know how to insert rows, copy and edit labels, and adjust the formula for "Total Forest Area." |
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2) Enter Data into Worksheet
Click on "Area 1" to see the Area of the entire site. Make sure the data is shown in square kilometers (km^2). In the Worksheet, click in the cell to the right of "Total Area of Site" and type the Area of Area 1 into that cell. Do the same thing with each of the "Forest" areas. *Make sure you type the numbers in EXACTLY as shown in your Google Earth project! DO NOT TYPE IN THE UNITS (km^2). *Note - It's a good idea to save your worksheet frequently! As you enter the numbers, you will see that the "Total Forest Area" and "% Forest Area" numbers change! Those cells have formulas that add up the area of each forest, and then find the percentage of the Total Area of Site that are forest. Unless you add extra rows for forest sections, do not edit the formulas in those two cells! |
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3) Comparing Multiple Sites
If you enter data for multiple sites, you can create a graph that makes it easier to compare different sites. These comparisons will tell you about how land is used in each area and might suggest problems for forest animals. Scroll to the bottom of page 2 of the Worksheet to find a section that puts the % Forest Area from four different "Areas" in one spot. It uses formulas to do this automatically. Highlight the cells as shown in the first image to the right. Then click "Insert" in the menu bar, and select the "Columns" chart (see the red arrows in the image to the right). This will create a graph. Click on the graph, then click "Quick Layout" in the tool bard. Pick a layout that has a title, legend, and axis titles. Then you can type in the labels you need. You can also delete items if you want. The graph shown in the 2nd image to the right is a graph of sites we found as examples. As you look at the data in the graph, you can see that Areas #3 has a much larger % Forest Area, meaning most of that site is forested. The data in the tables may also show that each forest is much larger than the small blocks seen in Area #1. |
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Now that you have analyzed your data and seen some comparisons, visit the last page of the activity to see questions to guide your discussion about the differences between the areas and possible the impact on wildlife.
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