Part 2—Explore Biodiversity Using A Forest Inventory Growth (FIG) Dataset from Maine

Step 1 – Open the FIG Dataset with Excel

  1. Launch Excel by double clicking on the excel icon on your dock or desktop.
  2. Navigate to Auburn_Land_Lab_FIG.xls file and choose File > Open....
    3. excel file open
  3. Scroll across the Auburn_Land_Lab_FIG.xls spreadsheet to explore the data.
    4. What information is given in the spreadsheet?

Step 2 – Create a Pie Chart to Investigate Biodiversity of Tree Species

  1. Create a pie chart to identify the most abundant tree species in the data sample.
  2. Add Labels and a Title to the pie chart.
  3. Examine the pie chart.
  4. Consider the following questions for data analysis:
  • What are the two most abundant tree species?
  • What is the combined percentage of the two most abundant tree species?
This is significant because when half (or more) of a sample of trees is predominantly made up of only two tree species, the biodiversity is considered low. In this case, there are a variety of trees, but Red Maple and Red Oak constitute 68 percent of the forest plot, and so the biodiversity is low.