A Team of Researchers Is Investigating the Effects of Fertilizer

Essay

A team of researchers is investigating the effects of fertilizer on the growth of forest trees. They use an old Christmas tree plantation with pine trees of the same species and age, and divide a section of the plantation into 4,000 plots, with each plot measuring 10 cm * 10 cm. They separate the plots into two groups of 2,000 and apply different amounts of fertilizer to the two groups. They collect data on tree growth in each plot for 12 hours and quantify the growth rates with high and low fertilizer applications. Discuss the validity of this design, concentrating on possible spatial and temporal flaws. Based on this experimental design, would the researchers be able to draw valid conclusions about the effect of fertilizer on tree growth rates? Why or why not? Consider the spatial and temporal scales of the design.