Terrarium Lab Report

Introduction My honors biology project is creating a closed vivarium that will eventually be able to support itself. I am conducting this experiment for my honors biology project. I will include a small African Violet , a Lemon Button Fern , and an earthworm to decompose and generate the nitrogen cycle. This ecosystem will have to be able to maintain strong carbon, nitrogen, and water cycles to survive. A few organisms in a small container can work together to maintain a stable environment. The terrarium will include one small flowering plant called an African Violet (Saintpaulia), one Lemon Button Fern (Nephrolepis cordifolia) that has adaptations to withstand the hot and humid climate in the terrarium, and an earthworm (Lumbricina) that will be used as a decomposer and also will be a large factor in the nitrogen cycle. These organisms will help each other maintain a stable environment through the carbon, nitrogen, and water cycles. Without a strong water cycle the plants will not be able to survive, which would disrupt the

Without the proper set-up the environment will die. Other factors to consider are the container, soil type, the base for the terrarium and water input. The dependent variables are the growth in width of the african violet, the color quality of the plants on a scale of 1-10 based on dark green to yellow, and the length of the earthworm at the beginning and end of the project. Measurements of the violet will take place every four days. The worm will be measured before it is placed in the terrarium and again at the end of the project. Without strong water input the plants will die. Without the earthworms (decomposers) my ecosystem will not succeed. To make a successful terrarium a stable water, nitrogen, and carbon cycle will be required. Many other Davie High School students have done this project, some have been successful in creating a stable environment that can maintain