Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2010
Abstract
Our research is concerned with the further exploration of leaf biomechanics, a relatively unexamined field. The purpose of this experiment was to find a correlation between environmental stress factors and tensile strength of leaves of Encelia californica. We hypothesized the beach species would have a higher tensile strength than canyon species. After evaluating data collected from both Pepperdine’s Presidents Canyon and Malibu beach we found that while the canyon species could withstand a higher maximum load of force, there was no difference between the canyon and the beach species with leaf area taken into account. Using Young’s Modulus, we see that there is no significant difference in the tensile strengths of E. californica in canyon and beach species.
Recommended Citation
Chowaniec, Anna; Lee, Annie; and Springs, Hayley, "A Comparison of the Tensile Strength of Leaves in Encelia californica in Canyon and Beach Species" (2010). Pepperdine University, Featured Research. Paper 21.
https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/sturesearch/21