An Investigation of the the Urban Heat Island Effect in West Harlem on Parris Island Cos and Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce and Microbial Soil Diversity

An ecosystem is an environment with biotic and abiotic factors that are intertwined with each other. When there is an imbalance in the environment, wildlife will be affected (Rutledge Kim, 2024). As temperatures in New York City each year continue to rise, we wondered how the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect alters the germination and development of plants, specifically Parris Island Cos and Black Seeded simpson Lettuce. On July 2024 we recorded surface and air temperatures in two areas in Harlem; one with preserved greenery meaning spaces comprised of a variety of trees and other plants taking up more than half the area, and another area with less than a quarter of significant plants, trees, etc. We used the average temperatures to recreate city temperatures conditions in our experiment. Using heat lamps to imitate the conditions that we observed and planting seeds to examine the height and number of successful sprouts. We also considered that the UHI may affect the bacteria in the soil since bacteria is important for plant development to provide them with nutrients and these bacteria may have a harder time developing in hotter environments. From the same areas we replicated for our plants, we tested the soil using BioPaddles and identified the amount of bacteria colonies present. Our goal is to gain more insight on the impacts UHI has on the Harlem environment’s plants and bacteria.