Species Composition of Location
The spot I chose for my blog is within Mckenzie Park on the bank of the Winooski River. To access the spot from campus take North Prospect Street to Intervale Road and continue on the road until you reach a fork with a sign. At this point continue straight and follow a rough trail along the riverbank and continue about 50-100 yards into the woods across the powerlines to a spot where there is an eroded trail down to the river. The spot was chosen because it was a scenic, peaceful spot and I wanted to explore a new forest within the city and avoid all the people who chose Centennial Woods as their blog location. The forest composition of the spot I chose is Sugar Maple, Boxelder, and American Beech with the forest floor having a compositions of 0% Ferns, 30% Woody Shrubs with species including Hobblebush and Burdock, and 70% Herbacious with species including poison ivy and various grasses. There is about a 2 meter drop from the forest area surrounding the trail down to the edge of the river with an eroded path and eroding riverbank. There is a large difference in land usage on both sides of the river with the side that I chose for my spot fully forested and the other side majority open cornfields with a few trees on the edge of the river. A few songbirds were heard including chickadees and there is a moderate amount of noise pollution from aircraft approaching and leaving the nearby airport. I look forward to seeing when the leaves change and how the forest floor plant composition change throughout the coming next couple weeks.
Elijah Schreiber