Phenology Blog

While visiting my site this week, I sadly did not notice much change since the previous visit. The same buds were beginning to bloom, the same dandelions started to sprout, and the wild strawberry was beginning to poke up out of the ground. This week had rain showers on multiple days, but the water levels were lower than normal. The water striders were skipping around the stream.

Since my phenology spot is at Centennial woods, it is the perfect representation of the connection between nature and culture. Burlington, and Vermont in general, have a culture where outdoor recreation is common. This love for the outdoors exists in some places, but not so prevalent as at the University. Centennial Woods is used as a place where locals and students can hike, walk, hammock, snowshoe, etc. It is used constantly by the people of Burlington as a haven from the city. This makes Centennial Woods an integral part of Burlington.

The woods have certainly been an integral part of my life in Burlington. After continually going back to them week after week, month after month, I feel a connection to this plot of land. Watching the plants change through the seasons has made me feel like I am a part of this this, as I too have changed from season to season. Just like the phenological cycle, college brings about change over time. Being able to see physical change, has helped me through my emotional change. For this reason, I will forever be connected to my phenology spot.

Here are some photos I took while at my spot:

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It’s melancholy to leave this area and the beauty that surrounds it. Next fall, when I return for classes, I will be so excited to see changes at this spot. After learning so much this semester, I am ready to apply it to land back home, but I will miss Centennial Woods.

Here is a sketch of the turkey tail I saw on a tree:

On this rainy day I ventured into Centennial woods to takes notes on the newfound life since it it spring. The last time I visited here I did not document it on this blog, as I was simply passing through with my dog, but I noticed some water striders wading in the stream. It was so nice to see life return after the stream was frozen for so long.

The ground was extremely muddy, and as the rain fell down it was only getting muddier. Despite this, I began to circle my spot, looking for signs of regrowth in the leaf litter. I noticed many dandelions beginning to come up, in several places across my site. Wild strawberry was also a common site, normally coming up in the same areas I saw the dandelions. Though no flowers bloomed yet, there were several plants that had buds. Red Dogwood Osier’s red stems were covered in buds. On the ground, seeds littered the site. When I looked up to see the source, a red maple budding in the canopy was my guess as to what was falling.

Here are some photos that I took of the species I observed at my phenology spot:

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On my time off during spring break I traveled back home to New Jersey. While there, I decided to check out a park that I often went to as a child, Grover Cleveland Park in Caldwell. Similarly to Shelburne Farms, this park was designed by Olmsted. He worked on several parks nearby this area, including Central Park in NYC and Verona Park.

Olmsted was known for his mixture of natural spaces and open spaces. Instead of ornamentals, he landscaped with native species. Just like my phenology spot at home, this park held yellow birch, American beech, and some elms, sugar maple. This spot however has trees that are older than those in Centennial woods. These trees are well over 100 years old and in their decaying years. Conservationists from the park have asked for donations to replace the dying trees. Both spots are deciduous forests, but Centennial woods is a hardwood forest and the forest type in New Jersey is oak/hickory.

While at the park I saw several grackles flying above the tree lines, their black bodices landing in the tree tops. I also saw geese lounging in the water feature at the park; a pond. There is no pond at my site in Burlington, only a stream, and I have yet to see any birds lounging in the water. Perhaps since New Jersey is not as frozen as Vermont, this is the reason why.

Tracking was difficult as most of the snow melted by the time I arrived home. The temperature was extremely warm this week, ranging from 50 to 70 degrees. This caused tracking to be difficult, but in the snow that was visible, I only saw dog tracks. The park is a place where people frequently bring their dogs.

Here are some photos of the park:

According to Wetlands, Woodlands, and Wildlands, a natural community is an interacting assemblage of organisms, their physical environment, and the natural processes that can affect them (Thompson, Sorenson). As my phenology spot is in centennial woods, the broad terms I would use to describe the natural communities are that it is a woodland with a mix of a wetland.

A woodland is a place where one can stroll through the woods seeing trees such as sugar maples, beech, and spruce. I specifically classify my spot as a Northern Hardwood Forest. The species in my spot that convinced me it was a woodland, however, are striped maple, beech, red maple, and birch. The soils are also well-drained, which is a characteristic of a Northern Hardwood Forest.

A wetland can be a dark forest with moss. Centennial woods fills that definition. This is because the wetland surrounding the stream that runs through the woods is home to gray squirrels, white-tailed deer, and amphibians. These species prefer wooded wetlands. In addition to this the soil surrounding the stream is always full of water; a characteristic of wetlands. It is usually wet when the surrounding woods are dry. The tracks of gray squirrel and white-tailed deer can be seen at the spot currently.

There is a rolling topography at Centennial Woods. This is characteristic of the Champlain Valley, the bioregion in Vermont that these woods reside in. The stream that cuts through a hardwood forest is a giveaway that this community is a mix of woodland and wetland.

With the large amount of precipitation, one can see the interaction between substrate and hydrology. The stream, though frozen, seemed to have risen, probably due to the precipitation running into the water from the surrounding soils. The melting snow also seemed to find its way into the stream, causing the water to increase.

I saw this once before in the early fall. After a heavy rainstorm the creek was flowing higher and heavier than in previous visits. The sides of the creek are hollowed out showing that the water can rise or fall. This leads me to believe that water from the woods flows into the creek during times of heavy precipitation. However, since there are below freezing temperatures out, the water rises below a frozen creek; so the ice on top indicates where the stream is flowing.

With winter in its full force, the stream transformed from a place where water flows to a place where it is frozen; a wetland with amphibians abound to a mystery hunt for tracks.

The trees lost their leaves, buckthorn grew its berries, and the animals are seldom seen now. The tracks of their visit are the only indicators that they were there.

By the time I return after spring break, I am hoping to see the creek unfreeze slightly.

References

Thompson, E. H., & Sorenson, E. R. (2005). Wetland, woodland, wildland: A guide to the natural communities of Vermont. Montpelier: Vermont Dept. of Fish and Wildlife and the Nature Conservancy.

After some time away from this spot during winter break, it was lovely to go back and view the changes. Snow now covers almost all of the ground. The stream is covered in ice as well with a layer of snow on top. The buckthorn that grows in my spot had berries on it, a pleasant sight because I have yet to see them. Most trees have no leaves and the flowers are gone. All that remains are the berries of buckthorn and the white snow.

Despite the lack of vegetation, there were many tracks around the site. Since it recently snowed, there were no impressions of the prints left, but the indents in the snow still existed. Here are some photos:

These tracks are from a bounder. While there were no prints visible, my guess is that a squirrel came through, as these prints come down from a tree and lead to another tree.

Here are some more:

I’m not really sure what made these tracks, as the prints disappeared in the white snow, but they are clearly not human. They are small and are from a diagonal pacer. Their path leads across the ice into a more densely covered area. Their size indicates either a red fox or a dog, but without the prints, I can only guess at what this animal is.

Near those tracks were two tracks extremely familiar to the everyday person; those of humans and dogs.

While at my sight, I saw about six dogs and their owners pass through. Each added their own footprint to the main path. Previously to the winter, I only could guess at how frequently humans pass through this part of centennial woods. Now, these tracks indicate that humans are frequently seen moving through.

Though there were no tracks for it, I heard the call of the American Crow and saw it pass overhead. Its flight was a reminder that the woods was still full of life, even in the winter.

Deciduous trees/shrubs that I found using twigs are the following: boxelder, the ashes, black oak group, striped maple, and buckthorn (from the berries and twig).

Here are some photos of twigs:

When tasked with researching Centennial Woods human history, I discovered a long history of human impact on the site.

I first came across this:

This is a map that shows when Centennial Woods was marked as a natural area, showing that the site was not always left for nature. The leftover walls and barbed wire at the site lead me to believe that before Centennial Woods became a natural area managed by the Environmental Program it was a farm. It is clear from the difference in the understory versus the overstay at Centennial woods that this site was disturbed as well. In class we learned about the great cutover and this patch of forest has many signs. The trees are not that old and it is mainly a hardwood forest. These indicate that the trees did not exist there very long. The presence of paper birch in the forest indicates disturbance as well. Next to that, my site has a bridge running over the creek; a clear marker that humans have been there.

Further research of mine showed that the land that is Centennial Woods natural area was once owned by the Ainsworth family and Fred Fiske (“Three Ecosystems.”) They used this land for farming, as my reading of the landscape predicted. The Ainsworth’s sold their land to UVM in 1904.

Today my site is in the center of the trail so humans visit often. While it once was used for agriculture, only traces of that remain. It is still visited by humans often, with sneaker tracks to prove, the land is so different than what it was in the past. It exists by and for nature, with little human impact compared to the days of clear cutting.

 

Citations:

Natural Areas, University of Vermont: a resolution of the Board of Trustees [PDF].University of Vermont Natural Areas. University of Vermont Environmental Program, http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmsc/Centennial%20Woods/UVM_Natural_Areas_1974001.pdf

“Three Ecosystems and Their Organisms.” Woodland, Wildland, and Wetland Sites. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2015.

While Green Brook is nestled between houses in suburbia, Centennial Brook exists in a city. It is strange that despite having less space between buildings in Burlington, they managed to carve out a piece of nature for all to enjoy while this land is almost all that is left of nature in North Caldwell. At Centennial woods, the peck of a Pileated Woodpecker can be heard, while back at home in Green Brook I saw and heard no birds.

The thrush at Green Brook is larger than that at Centennial brook as well. A hardwood stand surrounds Centennial brook whereas in North Caldwell, it is hickory and oak trees that make up the stands. Pines dominate the overstory at Centennial woods whereas oaks tower over the brook at Green Brook. A weeping willow marks its ground at Green Brook where there are no willows at my phenology site in Centennial Brook. The difference in temperature between the two sites is about 10-15 degrees Fahrenheit during the fall, which leads to a slightly different composition of tree species that can thrive.

The surroundings of Green Brook are houses with clear-cut yards while outside Centennial brook lies businesses and the UVM campus. The Gould Elementary school campus sits across from Green Brook, but closer to it are homes. Liberty field holds the town hall, two baseball diamonds, a basketball court, a playground, and a tennis court. There are none of these amenities surrounding Centennial brook. This leads to the existence of life at Green brook consisting of mainly mammals such as deer and rabbits, whereas Centennial brook is home to toads, salamanders, and frogs. Mammals exist near Centennial brook as well, but I have yet to come across one. At Green Brook, it is one of the only spots in town where deer are welcome, so they rest.

The main difference is the size of the slice of nature surrounding the brooks. Centennial woods is larger than the woods behind Liberty field could ever be. This key difference is what separates the two sites.

Finding the woods in between houses is a task all animals in northern New Jersey must master. The deer are exceptional at this; finding the nooks and crannies humans cannot reach. Green Brook, located behind Liberty Field is a safe haven for these deer. Upon entering the forest, the senses become aware that there is something else. Frozen in the distance, stands a white-tail deer, eyes wide with fear. Another step, and the deer is gone- a flight response.

With the deer gone, the woods become lonesome again. When checking the brook for life, the only visible signs of it are plastic water bottles from parents too tired to walk across the park to recycle their waste. There are no fish. There are no frogs. There are no salamanders. The pool is still- breezes may shake it a little, but it is dead. It is a sad life for someone who cares for nature in New Jersey. Often those who care feel like the Lorax- seen but not heard.

Suddenly, rustling occurs in the Oak/Hickory stand. A rabbit, an eastern cottontail, jumps out of the brush and hops away. It is these small glimpses of nature that remind me New Jersey is not lost to overdevelopment. The life that lived here before humans lives on and it will live on after humans as well.