March 7th
Natural communities encompass ecosystems of plants and animals and their relationships with their surrounding landscape and environment. My site in Centennial Woods can be classified as an upland natural community, specifically a northern hardwood forest. Upland natural communities have water that moves through their area through streams or by “percolating through the soil.” They may become flooded periodically, but in general, they are not wet like wetlands are. The small stream that runs through Centennial Woods passes through my site. It is a vital source for many of the animals that live in the area, whether it be a place for a deer to get a drink or a place for a frog to lay its eggs. The soils in upland areas are moist to dry, and surface layers are often highly organic. With a recent rain, the soils at my site are slightly moist, but they often become dry, especially in warmer months when there is more sun and less rain. In places where the soil is especially thin and there is bedrock a few inches below, the soil is composed of rich organic material. Upland forests are distinguished from upland woodlands by their amount of tree cover. Forests have continuous canopy cover of 60% or more while woodlands have only 25%-60% cover. My site is in the middle of the forest in Centennial Woods and certainly has more than 60% continuous cover. Much of Vermont was cleared during European settlement and few areas remain that have been generally undisturbed by humans. There are a few trees in the range of my site that look to be upwards of 100 years old based on their size and appearance that made me ponder whether or not my area is an old growth forest (see photo below). However, based on past findings I have had of barbed wire and rock walls, I concluded that there must have been human disturbance at some point. The forested area of my site contains a variety of trees (mentioned in one of my first posts) including beech, maple, birch, oak, hemlock, and pine. These trees are common at middle elevations in hardwood forests.
As we are getting closer and closer to spring, there have been occasional warm periods that have caused snow melt. We have also experienced more rainfall recently. When I visited my site this time, the sun was shining, it was about 30 degrees, and the stream was high and rushing must faster than usual. This is due to snow melt trickling down from higher elevations, in addition to recent increased precipitation. The stream was also quite cloudy, as I’m sure the runoff entering it contains sediment and particles, and also stirs up the sediment in the stream itself. There are still a few inches of snow on the ground, but I’m sure when it begins to melt the soil will become very moist and probably a little muddy. I’m excited to experience the continuing transition to spring at my site.
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