3/7/19 Wetland, Woodland, Wildland

After spending half a year visiting my phenology spot nearly biweekly, I still have difficulty classifying it as a wetland or woodland. Sure at first glance it appears to be like any other forest, however, within this wooded area is that small drainage pond. This provides a habitat for aquatic and amphibian species during certain times of the year as well as some wetland plants. My phenology spot is a hybrid of the two ecosystems, as there is both a wetland and woodland in the area. Should one be prefaced over the other, I would argue that my phenology spot is a woodland however. This is due to the fact that the pond is not in the middle of the woods, but lies between the woods and the parking lot, and is therefore not a central part of my phenology spot as a whole. My spot is also too small and impacted by humans to be considered a wildland.

During the middle months of the first semester, I witnessed my phenology spot transition from thick green woods, to a beautiful array of orange and yellow leaves covering the trees and floor, to a snowscape of leafless trees and matted down brush. However, since the first snowfall that stuck and since the trees lost their last leaves, I haven’t been able to notice any of the phenological changes that have occurred, if any have at all. Once the temperature starts to rise again, I imagine these changes will be much more apparent.

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