Mia's Phenology Place

Today I visited my phenology spot for a third time. It was beautiful weather, about 50 degrees and sunny at 12 pm on November 4, 2018. I was joined on my journey by a vistor today and we observed the trees continuing to change color and the leave coverage of the ground increased. Many other trees, like the yellow birch, have lost all their leaves. The massive amount of leaf loss this season has coated the ground in leaves and therefore making the O level of the soil very rich with material. The nutrients and iron from the decomposition of the leaves will over time increase the iron levels in the lower levels into the sublevels to create nutrients for the new generation of trees to grow in the soil.

For example, this oak tree still has some leaves, but they have changed color and are now a dark orange brown color:

Today, October 21st, 2018, I visited my phenoligy place again.

Fall has arrived!!!!!

I noticed a lot of changed in the leaves of the trees and the amount of leaves on the ground. There is not much sign of animals. I did not hear any birds chripping or wood-pecking . I did see a chipmunk run by, but other than that their are not yet any signs of animal activity.

The amount of leaves on the ground has definetelly increases since my last visit. The various sorts of colors of the leaves shows how many of the leaves fallen are fairly new, but there are also plenty that have reached a dark brown, indicating that they fell from their orignal tree a while ago:

 

This Norway Maple’s leaves are turning yellow:

 

Birds eye view of my phenology spot:

Photo taken from the spot marked “MAIN SPOT” on map, for reference. Also shows the changing colors of the trees in the area.

 

Temperature: 40 degrees Fahrenheit

Time: about 3 pm

Windy and cloudy, some snow

My phenology spot is in centennial woods. I first discoverd it while studying for the tree quiz in September. It is a little off the main path after crossing the river and there is a small clearing. What struck me most about this particular spot is the tree bark and growth of some of the trees. Two of them are really close toghether and another pair appears to twist around each other. The vegetatian is very thick in general and there are many types of woody plants. There is also a patch of ferns growing in the steep hill at the base of the trees.

The most common woody plants include:

• Red Maple
• White Oak
• Eastern White Pine
• Eastern Hemlock
• Yellow Birch
• Paper Birch
• American Beech

 

 

Location: (it wouldn’t let me embed it)

Phenology Spot Location Link