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Comparative Phenology Spot at the Middlesex Fells

27 Nov

For my location near home, I choose a spot in the Middlesex Fells, a place my friends and I would often explore during our childhood and high school years. The Fells is a state park roughly 2,200 acres of land which was reserved in 1891. Also, the Fells is one of the six suppliers of water in the Boston Area.

My Fell's Location

My Fell’s Location

My spot is located next to a trail on a hill near the edge of the Fells and is a few minutes walk away from a quiet suburban neighborhood. It is mostly comprised of pine trees but also has a few scattered oaks. This means that the canopy remained full and green when I visited. In terms of vegetation, my Fells location differs widely from my spot in Winooski. For starters, the Winooski spot contains a few towering silver maples and a plethora of vines, grasses and bushes. Mentioned above, at the Fells the plant life is almost exclusively pine and a couple oak. The fact that my spot in Winooski is adjacent to the Winooski River could possibly be why grasses and bushes dominate it. The constant change in water level might make the ecosystem too unstable to support large amounts of trees.

Oak Tree!

Oak Tree!

Pines are shade intolerant trees, which means they are often signs of early succession. Oaks have an intermediate shade tolerant. With this in mind, it is an educated guess that my spot in the Fells is in early growth stages, eventually changing from a pine dense forest to a more oak, maple, basswood, etc concentrated forest.  Also, because my location is close to the border of the reservation, there is an increased likelyhood that is was once deforested or altered by human interference.

Pine Trees!

Pine Trees!

A similarity between my two spots is that they are both places where people go to bike, run on trails, walk dogs or other outings in nature. Trails are present all over the Casavant Natural Area and the Middlesex Fells and their close proximities to suburban and urban living makes them an excellent way for folks to spent time in nature and escape from regularly programmed life for a bit.

 

Screen shot of map

Screen shot of map

 

Link to Google Maps:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1H5U6UF31kRtMXCUhNNLgQpzcbHc&usp=sharing

 

 
 

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