I am confident that my phenology location is best described as a silver maple-ostrich fern riverside flood plain. At my spot the first thing one most likely notices is that it is an island sticking out close to the shore of the Winooski River. At certain times of the year the flood plain in directly connected to the shore of the river. At my last visit, which was after a series of warmer days, the river height was much taller than it usually is. This is intuitive, since melting snow was feed into the river. The second aspect of my spot that would be noticed are the towering silver maples that create a canopy 100 or so feet above you. Besides these maples, there are not many other trees, only vines and a thick layer of ferns covering the whole forest floor. Wetland, Woodland, Wildland describes silver maple-ostrich fern flood plain as having “towering silver maples with pillar-like trunks and arching crowns” which “create the impression of a cathedral interior”(251). The lofty silver maples and the openness below the canopy that is illustrated vividly in Wetland, Woodland, Wildland is exactly what made me find this spot so mesmerizing back in semester one. This cathedral effect is displayed well in photos from early posts.
As I alluded to above, the melting of snow that has occurred and will continue to occur when winter draws to a close is going to significantly affect my phenology spot. I am eager to see how high the water level will rise. If the water level breaches over the bank, how will the natural community react? As one can see in the photo below, fresh debris was washed down the river. Since there are signs of beavers at my spot (trees gnawed on), as melting snow increase and more debris flows with the river, I wonder if beavers will use these materials for the construction of dams. For my most recent visit I was hoping to find some vernal pools, but unfortunately this was not the case. I will keep my eyes open on future visits, but the thick layer of ferns on the forest floor and the prospect of flooding might prevent vernal pools from occurring at my spot.
Debris gathering as the water level rises
My location is marked at highest priority on Biofinder. The whole Winooski River and its surrounding ecosystems are all highest priority as well. This makes sense, because flood plains are important environments that are easily affected by negative impacts. Biofinder marks my spot as an area without vernal pools, which confirms that I probably will not encounter any. The island is also notated as a wetland and an uncommon natural community. All in all, these details uncovered by Biofinder and my observations about the spot agree well with the description of a natural community labeled as a silver maple-ostrich fern riverside flood plain.