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Archive for April, 2017

Signs of Spring!

15 Apr

During my latest visit to my spot, I encountered some new signs of spring. Right off the path that leads to my location, there was a possible vernal pool. Vernal pools, of course, are temporary pools of water that form in the spring. They are quite important because they give amphibians a safe place, away from predators, to spawn. Hopefully, as Spring continues, I will be able to witnessing some amphibians or at least clear signs of them. I was not expecting to encounter a vernal pool, since for my last few visits there were not any, so finding one this trip was a wonderful surprise.

Possible Vernal Pool

For the most part, my phenology spot was saturated with colors of brown and grey (as seen in the image above). With that being said, if you got closer to the bank of the river, you could see some clear signs of the changing of seasons. In a muddy slope right next to the river small green sprouts were starting to poke up from the earth. These small and fragile plants, maybe only one or two inches in height, cover the bank. In the weeks to come, when these plants continue to sprout up further, I am sure this area will become quite the sight to gaze at.

Bank with sprouting plants

My location’s primarily organism is silver maple. There is not a spot where a silver maple is not hanging above you. This means that my entire location has these vibrant silver maple buds scattered across it. As you can see in the photo below, the buds are a distinct red, which make them quite a beautiful sight. The combination of the small green plants and the vibrant red buds, although subtle, makes my spot seemed filled with life.

Fallen silver maple buds

The fact that my phenology spot is right along the Winooski River has large implications to why its species distribution is the way it is. There is a very abrupt beginning and end to the landscape, which increases the difficulty for a large biodiversity to be established. The volatile nature of a river makes it so not many species can dwell with ease in this area. Silver Maples compose almost all the tree population, which makes sense, since they are capable of surviving in flood plains. Almost all the other plant species are various ferns. This edge effect, which occurs from two distinct habitats bordering each other, is a very important and interesting topic to study, since it is a negative occurenace that we promote when fragmenting landscapes. I do not believe that my spot provides habitat for any interior species. My spot is traversed by a highly trafficked trial on one side and by a river on the other side. The Casavant Natural Area is not big enough and too populated by humans to harbor any species that require extensive continuous land to be successful.

Overall, the signs of Spring, although subtle, are surely present at my phenology spot. In the last couple of weeks of this semester, I will be excited to see my location slowly looking more like it did when I first discovered it back in the end of summer.

 
 
 
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