Phenology

Over spring break I decided to revisit the same site, Oakland Town Forest, as I did over winter break due to its many similarities to Centennial woods. This forest had a similar beginning to Centennial because the land was converted from farms to conserved forest once they were eventually sold in the 1900s. Now that it has become a forest, it’s main uses are for conservation and recreation for the town of Exeter just like Centennial’s uses in Burlington and the campus.

The observations made at my site show the similarities in species composition of Oakland and Centennial and few differences. Directly around my site, there are Eastern white pines, Eastern hemlocks, American Beech, red maple, and many paper birches. The range of these species covers most of the northeast which would explain why southern New Hampshire has almost identical compositions. The two species that are found in Centennial but not the Oakland site are buckthorn and Norway maple. The issue with the two sites is that they are used heavily for recreation and dog owners, so the only animal tracks visible are dogs (also due to the melting of most of the snow). For animal sitings, there was only black crows and unknown insects crawling in the snow (seen in a picture below).

The Wetlands, Woodlands, and Wildlands resource provided information on how exactly to classify my phenological site. The Centennial Brook area where I have studied seems to be a mixture of woodland and wild land. While Centennial Brook does not have black bears or wildfires, the rest of the qualifications are met. As you walk on the trail past eastern hemlocks, spruces, sugar maples, Eastern white pine stands, birches, and beech are covering the surrounding area with spring flowers soon to come. The Brook area is also a wildland as it is not managed and many think of it as a healing place as it is used for recreation and hammocking. The only qualification it is lacking is the cliffs and gullies aspect. That is why I would classify Centennial Brook as a woodland-wildland mixture.

Now that winter is coming down from hitting its peak, Centennial Brook and its surroundings have changed greatly from the first visit. The recent precipitation has resulted in the Brook to flow very quickly and loudly under the packed snow. Most of it is not visible but you can hear and get glimpses of it under the snow. The only real color of life is found on the red maples buds and the green eastern white pine stand you can see in the distance behind the buckthorns. Activity for both humans and species are still much less than spring and summer months. Finally, no animal tracks were found again, just the common dog prints on and around the walking trail.