Geography of Potash Brook
My Phenology site resides on the North side of Potash Brook.
Walking from the University’s Central Campus you can reach my site by crossing the Main University Green to South Prospect Street to begin a 50 minute journey. Following South Prospect until you reach Fairmount St, taking a left down this road. Fairmount St eventually turns into Proctor Ave before you turn left down Meadow Rd/Eastwood Drive. Following this street under Interstate 189, the entrance to my site is to your left.
Once you have entered East Woods Natural Area the specific site is across the brook in a quiet but vibrant part of the forest.
This phenology site was special to me due to its hidden gems. I have always been fascinated by the smaller more complex systems that help run an entire ecosystem, and Potash Brook has just that. After our lab, my interest in this topic spiked and I decided to go back to Potash Brook. Visiting this site again I found various fungi, herbaceous species, mosses, and even more macro invertebrates. After these discoveries I knew that this site near Potash Brook was perfect to observe ecosystem phenology.
Woody and Herbaceous Species
The herbaceous species I observed on my site included the Intermediate Wood Ferns, Sensitive Fern, Canada Clearweed, Touch-Me-Nots, and a variety of mosses. The woody species varied from Eastern White Pine to Red and Sugar Maples. I found that the understory was lightly covered as the overstory disrupts much of the direct sunlight.
“Fungi are the grand recyclers of the planet and the vanguard species in habitat restoration.”
-Paul Stamets