Mountbrooke Pond-
Germantown, Wisconsin
Saturday November 26, 2022 2:56pm
52°F partly cloudy with a slight breeze
This small residential pond is located within my grandparent’s neighborhood, which is about 20 minutes from where I grew up. My parents would take us to this pond when my brothers and I were younger to go swimming during the summers. As we’ve grown up my younger brother and I would fish at the pond and the past couple summers we have introduced the pond to our younger cousin. We take him to swim and fish with us, just like my parents did with us when we were his age. I choose to study the phenology at this spot because of the memories I have of this pond. As I walked the perimeter of the pond I saw the ecology of the natural area in a different perspective than I was used to. When I visited the pond in the past the vegetation was abundant and green, but now, the leaves on the trees had fallen, the grasses have gone dormant, and I saw no fish swimming along the beach. I enjoyed seeing these changes to such a familiar area.
Species Present:
- immature yellow birch
- goldenrod
- cattails
- rough horsetail
- dogwood
- common buckthorn
- variety of longer grasses
Observations:
- most of the shrubs and woody plants were located around the perimeter of the pond, closer to the water
- Most of the water had a paper thin sheet of ice on the surface. The water closest to the beach had no ice on the surface
- On the farthest side of the pond from the beach there were lots of immature trees growing
- All trees present were deciduous
- There were roughly 6 mature trees, all of which I could not identify
How the ecology and phenology at Mountbrooke Pond compares to Ethan Allen Park:
There are more tree species and a higher quantity of trees at Ethan Allen Park than at Mountbrooke Pond. The vegetation at the two locations greatly differs because the ecosystem at the pond encourages species like cattails and long grasses to grow. Ethan Allen Park has more mature trees and both sites have common buckthorn, however, it is more abundant at Ethan Allen Park. Both places have deciduous trees and similar phenological changes. The winter months in Vermont and Wisconsin cause the vegetation to loose its leaves and for several of the species at both locations to go dormant during winter.