Jamie’s Wonder Blog An NR 009 Nature Blog

6/21/2020 7:55 Clear skies, slight breeze      

  Site Description:                                                                                                                   My site is at the end of a mesa with canyons on either side, on the south side a cliff and on the north side a steep slope. The cliff faces have naturally formed caves with a large range in sizes. The air feels dry but in the shade it also feels crisp and there is a slightly sweet but dusty smell on the breeze. There are birds calling to each other all around and flies buzzing in my ear. Lots of short trees namely juniper and some shrubs permeate the area. Also growing there are cacti, prickly pear and Dasylirion wheeleri. The ground has a lot of exposed rock with lots of lichen on it and the the parts where there is soil is very sandy and light colored meaning little organic matter is present. There are some animal droppings scattered around, I saw deer and coyote mostly but also one that I think could be bear.   

1.  How was this mesa formed?       
2.  What in the soil allows these plants to survive   
3.  What species of lichen is on the rocks
4.  Does the lichen get nutrients from the rocks?
5.  How long do the trees survive in this environment?
6.  Why do the trees grow taller in the canyon?
7. How were the caves in the cliffs formed?
8. What mechanisms do cacti employ to live in deserts?
9. Do plants in the desert employ more mechanical defenses than plants in other biomes?
10. What kind of rock is the mesa made out of?
11. Do desert plants employ more mechanical defenses?
12. Why are there different shapes of cactus?
13. What is the weathering process for the rocks at my site?
14. Why does grass not grow here?
15. What kind of niche exist here?
16. How well does the ground hold water?
17. How deep are the plant’s roots?
18. What kind of birds live here?
19. Does the sun’s intensity limit the kinds of plants that can live here?
20. Does the dryness effect the ability of things to decompose?
21. Where does the rock come from?
22. What was the most recent common ancestor between cacti and trees?
23. What kind of trait would allow an animal to eat cactus?
24. Why is the stone so light?
25. How many of the soil horizons are present?

I decided that the question about whether or not the lack of humidity effected the rate of decomposition would be interesting to research. To find the answer I just did a simple google search but I made sure to find a reliable source. Based on the information I found from a UC Davis website, humidity or moisture content is a very important facctor of decomposition. (http://lawr.ucdavis.edu/classes/ssc219/biogeo/decomp.htm)

Even though I have been to this location many times before this, I never truly stopped and observed. I think I have a deeper understanding of a lot more of the are now and I am very excited to continue discovering. I realized while standing at the top portion where I took the photo how much of the first mesa I haven’t explored so I’d like to go towards the other end of the mesa to see if there is any difference.