This blog is coming to a close, but it shall not disappear. Just as death seems ubiquitous in winter, and growth seeming to be over, this blog may seem like it too is winding away. However, it may not be the case, just like with winter. It may not be totally clear, but life is still quite present in the frigid winter months! It is in the evergreens, the mosses, the birds and squirrels,  the beetles and other bugs that hide under rocks and logs. For example, the Marbled Salamander (Ambystoma opacum) has learned a way to take advantage of the winter. Instead of waiting until spring to find a mate, when the currently empty vernal pools begin to fill up, these little mole salamander mothers prefer to breed early and sit with their eggs under a log in a dry vernal pool. This way, the eggs are developed by spring, and as soon as rain hits them, they hatch and are already at an advantage over the other salamander species.

Ambystoma opacum: Marbled Salamander

(Pierson, T. 2010). Used under Creative Commons license.

Specifically at my phenology spot, I saw that there was still some snow dusting the land. The marsh has faded away quite a bit from its autumnal state: most of the grasses are flattened and dry, the saturated mud is frozen at the surface, and most plants have finished their reproductive cycle. In the photo below, one can see a single cattail standing in the foreground that has lost the mass of its seeds, just like most of the cattails in the background have.

It appears that the sphagnum mosses are still alive, even with some remaining snow from the last time the ground was covered.

All that is left are the browns, tans, and dark greens. Relatively, it is a quiet season. Winter does quite well at driving away those who dislike the cold. But for those who stay, we are left with this special beauty — the beauty of solace in this land.

All photos are by the author (Kevin Melman) unless specified otherwise

I had recently watched this video: Perfect Order — Recognizing Complexity in Bali: John Stephen Lansing at TEDxNTU. In response to it, I thought of how my phenology spot behaves like any other natural community, and I wondered what interactions went on within it.

My phenology site is located in a natural depression that has filled with water and become a cattail marsh. It would not be a surprise if it gets the brunt of some polluted runoff, especially considering that roads, suburban communities, and businesses fill the surrounding land. Centennial Brook runs through the marsh, which is sure to deposit excess nutrients. Although, this may be beneficial because the marsh behaves as a nutrient sink, preventing damage from occurring downstream.

Considering the health of natural communities within Burlington, local policy may be able to play an impactful role. This would involve legislature regarding restrictions on fertilizer usage, anti-ice chemicals, and various other causes of polluted runoff. If there were more public knowledge on fertilizer usage and its effects on water quality, the phenology site I visit would surely not be harmed.

Because of the cattail marsh’s location within public woods, many people find recreational use within the land near it. However, I would not say that it has quite the negative impact on the phenological development in the site, due to the fact that most recreation near it is only hiking or running. Typically, it seems to be a clean and relatively respected natural area, with only minor evidence of litter and pollution within the stream. Considering how seemingly insignificant events can affect an area in such detrimental way, it is important to maintain a natural community and treat it with the respect it deserves.

All photos are by the author (Kevin Melman) unless specified otherwise

Centennial Woods Map

(Vidal, E. 2002). From Wilderness in Our Midst: Stories of Centennial Woods: a Senior Thesis, with digital edit by Kevin Melman.

My phenology spot is located within the orange circle, which shows its proximity to the ROTC bunker.

In an attempt to dig through the history of Centennial Woods, I came upon Wilderness in Our Midst: Stories of Centennial Woods: a Senior Thesis written by Elaine Vidal in 2002. In this book is a small section of background information regarding a concrete structure near my phenology spot that was once an ROTC bunker. Apparently, the case was the soldiers sat in the bunker overlooking the cattail marsh and “back in World War I, they used to shoot across the valley,” most likely for rifle practice (Vidal 2002). This gave me the image of old bullets and shells littered throughout the marsh. I began to think about what consequences that could that have led to: Lead that leached from old bullets, animals that consumed pieces of metal or used them to build homes, trees that have grown over  bullets lodged within them, leaving only but a burl for us to see. Whatever was done at the phenology site, all I can think now is whether there should be continued land use within it.

I began to ponder on what could make this phenology spot even better, and I thought since in the warm seasons, its difficult to even get across the brook to the cattail marsh, why not create a small boardwalk that goes partly into the thick cattails and grasses? It wouldn’t need to go all the way through, but just enough to lead one to the edge of the marsh, perhaps with a small viewing area built there. This way, one can observe wildlife there, such as Red-winged Blackbirds nesting within the cattails, which is a common place for them to do so. Though, I created a diagram to show how one thing can create many reaction within various components of the environment.

Works Cited:

Vidal, Elaine. Wildness in Our Midst : Stories of Centennial Woods : a Senior Thesis. N.p.: UVM Voyager, 2002. Print.

All photos are by the author (Kevin Melman) unless specified otherwise

The stream is dying away, as the water level becomes low and saturates the cold, muddy marsh. Grasses and reeds are now yellowy and crisp, with their seeds just about ready to blow away in the autumnal gust. Trees stand bare, with clusters of green conifers mottling the forest.

The babbling brook, what a transient stream

Flows and takes whatever it feels

Crisp red gems growing out of the thrush

Are now wrinkled beads, ready to drop

Minnows dash and dart

with morbid awareness

The smell of festering lignin arouses my nostrils

as a hidden world is invaded by fungal intruders

As I now can see

that the harvest has come and gone

And those which were once ablaze

are now ashy shambles, littered about

The cold has pierced all and has had it way

For now winter is here, and for long it shall stay

All photos are by the author (Kevin Melman) unless specified otherwise

Returning to Centennial Brook, I was pleased to find some noticeable changes within the ecosystem. The weather is clearly playing an influential role on the abiotic and biotic factors. The first thing to be noticed was how low the stream had become.   Even after strong rains the days before, there simply has not been sufficient water flow to keep the stream high. It is obvious that the vegetation is undergoing some major transformations.

Here you can see the baneberry mentioned in the introductory post becoming shriveled and translucent, with most fallen off.

As the Autumnal winds begin to blow, the flowers wither away and plants begin their release of seeds. As you can see in the photo to the right, the seeds are doing their job of clinging to animal “fur” quite well.

Herbaceous plants are dying away, and the deciduous trees’ leaves are changing their colors, with some even totally bare. Fall’s presence is obvious.

But as the weather changes, the local wildlife end up showing that they are still around as well.

As seen by the two photos above and the one below, there is still clearly wildlife in the vicinity of the stream.The top left photo shows a small burrow within Centennial Brook, most likely belonging to a crayfish; the top right displays a water-strider sitting near a leaf; and in the photo underneath, under all the shimmer of the water, one can see a single goose feather in the center.

Of course there is also an invasive presence: the very famous and charismatic European earthworm.

All in all, it goes without saying that change in the ecosystems around us is going on. Perhaps it could serve people well to put aside some time to spend outdoors, where impermanence and change are in a constant flux. This experience can very well ground some people to reality, and personally, I believe it gives a sense of equanimity.

All photos are by the author (Kevin Melman) unless specified otherwise

My phenology site is located near the footbridge over Centennial Brook, which can be reached simply by following the trail. To get to the site, one must either go through some grasses on the right before one reaches the bridge, or one can cross the bridge, follow the brook bank to the right, and jump over the stream.

In this area, there are many long grasses, ferns, and herbaceous shrubs along the edge of the water. Looking into the nearby clearing, there is a huge group of cattails, surrounded by towering Eastern White Pines. There is also a wide variety of woody plants, from bushes to trees. One particular bush that stuck out was White Baneberry, a plant which has bright violet stems with many highly toxic eyeball-like berries, which are white with a black dot. Other woody plants were some Boxelders near the brook, and some Honeysuckle growing nearer to the cattails, on the other side of the stream. I also noticed a nearly leafless tree with some wild grape vines growing around its branches. This spot seems very promising in its biodiversity and I look forward to observing its changes as the season goes by.

All photos are by the author (Kevin Melman) unless specified otherwise