A UVM blog Wonderblog Nr009

This week I researched four common trees that I have observed at my site. the Eastern White Pine, Quaking Aspen, American Beech, and Paper Birch. I compiled my research and used some pictures to create a mock “field journal/scrapbook” which is below! I learned SO many interesting things about trees that I’ve walked past my entire life, and maybe it’s a little cheesy, but trees can really put life into perspective for you. The American Beech can live for hundreds of years, making me realize how impermanent our human presence is on Earth and how lucky we are to spend a fraction of time living here 🙂 Enjoy!

Citations…

“Quaking Aspen.” National Wildlife Federation. Accessed July 11, 2022. https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Plants-and-Fungi/Quaking-Aspen.

“Trees of the Adirondacks: American Beech (Fagus Grandifolia).” Trees of the Adirondacks: American Beech | Fagus grandifolia. Accessed July 11, 2022. https://wildadirondacks.org/trees-of-the-adirondacks-american-beech-fagus-grandifolia.html.

“Trees of the Adirondacks: Eastern White Pine (Pinus Strobus).” Eastern White Pine | Pinus strobus. Accessed July 11, 2022. https://wildadirondacks.org/trees-of-the-adirondacks-eastern-white-pine-pinus-strobus.html.

“Trees of the Adirondacks: Paper Birch (Betula Papyrifera).” Paper Birch | White Birch | Betula papyrifera. Accessed July 11, 2022. https://wildadirondacks.org/trees-of-the-adirondacks-paper-birch-betula-papyrifera.html.

Grey skies, rainy all day, low sixties

I returned home for the week, as I had a couple days off from work, so I had to switch the spot I’m using for this entry. I am currently at Mckenzie Pond, which is located in Ray Brook, New York. This is a place I come to quite frequently due to the boulders. This spot is listed over and over again in Adirondack rock climbing guide books as one of the best bouldering spots in the Adirondacks. For those who may not know, bouldering is a form of rock climbing that doesn’t use rope, but rather crash pads at the base of large boulders.

Today there is no one here, which makes sense as the rock will be wet for a few days due to intense rain. but it makes the perfect day to do some exploring as I won’t have to work around other visitors!

I am always amazed at the size of these rocks, which are just off the side of the road but hidden in a dense forest. When the pathway opens up, the ground is clear but covered in organic matter like dried leaves, pine needles, tree bark, and sticks. Some of the rocks are covered in moss, but what really strikes me though is how the rocks and plants have come to coexist in this spot. On one boulder a small tree is growing atop it. Many trees that grow near the boulders are curved in spots where the rock juts out. At the base of the rocks are small grasses and plants, in some of the cracks in the rock, it appears the same species grow from the top as well. I think it was my senior year of high school when in my environmental science class we learned about the incredible strengths of plants. It isn’t something I’ve just admired in this location, but also on the bald rock face of many mountains in the Adirondacks, how small little trees or plants appear to grow despite all odds.

The question I chose to explore is “why/how are boulders present in the Adirondacks”

I chose to research this because I’m amazed and curious about how these huge rock formations can so subtly exist in the forest! If I wasn’t a rock climber I wouldn’t know they existed. We focused on the story of how the Adirondack mountains and Green mountains formed a couple of weeks ago, but I’m really interested in how these rocks came to be (and when!).

My research found that the boulders that occur in the Adirondacks in unexpected places (like the summit of Mt. Marcy and “otherwise rock-free meadows”) are also the by-products of glaciers! The official name for these rocks are “erratic” which is “a rock of unspecified shape and size, transported a significant distance from its origin by a glacier or iceberg and deposited by melting of the ice”. I also learned that the size of these erratics range from pebble-size to larger than houses! They are also usually a different composition than the rock (bedrock or sediment) that they are deposited upon.

The summit of Marcy was covered by ice in the last ice age, so it makes sense geologically that there are erratics on it’s summit. Before the history of these rocks were discovered, it was thought that the land was completely covered by ocean and the boulders floated to where thy are now. Glacial eratics could be carried for HUNDREDS of miles and the term comes from the Latin “errare” meaning “to go astray”.

Erratic rocks essentially prove that rocks are not static objects, they constantly change, but we often don’t observe or take notice because these changes occur in geologic time. You can’t find fossils in the Adirondack mountains but glacial erratics almost serve as a substitute!

Here are the sources I used for research:

https://www.adirondack-park.net/history/geological.html

https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2004/1216/e/e.html#:~:text=National%20Forest%2C%20AK.-,Erratic,on%20which%20they%20are%20deposited.

https://wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-geology.html#:~:text=Glacial%20erratics%20can%20be%20carried,many%20trails%20throughout%20the%20Adirondacks.

Saturday Duly 2nd 8:00 AM

Humid, overcast, rain expected later today, but still warm considering the time of day.

I am noticing that almost all the shrubbery near the water’s shore is gone. Instead, there is short clipped grass in its place. As I look around the entirety of the pond, I notice the same pattern. In addition to this, many of the vibrant purple and yellow flowers have either disappeared or wilted.

I’m left wondering what the point of removing these plants and grasses was. From the perspective o a park visitor, it is not easier to walk directly to the pond’s edge and peer into the water. From a park management perspective, maybe these plants were invasive or maybe they were too powerful and overbearing of the pond ecosystem, controlling valuable resources that many nearby species rely on at the same time.

The short and stubby branches and grasses are beginning to brown, as they can no longer maintain homeostasis. I would also assume that the tall plants which were once here provided shelter to the frogs and turtles that called the pond home. Now they are left with far fewer options to camouflage in with their surroundings and hide from predators and park visitors.

Occasionally I also hear a deep croak from a front and I am puzzled by the pattering sound of raindrops against the water, although, there is no rain falling. The noise and whatever is creating it, also leaves small little ripples in the water, although they require you to observe much closer as the pond is still covered in a thick layer of algae. This morning almost all of which lays in the northeast embankment. Maybe something to do with wind?

The species that I identified is the sallow sedge/calex lurida (which I will attach a sketch of) found in anthropogenic (man-made/disturbed habitats), marshes, meadows, fields, and shores of rivers/lakes/swamps and is native to North America. It has achenes (dry seeded fruit that does not separate or split open) or spikelets that appears a shade of yellow/brownish-green. I identified this species using the signage near the opening of the park, which provides the names of common species, and continued my research online when I returned home.

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It is Friday, May 24th at 1:05 when I’m sitting in Gedney Park, specifically right next to Gedney Pond. It is mostly sunny with blue skies and minimal clouds. It is sunny for the first time in a few days, as the past week has mostly been raining and cold temperatures, meaning the grass is still wet.

The surface of the water of the point appears very dirty, with a layer of algae or scum sitting on top, which is moving quite fast in the wind. I can hear the deep croak of a frog as well as an occasional splash in the water, presumably from the fish which inhabit the pond. There are also a lot of birds trilling in the forest behind me. Directly in front of me, near some purple & yellow flowers that are hidden in the grasses, bees and dragonflies buzz around.

When the wind dies down, I feel a waft of humidity coming from the water in front of me. There seems to be a wide variety of plants that separate the water from the land. There is one particular plant, which appears spiky and reed-like, almost like mini caterpillars on the end of stems. This plant is located in many areas close to the water, I wonder what it is>

At one of the far ends of the pond, I see a black pipe, though the water is too low to drain into it. Where does it lead? Does it bring or take water away?

There are also a lot of bird feathers on the surface of the water, which I assume are from the geese, which dive into the water head first, possibly searching for food. Some of the leaves of the plants near me have holes in them, which I assume is due to insects or small critters consuming them.

When I get a lot closer to the water I see some weeds growing directly out of the water. I also see some shells floating, which at first I think are rocks, but upon further investigation look like snails.

I look at one of the only mature-looking trees on this side of the pond and notice that in some areas there are small patches of roots that rise above the grass. They cover an area of about 5×5 inches, but other than that, the roots of this tree are completely below ground. This tree also has needles as opposed to flat sleeves which most of the trees near it have, which makes me wonder what kind of tree it is?

1. Is this a natural pond?
2. what is on the surface of the pond?
3. What season is prime pollination time for bees?
4. Are bee’s the only insects that can pollinate
5. Are canadian geese actaully from Canada?
6. How did they get here?
7. What kind of rock am I sitting on?
8. How deep is this pond?
9. How do plants surrounding the water interact with it?
10. What should the pH of a pond be?
11. Does it very from place to place?
12. Does algae change the pH?
13. What do geese eat?
14. Can snails flaot in water?
15. What do snails eat?
16. What are the plants coming directly out of the water?
17. What does this tree’s roots grow above the ground in certain areas?
18. What kind of tree is it?
19. What is the green, moss like stuff that grows on the side of trees?
20. How does ivy surrive on trees?
21. How does algae effect the environment?
22. How do people meausre the health of a tree?
23. How do trees and ponds interact?
24. What happens to this pond when it is cold?
25. How does the temperature of water effect plants growing near it?

How does algae effect the environment?

Nutrient pollution is defined as when there are too many nutrients (specifically nitrogen and phosphorus) in a body of water, leading them to act as a fertilizer and cause excessive growth of algae. Heavy rainfall can cause suspended materials like silt, mud, and debris to run into waterways. The nutrients can also run off land in areas where fertilizers are used or pet and wildlife waste accumulates, essentially meaning a pond in a popular park is the perfect candidate for nutrient pollution.

When there are excessive amounts of nutrients, low levels of dissolved oxygen in the water can kill fish, crabs, oysters, etc. Additionally, algal growth prohibits light that allows plants in the water to grow.

In large, excessive amounts of algae can end up harming humans and ecosystems alike! Algae grow faster with warmer temperatures, making sense as to why, in the thick of the summer, there was so much on top of Gedney Pont. Human activities increase nutrients in waterways… many of the things found in a suburban area like garden fertilizer, wastewater treatment plants, septic tanks, construction, factories, cars, and manure, end up entering bodies of water- not to mention that New York (and much of the east coast) has dealt with acidic rain recently. Something else I noted was an abundance of plants and trees at the edge of the pond, which now make sense as it can ensure that nutrients will be “grabbed” by the plants instead of reaching the water.

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/nutpollution.html#:~:text=Nutrient%20pollution%20is%20the%20process,and%20garden%20fertilizers%20are%20used.

https://sustainability.colostate.edu/humannature/whitney-beck/

All in all, this was a great expereince and opportunity to dig deeper into an area I frequently visit! In the future, I would really like to work on identifying some of the plants and wildlife that inhabit the area.