While home, I went and visited Breakheart Reservation, which is in Saugus, Massachusetts. I noticed right when I got there that the patterns going on in the landscape are very different compared to the ones at the Redstone Quarry. Firstly, there is a different array of trees that are growing in Breakheart. I found that they are mainly Northern Red Oaks, Eastern White Pines, and a few Paper Birch trees here and there. This is much different than the Eastern Hemlock and Barberry that was growing on Redstone Quarry. Throughout looking around, there seemed to not be any woody plants on the ground, but there were quite a lot of Eastern White Pine saplings low to the ground. I also found that there are not many animals in this area, I saw one chipmunk while reaching this point. I believe that is due to the colder weather, because I have previously seen chipmunks, squirrels, various types of birds, and ducks in Breakheart Reservation before. Alike to Redstone Quarry, all of the trees that are deciduous were bare (or close to it!) of their leaves.
There seemed to be a pattern in the way the trees were planted. There were clusters of Red Oaks, then clusters of Eastern White Pines. This is most likely due to the way that they disperse their seeds and acorns. This was very different compared to the Redstone Quarry, the Redstone Quarry’s trees had less of a pattern in the way they grew, which may be due to the fact that Sugar Maples can only produce seeds once they are 30-40 years old, so there was more time for other trees to sprout next to them.
Sources:
Google Maps. (2020). [Breakheart Reservation. Saugus, MA] [Street Map]. Retrieved on November 29, 2020, from https://www.google.com/maps/place/Breakheart+Reservation/@42.4835501,-71.0337138,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89e372cea6edeba1:0xc91ecb116b909fc4!8m2!3d42.4835501!4d-71.0315251
Callaghan, S. (Photographer). (2020). Red Oaks Barren of Their Leaves [Photograph].
Callaghan, S. (Photographer). (2020). Saugust River Trail in Breakheart Reservation [Photograph].
Callaghan, S. (Photographer). (2020). Untitled [Photograph].