Tinkham Pond, Mattapoisett MA
The spot I chose for my phenology study is along my favorite trail back home. I used to come here a lot growing up because it is down the street from my house, so whenever I need some wilderness therapy it was easy to get to. Recently the land has been purchased by the Buzzards Bay Coalition, so they are beginning to manage trails and ecosystem health. As a result, the area has changed greatly in the past few years.
Species Found
Trees:
- Eastern White Pine
- Red Oak
- Holly
- White Oak
- Red Maple
Herbaceous Plants & Shrubs:
- Summersweet
- Roundleaf Greenbrier
- Emergent shoreline grasses
Comparisons
Both of my phenology spots are in the Northeast, so the species compositions were very similar. They are also both adjacent to fresh water sources. However, the management of the ecosystems differs in quality. This can probably be attributed to the shorter duration of the Buzzards Bay project as well as less support from the community. As a result, I observed a lack of plant and canopy diversity at Tinkham Pond. The summer sweet and greenbrier completely dominated the landscape, and I didn’t find any other plants where they grew. Additionally, there were very few trees in the understory, and I didn’t find any saplings. In comparison, the site at Salmon Hole demonstrates a much more robust ecosystem. The forest is diverse in tree and herbaceous plant species, and seems to be thriving under the management of Burlington Wildways. We are lucky to have such strong public support for conservation in this city.