THIS LAB IS A FIELD TRIP TO A FOREST PRESERVE. NO SPECIMEN COLLECTING OR DESTRUCTIVE TESTING OF ANY KIND IS PERMITTED IN THE RESERVE. PLEASE READ THESE LAB INSTRUCTIONS PRIOR TO ATTENDING, SO THAT YOU ARE AWARE OF YOUR DATA NEEDS AND ACTIVITY EXPECTATIONS PRIOR TO THE TRIP.
WE WILL ALSO WITNESS THE CONSEQUENCES OF AN INVASIVE EXOTIC SPECIES ON THIS EXCURSION.
FIELD OBSERVATIONS
At
various locations along our route we will stop for you to make observations of the
following qualities. Record these in the appropriate cell of Table 1 (next page) for each
designated site.
1.
a. There are many ways to judge dominance, but one of the most common is simply hold the
most numerous plant to be dominant.
b. Estimate tree heights first as an equivalent number of building stories; each story is about 2.5 meters (8 feet).
c. Use Figure 2 [next page] to judge understorey plant forms.
d. Microclimate indicators include such features as persistent snowbanks, early blossoming, etc.
e. Surface hydrology is "running water", "standing open water", "submerged soil", "wet soil", "moderate soil", or "dry soil".
f. Vegetation community is either "needleleaf forest", "broadleaf forest", "wetland", or "grassland".
g. Type of disturbance are events like fire or flood.
h. Evidence of disturbance would include charred logs or alluvium.
TABLE 1 - SCHMEECKLE HABITAT DATA
| SITE | 1 boardwalk |
2 mixed woods |
3 pine wood |
4 wet woods |
5 dry forest |
| Dominant Plant Species | shrub black willow |
white pine |
jack pine |
aspen & birch |
red oak |
| Tallest Plant Height | ~3 m |
~15 m |
~8 m |
~8 m |
~ 5 m |
| Other Plant Species at This Site | sedges cattails dogwood |
red maple princess- pine, moss |
birch, princess- pine |
sedges shrubs grasses |
var maples aspen grasses |
| Understorey Plant Forms Present Here | rootrunner bulb/tuber shrub |
rootrunner shrubs |
rootrunner |
rootrunner shrubs |
rootrunnr shrubs |
| Microclimate Indicators | liquid water green stems |
deep snow mossy log |
path, snow green leaf |
deep snow shade |
some snow sunny |
| Surface Hydrology | submerged |
wet |
moderate |
wet |
moderate |
| Evidence of Disturbance | boardwalk channel cuttings |
bare path furrows |
scorching treefall |
boardwalk twig heap |
bare trail furrows |
| Type of Disturbace | building draining clearing |
trampling drain/ firebreak |
fire windthrow |
building animals |
trampling drain/ firebreak |
| Community | wetland (thicket) |
ndlf forest |
ndlf forest |
bdlf forest |
bdlf forest |
SITE OBSERVATIONS
1.
Various zones are outlined for distinctive plant associations on Figure 1.
a. What plant forms dominates the NEEDLELEAF FOREST groundstorey? ROOTRUNNERS
b. Why are these forms well-adapted to the habitat of this plant community? CAN EXPLOIT DRIER SOIL; LITTER PROTECTED; SHADE-TOLERANT
c. What kind of disturbances seem to be most frequent in the needleleaf forest community? CLEARING, TRAMPLING, INVASIVE SPECIES
2.
a. What plant forms dominates the BROADLEAF FOREST groundstory?
ROOTRUNNERS, SHRUBS,
SAPLINGS
b. Why are these forms well-adapted to the habitat of this plant community? SHELTERED BY LARGER TREES, BUT LESS SHADE-TOLERANT; TOLERATE WET SOIL
c. What kind of disturbances seem to be most frequent in the broadleaf forest community?
CLEARING, CONSTRUCTION, INVASIVE SPECIES
3.
a. What plant forms dominates the WETLAND groundstory?
SHRUBS, HUMMOCK SEDGES, REEDY
TUBERS
b. Why are these forms well-adapted to the habitat of this plant community? LITTLE COMPETITION FROM TREES, TOLERANT OF SATURATED SOILS
c. What kind of disturbances seem to be most frequent in the wetland community? CONSTRUCTION, MAYBE FLOODING
Note also that wetland water levels normally fluctuate.
11SEP03
08OCT03
4. a. What plant forms dominates the GRASSLAND groundstory? [THIS COMMUNITY WAS NOT AT ONE OF THE FIVE SITES; THINK OF THE PAVILION AREA]
GRASSES, BULBS
b. Why are these forms well-adapted to the habitat of this plant community? LITTLE COMPETITION FROM TREES, TOLERANT OF DRIER SOILS AND TRAMPLING, SOMEWHAT RESISTANT TO SOIL EROSION
c. What kind of disturbances seem to be most frequent in the grassland community? TRAMPLING, SLOPE EROSION, TREE INVASION
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