User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
I have decided to observe three different areas in nature, and compare them in different aspects. The first area is forested, mainly with coniferous trees and moss, it is an inclined slope of a hillside. This is located in an undeveloped area of Juniper West in Kamloops, B.C. The second area is flat and dry containing mainly sagebrush. This is located in an undeveloped area beside Highland Drive leading up to Juniper in Kamloops. B.C. The third and final area is a marsh strip of land that has a stream leading to it. The vegetation is mainly tall grass and cattails. This area is located in Kenna Cartwright park, a municipal park located in Kamloops, B.C. I have visited all these areas from various walks and hikes in August on a sunny day. It interests me to see a potential reason for the vastly different growth of plants in different natural areas of one city. This could be due to the soil, elevation of the area or amount of available sun. The three questions I formulated from observing these three varying areas include: What aspects of the soil have the greatest effect on the vegetation growing in an area? How does the elevation of an area affect the vegetation that grows there, or if it does at all? All areas seem to have different levels of moisture, how different are the levels of moisture in the soil? And consequently how this affects the vegetation.
