Blog Post 3: Ongoing Field Observations

My second visit to my study site took place on July 17^th, 2019. It had rained in the area about an hour and a half prior, leaving the ground quite moist. The sky was grey, and the temperature was 14 degrees Celsius. I have chosen to base my Field Study project off of the moss present in the dead patches of grass in shaded areas of my backyard. I am observing what I identified to be Common Fern moss (Thuidium delicatulum) across the gradient from healthy grass to dead patches of grass or areas of strictly soil. I will be looking specifically at the percent cover of species, structural integrity and abundance at different locations along this gradient. The response variable of my Field Study project is the percent cover of Fern moss. Due to the fact that this moss is only found in the shaded areas of my yard and strictly in the dead patches of grass where my dog urinates, one possible explanatory variable of this occurrence may be the lower pH soil composition in these areas causing low soil fertility and optimal growth conditions for this type of moss. These variables would be considered continuous data (measured on pH scale, percent coverage of moss at certain locations in the yard) as well as categorical data (presence or absence of species).

I chose the Southwest corner of my backyard for my first location. This area receives plenty of shade under the columnar aspen tree. The moss is thicker, and it seems to be growing along the transition between grass to no grass. It is very abundant in this location.

For the second location, I chose an area in between the Japanese lilac tree and the columnar aspen by the South fence. This area receives relatively the same amount of shade as location 1. The grass is lacking in this area and there are mainly patches of soil. I see rotten moss in this area, and there is a very small amount of healthy moss.

Location 3 is to the right of the Japanese lilac tree where the grass meets the border of the garden. There is barely any Fern moss in this area, however Pincushion moss (Leucobryum glaucum) is growing in the garden.

These observations have led me to the hypothesis that moss grows in specific levels of moisture, sunlight and acidity. When these factors exceed or fall short of the desired conditions, moss may react to these changes by rotting, stunting its growth or not growing altogether. A change in percent cover of Fern moss between three different locations in my yard may be a result of nonoptimal levels of these factors.

I predict that if my backyard lacked trees, a two-meter-high fence, and did not have burnt spots from my dog’s urine, the Fern moss would be less abundant, would have a low percent cover or be completely absent.