User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
Initial observations:
The area I have chosen to observe is a small forest area in North Saanich, B.C. There is a trail that connects two suburban roads and a covered forest area to the right of it. I visited the site on September 21. 2019 at approximately 12:10pm. The temperature outside was 16 degrees C with complete cloud cover and no sign of recent rain. The northern side (I believe I will double check coordinates on my next visit) of the trail begins off of a suburban road and the entrance is covered by trees but while walking opens up with the forest on one side and a small area of farm land on the other. The trail opens on the southern side at another suburban road. I noticed while walking that the soil and vegetation that grows changes greatly this is most likely due to the trees that cover the beginning of the trail. The vegetation on the north side of the trail was low to the ground and dense while the vegetation on the south side of the trail was more grass-like and drier with the ground and soil being dry as well.
When entering the forest area I noted a “wildlife tree” with a sign labelling it as such. This tree had a very different appearance to the trees around it. The bark had been worn away, it was much shorter, and it had small holes all over it (from birds and insects? unsure of what type). In the forest area I noted two black slugs (most likely Arion ater L.) and one yellow spotted slug (most likely Ariolimax columbianus). I also noticed that most of the forest floor was covered in a vine-like plant, as well as some going up a few of the tree trunks, covering some smaller tree stumps that had been either cut down or fallen over and completely covering two fallen trees. I was curious as to the plants preference for where it grows- if it has a preference for dead vs alive trees. A few mosquitos were also noted!
some initial questions from my visit are:
- why was the “wildlife tree” showing signs of animals/insect preference when no other trees around had similar markings? what caused this? also interesting to note this tree was at the very beginning of the trail and visible from the road side- why would animals have a preference for a tree closer to human habitats.
- How does branch cover affect the soil and the vegetation that grows there? how light exposure affects plant growth.
- The pattern of the growth of the vine vegetation was of interest to me and I am curious if the conditions to which the plant is growing affects it, is it getting nutrients from the decomposing trees? I will see if I can find roots without harming the vegetation.
