User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
The area I’ve chosen to observe is Heritage Park in Mission, BC. This is a city park with an area that is approximately 1.6 square km. When entering from the West side there is a large grassy hill that descends into a forested which then drops into a small stream that flows from the north. From here there are several forested hills, but a general increase in elevation as you move north and east. This forested area is home to a network of hiking trails.
Today was sunny and 15 degrees when I visited at 16:45. I observed several plant communities and tried to take notice of changes that occurred where several gradients met. For example when the grassy hill met the forest it was surrounded by Himalayan blackberry immediately near the path but behind that at the hill descended further existed a more natural community of big leaf maples with an under story of vinemaple while sword ferns and pacific bleeding heart acted as a ground cover. I walked down the path and noticed a different community just to the west where small patch of forest existed. Here I observed a stand of alders as the canopy, with vine maples and swords ferns below. Here however there were also deer ferns. What made this section home to alder instead of big leaf maple, and what why did deer fern exist here, while only sword fern existed on the slope less than 10 meters away on the other side of the path?
As I followed the path northward, I noticed many invasive species on either side. Buttercups, broadleaf plantains, dandelions, small patches of the non native stinging nettle and some himalayan blackberry. There was far less of the blackberry here however, why was that? How far do the invasive plants grow off the path? How do their communities change with elevation? Is there a relationship between where a particular native species grows and where the invasive plants are stopped?
I also noticed a change in the plant life as I climbed slightly in elevation. More thimbleberries in denser patches, a few cedars began to dot the landscape, some huckleberry bushes here and there. In certain places salmon berry became the main understory shrub.
I came to a place where a small path led off the gravel and down toward the stream. I followed this to the stream and when looking back I could see some obvious changes in the plant life as the path descended toward the stream. Up near the gravelled path existed thimbleberry, a cedar and a struggling alder sapling. As the elevation dropped toward the water, there grew a thicket of salmonberry under a bigleaf maple and a vinemaple growing at it’s side. Are these changes due to the elevation, the disturbance of the gravel path or simply the water source? Do similar changes in plant communities exist near other streams in the park?
Beyond the questions I’ve already asked while visiting the site a few others that may make for interesting research include: How does the the relationships of particular plant and tree species change with elevation, distance from the disturbed hiking trails, or near a water source? I noticed there weren’t many birds here, does this change with plant communities, elevation or time of day? Is there variation in flowering between different blackberry, thimbleberry or salmonberry thickets? If so, why could that be?
Sounds like a good study site with a few different gradients and questions.