User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
My research project is examining the expansion of a stand of Trembling Aspen Populus tremuloides into a field at Campbell Valley Park in southwestern BC. According to some preliminary research I have done soil quality, sunlight availability (Romme et al., 2005), climate change, fire suppression, grazing and human interactions (Widenmaier & L Strong, 2010) are all potential factors for tree encroachment. The Aspen tree is one of the most common deciduous trees in North America and can reproduce asexually producing shoots that travel under the soil and produce cloned trees as large in area as a few acres(Mitton & Grant, 1980). Aspen are considered early succession species that take advantage of disturbed environments (Romme et al., 2005). Therefore, some keywords that would describe my research project would be early succession, tree encroachment, environmental gradient.
References:
Mitton, J. B., & Grant, M. C. (1980). Observations on the Ecology and Evolution of Quaking Aspen, Populus tremuloides, in the Colorado Front Range. American Journal of Botany, 67(2), 202–209. https://doi.org/10.2307/2442643
Romme, W. H., Turner, M. G., Tuskan, G. A., & Reed, R. A. (2005). Establishment, Persistence, and Growth of Aspen (Populus tremuloides) Seedlings in Yellowstone National Park. Ecology, 86(2), 404–418.
Widenmaier, K. J., & L Strong, W. (2010). Tree and forest encroachment into fescue grasslands on the Cypress Hills plateau, southeast Alberta, Canada. Forest Ecology and Management, 259(10), 1870–1879. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2010.01.049
This is a good start and you have hit on several of the key theoretical points. This post is to get you start thinking of the theoretical background that will be part of your introduction. You will want to take these ideas and expand on them with additional references for your final paper.