User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
My research project looks at the expansion of a stand of Trembling Aspen Populus tremuloides into a field at Campbell Valley Park in southwestern BC. I chose to sample using transects along 2 randomly drawn locations along the field started from the side of the stand. With 5 sampling points along the transects and trees sampled in each “quadrant”, I took 40 replicate samples. The sampling was fairly straight forward, but I did not expect to be caught up in so may dried blackberry bushes!
I originally chose this location last year when the leaves were on the trees and the forest was dense. I have now gone back to do my sampling and the forest and trees look much different in the winter. The soil was dry then and now it was very moist and even saturated in some sampling points. Since the forest was also bare, I could see different patterns that were not as clear in the winter. While I still think the Aspen are growing into the field, since this is the only location where the stand can expand (the back is paved and there is a trail to one side), there may be more environmental drivers behind this. I will now have to look at my data and see if my hypothesis of a higher density of younger trees near the forest edge is shown.
