User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
My research project was to examine the expansion of a stand of Trembling Aspen Populus tremuloides into a field at Campbell Valley Park in southwestern BC. When I initially chose this site for my project, it was summer, and all the plants had their full suite of foliage. I also observed many small Aspen shoots in the field which led me to hypothesize that the stand was expanding into the field. However, I did not start my final sampling until winter, and I observed very minimal shoots in the field and there was no foliage in the forest. The lack of foliage changed the patterns that I saw in the Aspen Stand from the summer, I observed more smaller (younger) trees dispersed further into the stand. In my original design, I wanted to sample 3 sizes of Aspen trees, those over 10cm diameter at breast height, between 2cm and 10cm and under 2cm. I was trying to capture the new Aspen trees or shoots with the smallest size. Given the fact that there were almost no shoots visible during my winter sampling, I chose to reduce this to the two larger sizes. Although I had some difficulty with this field research project and gathering of data, I have enjoyed being able to use what I have learned in this course in a practical way.
