Category: Post 1: Observations

Post 1: Merritt Boogaloo

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Map
South Entrance (roundabout): 50°06’14.9″N 120°45’54.0″W

I chose to study a field near my home in Merritt. On this particular trip, I stuck to the east side of the main path, marked in yellow. I went on October 30th from about 2-4pm. It was a clear, sunny day (no clouds whatsoever). It has since snowed heavily, so this field will be a puddle next time I visit.

The entire field is flat, roughly 500m^2, and surrounded to the south and west by housing, to the east by the main road into town. There are a few human-made paths, visible in the map. The only animal signs I found were dog scat and bird calls, and I encountered no insects. The soil is moist and seems to be clay. There was quite a bit of litter at the human entrances, and housing construction at the west entrance.

The field is dominated by a long, yellow grass growing in bunches, with spiky pods (?) at the tips (which will probably take a month to remove from my socks). There are a few sparse coniferous trees and other plants in localized areas. These included:

  • A localized, 15m^2 patch of a wheat-like grass and burrs in the north (just northeast of the tree by the path)
  • Moss under the main grass in the southeast
  • A dead or dying leafy plant interspersed sparsely in the main grass
  • Red thornbushes on the slope up the the highway
  • Some reddish low plants (called “underbrush” in my notes) on a small northern section of the main path
  • A plant which resembled to me a round hairbrush along the edge of the northern section of the path

Possible Questions

  1. What are human impacts on the area (e.g. walking paths, recent construction, pollution) and how do they affect the local plantlife?
  2. What differentiates the small areas where the yellow grass does not grow as much from the rest of the field
  3. What are common factors (e.g. sunlight, slope, types of soil, etc) in areas where this yellow grass grows throughout the Nicola Valley?

Journal Pages

Additional Photos

The main yellow grass dominating the field.
Example of the “bunches” the yellow grass grows in.
Thornbushes growing on the slope to the highway
Example of the “bunches” the yellow grass grows in.
“Hairbrush” plant, found on north part of path.
“Underbrush”, found on north part of path.
Detail of “underbrush” plant.
Red berries found on thorn bushes near highway.
Burrs in wheaty stretch, referred to in journal as “thistle”.
“Wheat” grass, found in ~15m^2 area in the north.

Initial Site Observations

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The site where I will carry out my research project is located at 1823 Creek Street in Nelson, BC, in the NE corner of the property. This property is on what was originally a large forested slope. UTM: 11U479004mE 5480823mN. ASL: 153.

Site was visited on 14-11-2017 at 1245 PST. Weather was overcast and 5 degrees celsius.

The size of the site is approximately 10m x 6m. It is on a west facing slope with a 12% gradient.

The species composition are dominated by the following:

A layer:

  • mature Thuja Plicata approximately 1.5 m diameter
  • dead standing Prunus Virginia
  • Acer glabrum

B layer:

  • Acer glabrum
  • Salix spp.
  • Sorbus sitchensis
  • Sambucus spp.

C layer:

  • Symphoricarpus albus
  • Mahonia aquifolium
  • Unidentified invasive groundcover (dominates)

There is also some moss present on the large boulders that are found in the site. The ground is blanketed in dead maple leaves and cedar debris. Two fresh piles of deer scat were observed. This semi-rural backyard greenbelt has some signs of anthropogenic activity including a small shed, trimmed tree branches, and invasive species.

Since there is good spatial variation within the site, it seems to provide a good opportunity to make some comparisons between the different types of areas, focusing on potential variations in ecosystem properties between areas dominated by coniferous, and those dominated by deciduous. 3 potential research questions:

Snow accumulation in various locations throughout the site.

Differences in LFH layers throughout the site.

Differences in mineral properties throughout the site.

Blog Post 1; Observations

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The area of study selected for this field project is part of Hermitage park in Edmonton, AB. The first observations were conducted on October 7th at 16:00h under mostly sunny weather conditions with a feel-like temperature of 7° Celsius and winds at 26km/h. The surface area studied has a pond on one side facing a hiking trail. It’s exact coordinates according to Google maps are 53.5853937, -113.3729873.

Surrounding the pond are Broad leaf cattails (Typha latifolia), and further around the pond are coniferous trees, mostly Jack pine trees (Pinus Banksiana).

Around the pond, and on both sides of the hiking trail, birch trees (Betula papyrifera) are also a dominant species within the area’s vegetation. So are wild rose (Rosa Woodsii) bushes, which in this fall season, carry ripe red berries as displayed in the picture below. Near the pond, compared to the area surrounding the hiking trail, although similar species are observed, the main difference is that the trees are more widespread and exposed to sunlight as opposed to clustered (by the hiking trail).

During the field trip, two bird breeds were observed; the black-billed magpie, and the black-billed gull. They seemed to be accustomed to human presence as one could approach them easily to take a picture, and they would not budge. Also, during the trip, many hikers were observed, few of which were walking dogs. In this light, both on the trail area and the grass area, few dog feces were observed.

Other traces of human activity are rather obvious in this area, as trash can be found in the grass and along the hiking trail. Items can vary from used tissue paper, empty beer cans, plastic bags and more. In addition to that, on a grass area, one very clear trail left by a motorized vehicle can be seen. The weeds in the tire trails appear dry and damaged.

Following these first observations alone, few questions arise;

  1. What is it about the vegetation in this area that draws the presence of the black-billed magpie and how does human activity impact it?
  2. How does the sunlight and cluster pattern impact the growth of birch trees and jack pines?
  3. How does the presence of human litter and dog feces impact this ecosystem?

Regards,

H. Zulfiqar

Post 1: Observation

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This field experiment will be conducted at an island park called Zuckerberg Island Park, approximately 8 hectares large, found in the city of Castlegar, BC. Neighbourhood house are found from the north, south and west and the Kootenay river is found to the east. The river water also surround the island park. A large population of trees (majority of evergreen trees), shrubs, and small plants are found though-out the park. Centre of the park has a more dense population of trees. There are rocky beaches surrounded the edges of the park. Visited the park at 14:00 on November 4, 2017 and the the temperature was -1 C with cloudy weather and snow which had fallen a couple days prior to visit. Some questions that arose during the examination of the park where:

  1. What is the relationship of the proximity of the evergreen trees to the river water to the amount of evergreen trees found at those locations?
  2. What is the difference of survival and growth of green stems growing for evergreen trees found in the centre of the park (where population is dense) verse on evergreen trees found on the outskirts close to the river water (where population is sparse) when the temperature continues to drop during winter season?
  3. What is the relation of the amount of small plants growing for soil that is shelter from snow fall to the decrease of temperature, will the amount of small plants present decrease or stay constant?

Photos taken from cell phone when examining the park.

Blog Post 1: Observations

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Hello,

For the purpose of my field study, I will be focusing on a small man-made park in the city of Airdrie, AB. There is a canal full of runoff water that is to the east of the park. Surrounding the edges of the pond are a variety of shrubs, bushes, and trees. There are large boulders that line the edge of the pond. The density of the vegetation surrounding the pond varies from minimal vegetation to ten feet in depth. Up from the pond are varying degrees of slop to large fields of grass. A small cluster of trees and bushes are on a flat field surrounded by a walking path and picnic benches.

Surround this pond and park are walking paths and houses that back onto the pond, or onto the walking path. Some subjects I am looking into is whether there any species of fish in the pond? Does the vegetation on one side of the pond appear to grow differently from the other? Is there a difference in the vegetation near the pond compared to similar species that are not along the edge?

Visited October 29, 2017

Elevation 1080m

Weather – 4C partly cloudy with wind gusts of 40km/h from the west.

Time 14:15

Post One: Observations

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The study area chosen for this field study is in the Lower Mainland, in an area where many small creeks transect the topography. This particular creek meanders in an approximately north to south direction with residential homes backing onto it from both eastern and western banks. From the relatively flat areas of the back yards, there is a slope of about forty five degrees for approximately twenty five to forty feet ending at the edge of the creek. Spanning one back yard is a distance of approximately seventy five feet.

At the time the homes were built, in 1983, the engineering of the housing development was required to include a large scale drainage plan. The solution was to run an approximately three foot in diameter metal pipe from the east to the west across the creek (see area indicated on Google overhead map). To accomplish this task, the entire western bank of the creek was cleared of all trees and vegetation. The heavy equipment that was brought in to install the pipe left very few remnants of plant life. Since that time, the re-growth of the plants and trees in the creek bank of my own back yard is exciting and provides opportunities for study.

Overhead Google map of the area – unable to load to the blog.

Over the years, staff from the Federal Department of Fisheries have visited the creek to promote it as a salmon spawning creek where human traffic is discouraged. The Municipality of Surrey staff have come by to inform the residents of plans to build a public trail through the creek. As of this date, the trail has not been built.
During years of family life, participating in “Christmas tree chipping” events where evergreen seedlings were given to be planted along municipal “green belt” areas, has resulted in human interference with the natural process of vegetative succession. The status of the area at this time is that there are three types of vegetation within this riparian slope. One is where no seedlings were planted and has a well-established growth of cottonwood trees with other minor varieties of plant life underneath. The second is where the evergreen trees were planted and have thrived, creating a different undergrowth type. The third is at the area where the pipe crosses the creek; this area, due to the former clearing of trees receives more direct sunlight and consists mostly of smaller, lower growing shrubs.
Interesting questions for a potential project are:
1. The impacts of the amount of sunlight on the undergrowth for each of the three area types: evergreen trees, deciduous trees or no trees.
2. A comparison of this area of the creek bank to that of another area up stream that was not cleared when the subdivision was created.
3. What invasive species have demonstrated in the years since the area became residential and how widespread are they becoming?

 

 

Post 1: Observations

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Anna Zacaruk

September 29, 2017

After considering many different areas to study, I decided that an outdoor experiment at this time of year (autumn) in my region would be too complicated and risky knowing how unpredictable the weather is in Alberta. With permission from Dr. Percy Hebert, I’ve decided to do my project in my greenhouse, using some equipment from my mother who has her degree in agriculture and specializes in reclamation projects. I have decided to compare the interspecific competition between a weed plant species (dandelions) and a non-weed plant species (marigolds) for a light source. I was considering growing the plants for roughly 7 weeks in the same pots to see which will outcompete the other in both light and light-restricted conditions. My study area is technically my greenhouse, which has windows that are East and South facing. I intend to grow the plants in pots along the window sill in plastic potting trays until germinated, and then randomly remove some plants to a tray where light is limited by some sort of barrier (I was thinking mesh or burlap of some sort). I anticipate to allow the plants to grow for 7-8 weeks.

Questions I currently have are:

  1. How will limited light affect competition between dandelions and marigolds?
  2. How will limited light affect plant leaf and root growth?
  3. How will limited light affect plant overall (dry) biomass?
I found a few interesting scientific papers on the subject of light competition in plants, with one of the most interesting being “The importance of light quality in crop-weed competition” by Lui JG et al. The paper discusses the notion that plant competition is thought to be driven by limiting resources such as light, which may disrupt physiological processes. The authors believe that changes in light resources may initiate a “shade avoidance response” in plants where they constrain their own development and reduce their own reproductive fitness in attempt to avoid growing in shaded areas and compete with other plants for light.
Another paper I found was called “Weed community characteristics and crop performance: a neighbourhood approach” by Pollnac FW et al. This paper discusses the possibility that the presence of weeds in crop fields causes crop yield reductions. The hypothesis tested was that increased weed species richness would decrease the effects of competition on spring wheat target plant performance. The authors ended up finding that species richness had no significant direct effect on spring wheat biomass, yield, or relative growth rate and that there were no significant neighbour species interaction terms. However, they did find that increasing weed species richness had a negative impact on the growth of individual weed species.
I am curious to see what my findings may be, and if they will differ from those of the scientific papers I have been reading. Stay tuned for the riveting results!!!

 

Initial Data/Plan

Blog Post #1: Observations of

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Study Date: September 19, 2017 from 3:30 to 5:00 pm

Weather: Clear skies with warm temperatures (±18○C)

The area I have selected for my research project is a small ecological reserve that is found near my home in Nanoose Bay, Vancouver Island. In my spare time over the past 7 months I have cleared a path through mature, second growth stands to gain access to this reserve for recreational use. The eco-reserve has been set aside by the powers that be for the conservation of old growth / mature second growth,  coastal Douglas fir stands. The eco-reserve is roughly  90 hectares and is bordered by relatively low density, residential development on its north, south and west edges. The terrain across the study area is comprised of  lowland benches and bedrock hummocks. Slope gradients typically range from 10 to 25% on benches with short breaks of up to 45% off  the sides of bedrock hummocks.

I have observed from this field reconnaissance and past outings that there are two dominant ecosystems within the study area. The first is the Garry oak ecosystem which appears to occur more on bedrock hummocky terrain. The second is mature and old growth stands of Douglas fir with lesser amounts of western red cedar, western hemlock and trace amounts of grand fir and big leaf maple.  During my first field observations I assessed two possible sample sites.

Site #1: Garry Oak Ecosystem

Location: 49○ 16′ 33″ N 124○ 10′ 32″ W
Terrain: Gentle to moderate (10-35% ) benches and bedrock hummocks.
Soil: Rubble and silt colluvial veneer underlying ≤0.3m of organics, cumulatively ≤0.8m thick. Drainage: Rapid to well drained.
Forest stand: Garry oak site series comprised of Garry oaks with lesser amounts of Douglas fir and arbutus (see Figure. 2). Stand is open canopy and low density.
Under-storey: electrified cat tails moss, grass, white fawn lilies and hookers onion.

Site #2: Douglas fir stand

Location: 49○ 16′ 54″ N 124○ 10′ 02″ W
Terrain: Gentle (10-25% ) benches.
Soil: Clay, rubble, silt and sand colluvial veneer, generally less than or equal to 1.0m thick.
Drainage: Rapid to well drained.
Forest stand: Open to moderately dense, old growth Douglas fir with minor western red cedar, grand fir and western hemlock (see Figure.3).
Under-storey: young western red cedar, various Vaccinium spp, salel, sword fern, bracken fern, dull Oregon grape, ocean spray and step moss.

As well, I observed the following invasive biota in the under-storey of both ecosystems: holly, tansy, Himalayan blackberries, spurge laurel,  scotch broom, thistle and a grass (not certain of species, will have to research) (see Figures 4 & 5).

I have come up with the following questions for the subject of my research project:

  1. Is there a relationship between the distance from the eco-reserve edges adjacent to residential development and the number of invasive species and their abundance?
  2. Do invasive species vary between the Garry oak ecosystem and the  coastal Douglas fir stands ?
  3. If there is quantifiable difference in invasive species and their abundances between the two ecosystems, what are the potential factors that affect the colonization rates for the invasive species?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1. Coastal Douglas-Fir Protected Areas in Nanoose Bay & Parksville. Source: http://www.cdfcp.ca

  

Figure 2. Transition area between coastal Douglas fir and Garry Oak ecosystems, near sample site #1
 

Figure 3.  Old growth coastal Douglas fir stand at sample Site #2.

  

Figure 4. Holly
 

Figure 5.  Spurge laurel

Post 1: Observations

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Observation 1 Field Notes

Good evening,

The area I chose to observe is along the Lone Wolf Golf Course in Taylor, BC.  The area of observation (site) is located at the walking path intersection located east of a residential cul-de-sac located at the east end of Fairway Ave.

The site is approximately 100m x 100m, has an easterly gradient of 3-5%.  The top 30cm of soil in this area is characterized by an organic matter layer from 0 to 5 cm; soft, grey silty clay with some sand from 5 to 15cm, and firm brown silty clay with some sand from 15cm to 30cm.

Lone Wolf Golf Course is located in “the Peace Lowland Ecosection which is characterized by deep sedimentary bedrock, and has mildest climate, and lowest snowfall in the Ecoprovince, Peace River Basin. Summer brings high humidity, localized showers and occasional clouds. During the winter, Arctic air can bring long periods of extreme cold temperatures but clear skies. Boreal white and black spruce forests are typical. Trembling aspen and shrub-grasslands are common. There are sparse white spruce and lodgepole pine stands throughout region in areas of well-drained soil. Black spruce occurs in areas of excessive moisture such as muskeg, (Demarchi, D.A, 2011).”

The site is a forested area that has single family residents adjacent to the west and the 4th Hole tee box to the east.  Separating the residents is a 1m asphalt walking path.  Trees observed were poplar and pine trees and shrubs found were saskatoons, carraghana, currents, snowberries, black gooseberry, trailing black currant and prickly rose.  There were daisies, bluebells, many grass varieties, stink weed and significant organic ground cover including fallen poplar trees, piles of grass clippings and tree branches.

Wildlife heard were squirrel chatter and two different birds.

Three questions I would like to explore going forward are:

  1. What evidence of daily human interaction is visible at this site?
  2. What wildlife occupies this site?
  3. How prominent are native species in this area?

I will upload my field notes as soon as I figure out how to…

Regards, Marla

References:

Demarchi, D.A., (2011). The British Columbia Ecoregion Classification, 3rd Edition. March 2011, Ecosystem Information Section, Ministry of Environment. Victoria, BC. Ecology, Part II Ecoregion Unit Descriptions. Retrieved September 26, 2017 from http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/ecology/ecoregions/polareco.html

Blog Post 1: Observations

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Blog Post 1: Observations

Michelle Harrison

22-09-2017

The area that I have selected to observe is Macaulay Park. This is a treasured place, & one I visit on a daily basis. Macaulay Park is a 7.6 hectare (18.78 acre) municipal park located in Esquimalt, BC (Coordinates- Latitude: 48.418815 Longitude: -123.410113).

The park began as a part of the Hudson Bay Farm & then became a part of Fort Macaulay in 1878. The old military site still remains, & the land is dotted with old concrete war barracks & ammunition buildings, under/above ground concrete tunnels & lookout points to take in the beautiful ocean front vista. The topography is made up of rolling hills, rocky waterfront outcrops, glacial till & the vegetation that surrounds it is made up of native& non-native plants, a forested area, a wetland / marsh with long grasses. Macaulay has been a municipal park since 1985 & is owned by the DND (Department of National Defense) & maintained by the Municipality of Esquimalt.

It is a popular place for dog walkers, bird watchers & families. It is a common occurrence to see life here in many forms, including deer, otters, seals, sea birds, eagles, plus a variety of insects & pollinators. This park contains some rare & endangered species which are protected federally under SARA-Canada’s Species at Risk Act. Due to this, park visitors & their pets are required to stay out of designated risk areas, in order to protect the remaining species at risk.

The park contains many beautiful native, non-native & invasive plants including Wild rose (Rosa acicularis), Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius), Dense Flowered Lupins (Lupinus densiflorus), Gumweed (Grindelia), Wild onions (Allium), Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), Biscuit roots (Lomatium) & Himalayan Blackberries (Rubus armeniacus), & a lovely cluster of trembling Aspen trees (Populus tremuloides). When I visited the park today at 0800am, the weather was cloudy with light wind, 11 degrees, and it is the first day of fall.

Based on my daily observations & time spent at Macaulay Park, I have come up with three questions that will form the subject of my research project:

  1. The land at Macaulay Park contains species at risk. I witness on a daily basis, people walking their dogs in areas that are labeled as conservation / no entry zones. We do not seem to have any type of monitoring / park services to control humans & their pets. What affect does this have on the conservation areas & species at risk? Is this space being monitored & are the observations of the impact being reported to a higher authority on a regular basis?
  2. McLaughlin point (which is connected to the tail end of Macaulay Point) will soon be the home of the new sewage tertiary treatment plant for all of the waste from the core of Victoria. An incredible amount of waste will be shipped to this site & filtered, before being pumped to a local landfill for disposal, all via pumps & pipes which will be installed in land & ocean to travel the waste great distances. How will the construction of this waterfront treatment plant affect the very active local wildlife & ecosystems on the land, in the air, & in the ocean, for years to come?
  3. Macaulay point is home to a few invasive non-native species (such as Scotch broom & Himalayan blackberry). How does this affect the native plants & more specifically, the species at risk, such as Dense Flowered Lupin and the Purple Sanicle?