Lowland Forests: A Change in the Air

Observations:

Today I went to the lowland forest for some more observations, but today I had a mission. I wanted to identify some species that I had been seeing several times, but are a bit hard for me to identify. So, I tip-toed my way through the forest, trying to get “inside” the forest to find these hidden treasures. I was able to spot three species that I want to identify for the first time. To me, trying to identify the new species can be a very frustrating task, but when I find the correct one, it is a really good feeling. I enjoy being able to learn a new plant or animal and hopefully remember it for future identification. I tried to identify all the new species and found another one, one that I didn't expect to find due to the high level of moisture and low sunlight.

The sun is shining down very intensely today and it is warmer than it has been in the last few weeks. I am sweating, which hasn't happened in a long time, today it once again feels like a hot August day. It is in the upper seventies with no breeze and a powerful sun beating down. I do notice one change in the lowland forest, it is the smell. The forest has a distinct smell, one that I have grown to enjoy, but today it has changed. It is more pungent and smells of decaying organic material. I think that the rise in the smell is a result of the moisture and higher temperatures. This summer has been a very cool summer, and with the increase in temperature, it has caused a different smell to emerge.

New Species:

Clinton’s Wood Fern
(Dryopteris clintoniana)

This fern is a unique fern; it is often mistaken as the common crested wood fern. The difference is that the fertile pinnae are not turned at an angle to the plane, as the common crested wood fern. Clinton’s wood fern can grow from one and a half feet tall to three feet tall. It has fertile fronds that contain reproductive spores on the underside; they are deciduous and stand erect. The sterile fronds are smaller, evergreen and mostly prostrate on the ground. The leaves are divided into leaflets and are lobed or toothed themselves. Clinton’s wood fern ranges from eastern Canada, south to the Mid-Atlantic States. It is found in swampy woodlands, that is why I am able to find it in my lowland forest.

Clinton's Wood Fern. (n.d.). In Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program. Retrieved August 4, 2014, from http://www.naturalheritage.state.pa.us/factsheets/15854.pdf

Common Spice Bush
(Lindera benzoin)

This is a bush that grows anywhere from five feet tall to twenty feet tall. It spreads rapidly and is a native bush of the laurel family, spreading by its roots. The leaves are bright green, alternate, toothless and have a pointed tip. They are also elliptical, usually around two to six inches long. The biggest identifier to this bush, when the leaves are crushed, it gives off a lemony-spicy fragrance. It flowers in early spring, before the leaves have a chance to appear and they grow in dense clusters. The flowers are very small and are yellow, adding an enjoyable scent in the spring. The berries can be harvested and are used as species; the branches can be used to make tea. It is found often in damp, shaded areas with nutrient rich soils. They can be found along stream banks and on mountains’ lower slopes. Since the lowland forest is moist and very nutrient rich, I am able to find the spice bush very regularly.

Brill, S., & Dean, E. (n.d.). Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places. Retrieved August 4, 2014, from http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Books.Folder/I%20%26%20H%20Folder/Id'g%20%26%20Hvst'g.html

Shagbark Hickory
(Carya ovata)

The shagbark hickory tree is a large deciduous tree that typically grows from seventy to ninety feet tall, with an irregular, oval crown. The leaves are small, smooth, medium to yellow green, odd-pinnate and compound. The have seven to nine finely toothed, lance shaped and pointed leaflets. The leaves turn yellow to golden brown in the fall and make their way to the forest floor. It receives its name from the bark, it grows gray and smooth, but over time in a loose form, creating long strips. It has a nut that is edible and has a tough husk surrounding the seed, when it falls and dries it splits into four parts. It commonly occurs in dry upland forests and in wooded slopes and hills, with moist valleys. It also occurs in lowland forest with rich and moist soil. This is why it was able to be found in the lowland forest, but it has a large tap root. Most trees in the lowland forest have shallow roots that extend horizontally from the tree. I was not expecting to find this tree in the lowland forest because of the root system and the fact that it needs a lot of room and sunlight to grow.

Cary ovata. (n.d.). In Missouri Botanical Garden . Retrieved August 4, 2014, from http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=a854

Wood Frog
(Rana sylvatica)

The wood frog can come in various shapes, sizes and color schemes. The average size of a wood frog ranges from 1.4 to 3.5 inches in length. They tend to feed of insects, arachnid, worms and snails, in the tadpole stage they are completely herbivores. They usually live in woodlands, laying their eggs in vernal pools and their lifespan is usually around three years. In the winter, they will burrow down below the leaf litter to take shelter. The wood frog has a very special adaptation for survival, in the winter, they stop breathing and their heart beat will cease. They produce a special “antifreeze” substance that prevents ice from forming in their cells. When the weather then warms, the frogs thaw and begin to mate, the wood frog is one of the first to emerge in spring. Wood frogs have many predators which include: snakes, snapping turtles, raccoons, skunks, foxes and birds. The tadpoles on the other hand have even more challenges as beetles, salamanders and wood turtles feed upon them. They can come in varying shades of brown and red, the distinguishing mark being the black around their eyes. This black mark around the eye looks like a robber mask and helped me to identify it more easily. It thrives in moist soils with shade, this is why I am able to spot it in the lowland forest.

Wood Frog. (2014). In National Wildlife Federation. Retrieved August 4, 2014, from http://www.nwf.org/wildlife/wildlife-library/amphibians-reptiles-and-fish/wood-frog.aspx

Question:

In the northern deciduous forest, there are a few main strategies that the plants in the lowland forest practice in order to survive the harsh winter. Temperate deciduous forests are found in the middle latitudes with temperate climates. Deciduous forest means that the trees will experience seasons and each year the leaves will fall to the ground, creating a layer of organic material. In addition to leaves falling, the deciduous forest experiences long term freezing and snow fall. The trees will stop photosynthesis in the fall when the leaves fall off; they will keep all energy until spring when the leaves reemerge. Some tree species that lose their leaves yearly include: maples, hickories, oaks and cottonwoods. Other plants in the lowland forest will die back in the fall and will reemerge in the spring. Some plants appear early in the spring because there is limited sunlight in the forest, they will be broad and low to the ground. The plants are low to the ground for heat and are broad to gather the sunlight before all the tree’s leaves appear. Many of these plants will die off as summer comes around. Other plant species will appear later in the spring and continue to grow throughout the summer, surviving throughout the summer with limited lighting. Some examples include the sensitive fern royal fern and false nettle.

Deciduous Forest . (n.d.). In Populations and Ecosystems. Retrieved August 4, 2014, from http://www.fossweb.com/delegate/ssi-foss-ucm/contribution%20Folders/FOSS/multimedia_ms_1E/PopulationsandEcosystems/ecoregion/deciduous_forest/index.html