Beauty All Around

Observations:

As I drive up to Merry Lea property from my hometown of Uniondale, I have a long time to reflect on the landscape around me as I drive. As of most of Indiana, I grew up in what is considered rural country, or better yet in farm fields. I drive up State Road 9, all along the drive I am surrounded by field corn, soybeans, wheat, and hay fields. I realize that at one time the land was covered by an immense forest, but there is great beauty in the fields.  I can look out across the vast rolling hills and see miles upon miles of bean plants swaying in the gentle breeze, puppets to the winds' commands. I can drive down a country road in the evening, both sides of the road lines with corn, the sweet aroma of fresh fallen dew mixed with that of the corn and the coolness of the evening. It is a different love that I have for the place I am from, the place I was raised.  Even though it is not “natural”, the fields are something that I have grown to love.

On the other hand, there is the forest, a place all of its own, a place that I will spend my entire life exploring and observing, all the while probably only identifying a glimpse of species. Today, I go back out into my lowland forest for observations; I see change once again. I notice that there are flowers beginning to bloom along the edge of the lowland forest, flowers such as the goldenrod. I also notice that many flowers in the forest are preparing to bloom and eventually spread their seeds for next year’s growth. It is especially hot today, compared to times in the past that I observed, the sun is bright and there is a gentle breeze. The temperature is in the low eighties and I have a strange felling and I walk along the edge of the forest, I see the goldenrods in bloom and it makes me think of how fall is just around the corner. I can't help but wish that summer could be longer, but the fall is my favorite time of the year. The cooler temperatures bring a change to the forest that I long to see every year and that it the changing of the color of the leaves.

New Species:

Swamp White Oak
(Quercus bicolor)

The swamp white oak is a medium to large tree, with broad, lobed leaves. The leaves of the tree are alternate and simple on the twig, broadly ovate with rounded toothed edges and the tops are dark green, with the underside being white. In the autumn, the leaves will turn a yellow-brown. The bark of the swamp white oak is dark gray-brown and deeply fissured on larger trees. 

 The fruit of the swamp white oak is an acorn that matures in a year, this is a nut with a long stalk and has a hairy cup that covers the top of the nut. These acorns are a good food source for wildlife. The swamp white oak is commonly found in bottom land woods and upland wet forests, this is why I am able to find it in my ecosystem. 

 
Jackson, M. T. (2003). 101 Trees of Indiana (pp. 208-209). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

Swamp Goldenrod
(Solidago patula)

This goldenrod is hard to identify due to the fact that there are several goldenrods that grow in the Merry Lea area, I was able to narrow down to the species with help of the surrounding environment. The swamp goldenrod is a perennial wildflower that can vary from two feet to six feet tall, with a hairless stem. The leaves are alternate along the entire stem, but the closer to the top, it is hard to notice the alternating leaves. The leaves are finely toothed and have a ovate shaped, they also are longer and narrow. 

 The flower heads stem from the central stem, composed of long primary braches that are covered with clusters of erect flower heads. They are a yellow or golden color and this is how the goldenrods’ received their name. The swamp golden rod prefers partial sun to light shade, wet to constantly moist soils that consist of loam and sandy loam, with a large amount of organic matter. I am able to find this species of goldenrod in the lowland forest because of the loamy soil and the heavy amount of organic matter, along with wet soils.

Swamp Goldenrod. (n.d.). In Illinois Wildflowers. Retrieved August 17, 2014, from http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/wetland/plants/sw_goldenrod

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Boneset
(Eupatorium perfoliatum )

Boneset is a common perennial that is native to eastern United States, they commonly are found in damp environments, in marshes, meadows and along wooded areas. I was able to find this flowering plant along the edge of the lowland forest, here the soil was still very moist and offered shade to the boneset. They can reach a height of five feet, but are most commonly around two feet in height. The most interesting feature of the boneset is that the leaves are opposite of each other and are connected. The leaves are long, spear shaped, finely toothed and the lower leaves are very large and gradually get smaller going upward. The boneset blooms between July and September, with large, numerous white flowers in clusters. The boneset also has a faint aroma and a bitter taste.

Boneset. (2005). In Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine. Retrieved August 17, 2014, from http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Boneset.aspx

Jumpseed
(Persicaria virginiana)

The flowers are broad, around six inches long and three inches wide, rounded at the base and come to a sharp point at the tip. The leaves grow on a short stem and are a vibrant green, usually hairy on both sides, but the underside may be hairless. The flowers are sparsely arranged, in a spike-like raceme pattern, ranging from four to sixteen inches long. Individually, the flowers are white to greenish white, an eighth of an inch long with four pointed-tip petals. The fruit is an oval shape and when the seed ripens, it jumps off of the stem with the slightest touch; this is how it received its name. It is commonly found in wet to moist soils and I am able to find this plant in the lowland forest because of the most, organically rich soil.

Chayka, K. (2014). Jumpseed. In Minnesota Wildflowers. Retrieved August 17, 2014, from http://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/jumpseed

Question:

When observing the lowland forest, I notice how every single organism works together allowing the forest to function, each organism is like a puzzle piece in a giant puzzle and has a perfect fit. If just one piece went missing from the puzzle, then it would not be completed, it may still look good, but people notice a missing piece. It there are several pieces missing, then the puzzle begins to look very poor and it is not very appealing to the eye. I view global climate change as a possible thief of a puzzle piece from the giant puzzle. In this case, I will look at the lowland forest, there are hundreds of scenarios that could play out with global climate change, I want to cover two simple possibilities. 

 The first possibility is that the temperature increases in the lowland forest, this would cause major change because the land could go from being very moist to dry, new species would take over as species that counted on heavy water for survival begin to die of thirst. No longer would there be frogs in abundance, laying eggs and filling the spring evenings with their sounds. The land would most likely give way to a drier, Oak-Hickory forest and the landscape would change drastically.

On the opposite side, the temperature could decrease, leaving the area cooler with more rainfall and less evaporation.  In this case, the area would turn into a wetland or a swampy area. All the trees and plants that now exist would be drowned because they are not equipped to breathe underwater. Most trees that survive in water have root nodules or “knees” that allow the tree to breath. New species would enter the area and take over, changing the entire landscape and look of the lowland forest. In either scenario, global climate change can have a drastically negative effect on the lowland forest and the entire Merry Lea property.  It will lead to changes that we as humans will not be able to completely predict and that could also change our livelihoods.

Global Climate Change Indicators. (n.d.). In NOAA. Retrieved August 17, 2014, from http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/indicators/

Creative Piece:

An Acrostic Poem

Lowland Forest

Little saplings all around
Overbearing trees that shade the ground
Wet soil that smells rotten
Long walks that lead to escape from reality
Appearances may be deceiving
No two visits can be the same
Diverging paths lead to new discoveries

Ferns at every turn
Open skies where trees have died
Rotting logs that soon return to the soil
Entertaining creatures all around
Surely the best place of all
Towering trees to small plants, the lowland forest is where it’s at