Kevin Tran - Week 5 Natural Area

I couldn't go to a different natural area, so I went to the same one. After observing the same site for multiple weeks, the plants have grown in vertically as well as laterally, especially in the case of some ground covers. By now, the ground cover plants that have not flowered have buds, flowers, or fruits. The mushrooms that appeared when the area was cooler have disappeared and sunlight streaks through the tree branches onto the annuals below. Ground covers grow in dense patches, consisting mainly of bur parsley, catchweed bedstraw, and petty spurge. Catchweed bedstraw has small trichomes that attach to other plants, helping it compete. Petty spurge grows vertically until it gets enough light and then begins to branch out. Growing vertically helps it compete in dense plantings. Bur parsley takes on a branching adaptation, with long branches of one individuals intertwining with other individuals creating a carpet that shades out competitors. More commonly seen weeds such as milk thistle, mustard, and vetch are not seen until the top of the hill where there is an open area with few trees. Coast live oak trees are few, but they are large enough to dominate the small space, along with California laurels and California buckeyes. The soil is relatively moist, but given that this doesn't look much like a riparian corridor, I would assume that this is a mix of central oak woodland and a riparian corridor. Because the natural area is a strip of land sandwiched in between human settlement, though it hasn't been disturbed much in the present, who knows how much anthropogenic interference there was in the past. There are eucalyptus trees within the area as well after all. The fact that the ground cover consists predominantly of introduced species portrays the influence of human activity. It makes one wonder what was here originally.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/46385113
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/46385112
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/46385109
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/46385099
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/46385097
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/46385071

Posted on May 18, 2020 05:08 PM by kevint1206