Urban Forest: H.A.M.

1. Urban Forest: H.A.M. Governor's Institute Science and Technology Summer 2008

2. Who is H.A.M.? Back Row: Katie, Amanda, Amber, Silene, Heidi (Counselor), Eric, Jonathon Center Row: Ashley, Katelyn, Abby (Counselor), Brittany, Patrick, Ian, Nick, Matt (Behind Nick/Counselor) Front Row: Riley

3. Hard at Work!

4. Research Site East Woods is a 50 acre area of natural area forest that is owned by the University of Vermont. Here, we studied and answered questions about what we wanted to learn. We composed studies of the wildlife, soil, vegetation, and stream. Our group also did a study of air pollution with the “Burlington Trailer”.

5. Soil! The focus of this portion of our presentation is on the different soil types found in the East Woods region. The purpose of our investigation was to compare and contrast soils in different locations around the region and pair these soils with the vegetation around them. Our data were gathered by digging several soil pits in separate locations, using a soil auger to take soil plugs, taking the pH of the soils, and later recording the different types of vegetation surrounding the pits. All of these data were later compared and contrasted to draw conclusions about different areas in out field site.

7. Soil Pit #1 • Location: Near stream • Horizons: • O-horizon: • Very dark and greasy • Color, 10YR 2/1 • pH 5.5 • A-horizon • Dark and gritty • pH 5.3 • O and A horizons mixed • E-horizon • Grey and sandy • Color, 10YR 5/2 • B-horizon • Denser and lighter • Color, 10YR 4/6 • Sand and silt • C-horizon • Color, 10YR 5/4

8. Soil Pit #2 • Location: Manmade wetland (old railroad bed) • Horizons: • O-horizon: • Greasy and moist • Black • Oxidation and reduction • Oxidized rhizospheres • Reduced soil matrix • pH 6 • Vegetation: • Red and Sugar Maple, White Birch, American Basswood, Hemlock, American Beech, White Ash

9. Soil Pit #3 • Location: Near deciduous trees • Horizons: • A-horizon • 5.5 inches thick • Color, 10YR 3/1 • pH 5.5 • E-horizon • 0.75 inches thick • Color, 10YR 4/2 • B-horizon • 5.5 inches thick • Color, 10YR 4/6 • pH 6.5 • Vegetation: • Sugar Maples, Hemlocks, American Beech, White Ash, and White Pines

10. Soil Pit #4 • Location: Wetland near power lines • Horizons: • Wetland soil • Oxidized rhizospheres • Vegetation: • Speckled alder, jewel weed, sedges, rushes, and grasses

11. Red Rocks Park • Location: Near Red Rocks park • Horizons: • Thin soil over bedrock • pH 8.5 • pH influenced by exposed bedrock and limestone gravel • Vegetation: • Grasses and undergrowth

12. Hard At Work?

14. Wildlife! How an urban forest affects the wildlife… Q:Why are there only small animals (chipmunks, squirrels, moles), but not big animals living in East Woods? A:There are only small animals that use this area as their habitat because the ground cover vegetation is limited. Also, the forest is located within the city! Therefore, without the surrounding area as a livable habitat, large animals are unable to settle. Lastly, the human population has outsourced and taken over most of the natural habitat.

15. Wildlife Observations! • Found a little nest under a log that had white fluff. Also found stripped acorns (evidence of squirrel habitat). • Found holes going 12 inches underground, which is a possible indication of mole habitats. • Saw multiple squirrels and chipmunks (we actually chased four of them!) • Found many insects all over the forest and their habitats in decaying trees. INSECT HABITATS • Found earthworms in decaying tree. The earthworm makes good soil and casts the new plants growing in the tree. • Found Salbug (Potato Bug) crustacean in a decaying tree. • Found ants that were taking care of larva in the “nursery” they had created within the log.

16. Air Pollution! On Tuesday, H.A.M. traveled to the “Burlington Trailer”. This is a station that monitors air quality aspects in the city of Burlington. Below is a link to the website for all of the air quality information. Also, there is a second link that assists viewers in getting air quality updates sent to their cell phones or email: http://www.anr.state.vt.us/air/index.htm (Main Website) http://www.anr.state.vt.us/air/Monitoring/cfm/RealTimeData.cfm (Update Link)

17. Haze Cam! H.A.M. was also informed of a “haze cam” that is set in Burlington. this camera takes pictures of the haze status that is happening over Lake Champlain. This is something that visitors to the website can see as well.

18. The Crew @ Work!

19. Stream! The stream group worked with the river named Potash Brook. Potash Brook flows between Burlington and South Burlington, Vermont. The main stem originates in the Town of Williston, flowing north until it approaches Route 2, and then flows west by Interstate 189, Route 7, and Queen City Road, discharging into Lake Champlain in the northeastern corner of Shelburne Bay of Lake Champlain. It encompasses over 5,300 acres or 7.5 square miles of watershed. The stream group did tests on conductivity, dissolved phosphorus levels, dissolved oxygen, measured depth and velocity along a stream cross-section, and tested the pH levels.

20. Upstream Test Location Width: 6 m Depth: 11.75 cm Velocity: 0.15 m/s Discharge: 0.10575 m^3/s pH 7.8 Dissolved Oxygen: 8.35 mg/L Phosphorus: 0.21 mg/L Conductivity: 1.06 mS

21. Middle Test Site Width: 7 m Depth: 19 cm Velocity: 0.29 m/s Discharge: 0.3875 m^3/s pH 8.0 Dissolved Oxygen: 8.1 mg/L Conductivity: 1.03 mS

22. Downstream Location Width: 6 m Depth: 6 cm Velocity: 0.191 m/s Discharge: 0.0687 m^3/s pH 8.1 Dissolved Oxygen: 9.29 mg/L Conductivity: 1.177 mS

23. Red Rocks Test Site (Under Bridge) Width: 2.5 m Depth: 25.9 cm Velocity: 0.19 m/s Discharge: 0.1256 m^3/s pH 7.1 Dissolved Oxygen: 9.2 mg/L Conductivity: 1.261 mS Phosphorus: 0.06 mg/L Temperature: 19 degrees C

24. Thanks for Watching!