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Forest Ecology

Instructor: Steven Clark            Clark Community College

Trapper Creek Field Trip Saturday May 24 (see my notes on the Forestry page)

Driving Directions: Drive east on Highway 14 past Stevenson to the Carson exit.  Turn left (north) on the Wind River Highway.  Drive about 18 miles on this same road.  Past the small community of Stabler and past the fish hatchery.  Continue going straight (don’t turn right).  The paved road will become a dirt road.  This is a campground loop.  Stay to the right.  Drive about ¼ mile (just an estimate) until you arrive at a metal gate and an historic water pump called “Iron Mike”.  We will meet here.

 ·         The distance from Vancouver is about 70 miles.  I estimates at least 1.5 hours driving time if you don’t dawdle.  You may prefer to give yourself more time.

·         Do carpool and share gas costs. 

·         We’ll start our walk at 10 AM and finish in about 3 hours.

 

 

Type.  Spell check (I will deduct a point for poor spelling).  Keep your answers to one page.  The number in parenthesis indicates point value.  [I hastened to put this up so you can have it ready by Wednesday; I used images from last year.  Those of you who have taken pictures, I'll use yours in class or to improve these images on Tuesday when we are back at school]. 

  1. Using your field guide, name three of the plants (non-tree) we saw.  Use the common name and the Latin name.  Tell me one interesting feature of each plant. (3)
  2. What is it about our soils that make fungi more important than bacteria as decomposers? (1)
  3. What is a riparian zone?  Why is it considered ecologically separate from the other parts of the forest (2)?
  4. About how old are the oldest Trapper Creek trees (1)?
  5. Why are our forests dominated by conifers rather than broadleaf trees (like eastern USA forests)? (2).
  6. How is moss a commensalist?  How might it be a mutualist? (2)?
  7. What is the leading cause of death for Pseudotsuga menziesii(1)?
  8. Discuss one other feature of our field trip that you thought was interesting (2).
  9. Identify (2).
  10. We saw a millipede.  I have identified that millipede as follows:  Phylum Arthropoda; Class Diplopoda; I want you to find the Family, Genus and species by using the BugGuide site.  (2)
  11. Champion of what?  Tell me why it is the champion (2).