WEEK 4 (Field trip!)

There and Back Again: A Student's Tale, by Megan Herzog

Journey to the Olympic Peninsula

(En route!)

We began our journey strong with an 8:00am departure time on Saturday morning of April the 27th. As 60 strangers loaded into six big, white, University buses, we left Seattle for the Olympic Peninsula and a few stops along the way. When crossing the Puget Sound by means of the Edmonds-Kingston ferry, I noticed one again, the familiar and outstanding skyline of the rugged Olympic Mountains. I learned on the ferry that the tallest peaks are Mt. Constance and The Brothers, and that they were formed by subduction, just as the Cascades were. Once on the peninsula, we made a stop at the S'klallam Reservation and learned the facts of their history and sadness of their lost stories, as well as their dependence on the knowledge of natural history to survive. The more I learn about plant identifications and their multiple uses and dangers, the harder I find it to wrap my head around  having only only local, naturally occurring products to survive. We then continued onward, our final destination of Barnes Point only a few more hours away.

Barnes Point

Date: Saturday, April 27, 2013

Weather: Mild, slight winds, mist and light showers

Temperature: ~50 degrees F

Time: ~2:00pm - 6:00pm

Location: Olympic National Park, Crescent Lake, Barnes Point, Barnes Creek

Morning view at Crescent Lake

What a treat it was to spend my weekend not only in a Temperate Rainforest, but an Old Growth Forest as well, for the first time in my life. My roommates, parents, friends, co-workers and peers can all vouch for the fact that I was mind blown by the nature I encountered in a little over 24-hrs time. Although the Olympic Peninsula has been sitting in Seattle's backyard for my entire life, I could never have imagined the grandiose nature of things, the amount of knowledge the forest would beg me to unpack, and the energy that grew all around me. I learned that Old Growth Forests are not entirely concerned with age, but rather, their complexities. The surrounding ecosystem was both biotic and abiotic, consumed by the energy of physical materials on the surface that transformed their energies to support the below-ground level systems. This holistic concept is influenced by the three main elements of an Old Growth Forest being:

1.  Structure: The trees, the physical and spatial arrangement of species, and how we utilize these natural occurrences. These species have a broad range in size and diversity, creating a mosaic of young and old in the bio-diversity of the forest floor.  

2.  Function: All of the work that is being done by the species.

3.  Composition: The assemblage of the species, each of which has specific and defining traits.

While exploring the Old Growth Forest of Barnes Point, I was amazed by a number of different species, both old and new, familiar and foreign. Many of the forest's 'keystone' species I observed were ones I had seen before, yet never at such an alarming and wondrous size.  These 'keystone' species, Douglas Fir, Grand Fir and Western Red Cedar, are the largest and grandest of the Old Growth Forest, standing as the backbone of its existence. This forest hosts four of the five grandest trees in the world, both in size and age, as they experience a great number of events through time. Another well-known tree seen on a massive scale in the forest was the Bigleaf Maple, coated from root to branch tip with Witch's Hair lichens and Lettuce Leaf lichens at their base. After the initial shock I got from entering a forest filled with these great beasts (trees), I was able to take a closer look at my surroundings and better understand what was happening around me.

'Keystone' Species 1: Douglas Fir (pseudotsuga menziesii)

'Keystone' Species 2: Grand Fir (abies grandis)

'Keystone' Species 3: Western Red Cedar (thuja plicata)

Every inch of the forest floor shown some example of the major themes of competition, facilitation, disturbance, and predation within and among species in the forest. My favorite observances were those that showed both disturbance and facilitation, which showed how the living organisms were able to fix themselves and help each other whenever the opportunity arose.

The Western Red Cedar is a prime example of how trees can overcome obstacles. Where many trees have been caught in forest fires, the fire does not always entirely engulf the bark in flame, leaving remnants of the living tissue behind. These remnants, just under the bark, continue to live and create new growth for as long as they are able to connect to the base, transferring energy from root to leaf. In this process, they even envelop and cover the scar created by the fire in order to become a whole tree once more.

Another disturbance of the Western Red Cedar can be seen when the top is damaged and broken off by wind and storms. At this point, new growth on the top of trees are able to create nutrient-rich soil and spur the growth of a new species, such as this Western Hemlock sapling that spurts from the top of a split trunk on a Western Red Cedar. This interaction leads into the next sign of facilitation in the forest.

Top Middle: Western Hemlock (tsuga heterophylla) sapling
spurts from the top of a broken Western Red Cedar (thuja plicata)

In continuing the theme of disturbances, Douglas Firs are known a known species with the special ability to recover. When broken off at the top, the Douglas Fir is able to activate its dormant buds underneath the bark to create new branches, called epidormic branches, that come out in sprays rather than sturdy shoots. These sprays contrast highly to the long and lateral, thick-stemmed primary branches that came before it.

In skipping along to another major theme that surrounded my forest adventures, I came across evidence of facilitation. Primary examples of this that I saw were Nurse logs facilitating Western Hemlocks, Bigleaf Maples facilitating Licorice Ferns and Douglas Firs with lichens. The nurse logs, trees that have faced a disturbance (and didn't come out on the winning side), provide the perfect habitat for the seedling of a Western Hemlock. As Western Hemlocks are shade tolerant trees, they can grow in an Old Growth Forest that is already heavily established. To grow free from competition, the Western Hemlocks get a boost from these fallen trees that little the forest floor, as well as nurse logs (short, broken stumps). As long as the Western Hemlock beats the race against time to attach its roots to the ground before the log decomposes, they will be given all of the nutrients and energy they need to start life on the right foot.. or root, might I say.

Nurse Log

The Licorice Ferns are epithetic in nature, growing from the bark of large trees such as the Bigleaf Maple. Another facilitating relationship is that of the heavy moss and Witch's Hair lichens that hang from large trees such as the Douglas Fir. Here, the moss has a nutrient-rich life at heights that have a greater amount of sunlight for photosynthesis.  During the summers, the Douglas Firs benefit from this relationship as well, pulling moisture from the spongy mosses that cling to its bark. 

Epithetic Licorice Ferns

Witch's Hair lichen (alectoria sarmentosa)

While wandering the forest paths, I came to a site that was especially intriguing. My observation site (for this weekend), is featured just off of a bend at Barnes Creek, providing a small and rocky shore that juts slightly out into the water. This site shows traces of both disturbance and facilitation. It also hosts a number of organisms such as shelf mushrooms that grow from a fallen log, perfect for sitting on. I can see hanging lichens from a Red Alder (alnus rubra), and a wall of sword ferns that coat the northern face of a slope that spills down under my feet, sinking into the river below. These ferns help to hold the ground of the slope and provide a stable platform for the small species around it. Interestingly enough, the large trees that line the slope all seem to hang and have fallen over, sliding down the sides of both slopes into the river, creating a pile of logs at the center of the bend. Where I sit, it appears that these logs have accumulated purely from notwithstanding their own gravitational weight while their roots gave way on the hillside. If this is not the case, I might say that this pile of logs could be the product of a large flood as they were deposited at the corner while the water rushed around the creek bend. Some of my favorite species are found at this site. These species are Devil's Club and Palmated Cult's Foot, which are located just off of the man-made path in a dense thicket of ground cover. Both of these plants appear alienated and foreign and are unlike any plant I have ever seen before. The Devil's Club is extraordinary both in its defense mechanisms as well as its nutrient-rich and nourishing leaf qualities. 

View up-stream at Barnes Creek

Devil's Club (oplopanax horridus): thorny/spiny stalk

Devil's Club (oplopanax horridus): luscious green leaf

Palmated Cult's Foot (petasites frigidus)

Palmated Cult's Foot leaf (petasites frigidus)

   
Apart from these two species claiming the title as my 'favorites', I found a number of other interesting species that I had either never seen before, or found particularly intriguing and beautiful. While looking closely at their characteristics and taking notes, I began to feel a lot like a natural historian myself, which was awesome.

Scenic view of Marymere Falls

Western Trillium (trillium ovatum)

Hooker's Fairybell (disporum hookeri)

Pacific Bleeding Heart (dicentra formosa)

Salt Creek

Date: Sunday, April 28, 2013

Weather: Mild, some sun, strong winds

Temperature: ~55 degrees F

Time: ~10:30am - 1:00pm

Location: Strait of Juan de Fuca, Tongue Point, Salt Creek

Low-tide view of Tongue Point

The second half of our weekend-getaway consisted of a close look at organisms found at Tongue Point on the peninsula, a spit that reaches out into the Straight of Juan de Fuca. The arrival at this site was perfectly planned to coincide with low-tide, giving us the greatest optimal range of exploration. I was quickly engulfed by 'beach-life' as the scenic view, salty ocean smell and strong wind grasped hold of my senses. I felt unstoppable in my rubber boots as I climbed over rocks, hopped through patches of green, brown and red algae, and waded through patches of Sea Grass in order to see a full range of the specimen this beach had to offer. The fact alone that I came out of this venture unharmed and still dry was a success in itself. The success of my findings exploration can be seen in the images featured below, yet they only scratch the surface of the complex and extraordinary species that call 'Tongue Point' home.

Giant Acorn Barnacle (balanus nubilus)

Bloodstar (henricia) and Sea Laurel (osmundea spectabilis)

Pacific Blue Mussel (mytilus trossulus)

Pacific Blue Mussel bed (mytilus trossulus)

 

 

Pacific Blue Mussel bed (mytilus trossulus)

Black Katy Chiton (katharina tunicata)

Dead Man's Finger (codium fragile)

Vermillion Star (mediaster aequalis)

*dead* Octopus (octopus vulgaris)

Return Home
(En route!)

We had a nice, relaxed drive home in the sunshine, and I slept almost all the way to the ferry terminal. We had a nice pit-stop at the (former) Elwha Dam, to witness the largest dam removal project in history. I learned that this was a slow process in order to fully restore the river to its natural state, as sediments have been accumulating for years and need to be carefully released so as to not throw off the balance of nutrients in the water for existing wildlife.

The former Elwha Damn

With one more nap, a stop for gas and a last-minute switch of ferry terminals, we arrived back to Seattle by the Seattle-Bainbridge ferry boat and were welcomed by the ever-beautiful Seattle skyline. As my first true expedition of natural history came to an end, I felt much like Lewis and Clark as I arrived back in my hometown. With a notebook chock-full of exciting knowledge, a heart full of new friends, and an eager mind, I couldn't wait to keep exploring and engulfing myself in the serenity and harmony of nature once more.

My 'welcome back' to Seattle!