Ecological Terms to you use on your trail guide 1 The terms I would like you to use in your 1-2 paragraphs of ECOLOGICAL DESCRIPTION will be in green. There is no official minimum number to use, because I want students to use them accurately and not in a forced way. Successful students tend to use at least 7 (and do so in a legitimate way.)

To the left are the four basic layers of a forest. As you describe the areas around your landmarks, use those terms. First, try to name some particular plants that would go in each layer. Now let’s see at each layer starting at the top: 2

1. The Canopy: this is comprised of the upper portions of the trees, raising above the rest of the forest. 3

In our part of the country (the PNW), there is an extensive lowland temperate coniferous forest. Our canopy species include: 4 Douglas fir western redcedar bigleaf maple red alder A coniferous forest is one dominated by tall conifers like these D. firs

2. The Understory: this is made up of small trees and large shrubs that grow beneath the umbrella of the canopy: 5 Examples of this layer are: vine maple Scouler’s willow beaked hazelnut ironwood red-stem dogwood

3. Shrubs & Vines: This is an informal category (some sources put these plants in the understory) made up of shrubs, tall herbs, and ferns that are off the ground but not quite as high as the formal understory. 6 Examples include: sword fern red huckleberry dull Oregon grape salal fireweed stinging nettle

4. Forest Floor: Like it sounds, these are the little guys (low-growing herbs, mosses, grasses, fungi) that get stepped on. Sometimes this is called the ground cover (especially if it’s not under a canopy) 7 Examples include: creeping buttercup herb Robert kinnikinnick large-leaf avens

This is not the best picture, but look for the different layers: 8 D. Fir canopy Imagine a vine maple here Sword ferns Creeping buttercup & friends

Some other terms: A monoculture refers to a setting dominated by a single species of plant. 9 You can tell this tree farm is a monoculture because: 1.They are all the same species 2.They are all the same size—which means they were planted at the same time.

Modern farms often produce monocultures 10

An invasive species is one that: 1. Is non-native 2. Dominates an area at the expense of native species. 3. Tends to grow in disturbed areas (like the edge of a trail.) 11 These are two of our most common invasive species: 1.Himalayan blackberry (from Asia) 2.Scotch broom (yellow flowers—from Scotland.) 1. 2.

Sometimes invasive species can create a monoculture 12

Volunteer Scotch broom killers 13

Succession means to grow back (“have success.”) There are two types of Ecological Succession in a forest: 1. Primary Succession 2. Secondary Succession 14

Primary Succession: 15 occurs in an environment in which new substrate devoid of vegetation and usually lacking soil, such as a lava flow or area left from retreated glacier, is deposited. In other words, it is the gradual growth of an ecosystem over a longer period. Straight from Wikipedia An example of primary succession occurring in an urban setting is an abandoned parking lot where hard asphalt (the manmade substrate) sprouts plants that begin the process of generating soil.

This is a little more than you need to know 16

Secondary Succession: 17 occurs on substrate that previously supported vegetation before an ecological disturbance from smaller things like floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and volcanic eruptions which destroyed the plant life. Straight from Wikipedia again

The main difference between the two is that primary succession requires making soil, whereas secondary succession requires plants to grow back, but the soil is already developed. 18

Epiphytes are plants that grow on other plants. Licorice ferns are a perfect example. 19

Nursery logs are the carcasses of dead trees that now support new plants. 20

A green space refers to the areas that urban planners set aside to preserve some tidbit of nature. 21 No, that’s not in Issaquah