31 January 2012

10:30 hours. The Evergreen State College. GPS: 47.065583, -122.975326. From F Lot down the trail to the beach. It has been cold and cloudy and the temperature was around 5.5 degrees Celsius. The habitat was extremely varied as we walked down the trail. We went from one habitat to another with tone of overlap in between. I noticed Doug Fir trees, Maples, Salmon berry, Sword fern, Cedar trees, Ivy, Licorice ferns, and tons of moss. We noticed Atricum solenei which resembled Polytrichum growing at the base of a huge tree which had fallen and was up-rooted. It was explained that stumps and root faces were a common area to find moss growing. I wonder if this is because they are the first to come in succession and what would eventually become of the fallen tree roots if completely left alone? I collected a Rytidiadelphus off of the top of a stump. I collected a Dicranium off of a stump. I collected a moss from a snag tree that looked like tiny flower petals. I wonder what this life form is called? I collected another moss that looked like flowers but was much larger and had huge sporophytes growing out of it. I was able to find female and male samples of this moss. I collected a moss off of a cement slab that was very small and had hyaline awns that were white and pointy. I collected a Hypnum species that had visible calyptra. I collected a moss that looked light green and feathery. I'm left wondering why certain mosses seem to favor certain habitats even though the majority of the environmental conditions are the same and the habitats are only a few feet apart? It was interesting that I could find liverworts thriving on one tree in the forest but within a few feet away they did not grow and continued to not grow in several other areas of the forest.

Posted on February 6, 2012 11:47 PM by dkennedy