EVOLUTION OF A NATURAL ECOSYSTEM



March 17, 1999



September 10, 1999

What a difference a few months make! In spite of the horrendous drought of Summer, 1999,
our ecosystem, planted with native plants and self-planted "visitors", thrived!





Following are observations of the changes that were observed in the "natural" ecosystem that was placed in the back of the McCort Ward Biology Building. In October 1977, the sod in this area was completely dug up, and the soil was tilled to approximately 6 inches and Compro was added. The area was largely left untouched until March 17, 1999, at which time we decided to "clean it up", add some new plants, and make periodic changes. For purposes of discussion and use by students, the area was subdivided into eight sections. My first few observations will discuss these sections separately and the later observations will present an overview of the entire area. (Note: When groundcover/weeds begin to take over area, the area was weeded).


FIRST OBSERVATION - March 17, 1999

Weather conditions

Section 1.
Originally planted - October, 1997: Hemlock tree, Boston Ivy, 3 Christmas fern plants.

Additional plants (derived from a variety of natural sources) that were seen on 3/17/99 but had not been planted in October, 1997: various types of ground cover including cinquefoil, chickweed, thistle, and dandelions.

New plants added on 3/17/99: Daffodil bulbs and sunflower seeds.

This section and section 2 received the most sunlight of the eight sections; but, because the entire area was between two wings of a building, the total amount of sunlight for all areas was 2-3 hours less per day than an open area. The decreased amount of sunlight due to the blocking buildings is called an urban corridor effect.


Section 2.
Originally planted - October 1997: 2 partridge berry bushes and daffodils.

Additional plants observed on 3/17/99 that had been derived from a variety of natural sources (i.e. seeds deposited from feces of birds of other animals and carried on fur of these animals, seeds deposited by wind from other plants; etc.): wild strawberry, thistle, clover, and dandelions.

New plants added on 3/17/99: "money plant"


Section 3.
Originally planted - October 1997: sweet bay, magnolia tree.

Additional plants observed on 3/17/99 derived from natural sources: dandelions, clover, cinquefoil.

New plants added on 3/17/99: cranberry bush, dragon flower plant, sunflower seeds.

Insects observed on 3/17: pillbugs, ladybugs, ants, beetles, honeybees, earthworms.


Section 4.
Originally planted: river birch tree (thin-stemmed with reddish coloring and no leaves).

New "natural" growth: wild strawberries, grasses, clover, dandelions.

New plants added: dragonflower plant and sunflower seeds.


Section 5.
Originally planted: redbud tree (in dormant stage), 2 cinnamon ferns, daffodils.

New "natural" growth: clover, cinquefoil, chickweed.

New plants added: dragonflower plants, sunflower seeds, daffodil bulbs.

A compost pile also was built in this section. It was started with dead plants and excess ground cover removed on 3/17; lyophilized bacterial mix was later added.


Section 6.
Originally planted: 3 sweetspire plants and 1 hydrangea.

New "natural" growth: wild strawberries, dandelions, chickweed.

New plants added: 4 daffodil bulbs, 1 dragonflower, sunflower seeds.


Section 7.
Originally planted: 3 sedum plants, 2 holly plants (1 had died and was composted), 1 blueberry bush, 5 daffodils, 1 hydrangea.

New "natural" growth: clover and grasses

New plants added: sunflower seeds.


Section 8.
Originally planted: 1 paw paw tree, 1 blueberry bush, few daffodils.

New "natural" growth: dandelions, clover, cinquefoil, wild strawberries.

New plants added: 8 sunflower seeds, 1 dragonflower plant, few daffodils.

Sections 6, 7 and 8 received the least amount of sunlight of all the sections.


SECOND OBSERVATION - March 24, 1999

Weather conditions

    Rain parts of day
    High - 62° F
    Low - 43° F
    Sunrise - 6:07 am
    Sunset - 6:24 pm
    Humidity - 82%
    Wind speed - 0 mph
    Barometric pressure - 30.04"

Section 1.
Boston ivy growing; thistle growing dramatically. Ferns starting to grow tiny bit.

Section 2.
1 daffodil from original planting starting to bloom. Thistle, wild strawberries, and partridge berry bushes obviously growing.

No growth of money plant, sunflowers, or dandelions.


Section 3.
Leaf buds beginning to form on cranberry bush. 1 ½ inch earthworm digging around cranberry bush. Magnolia bush about 1 cm taller.


Section 4.
Dragonflower plant getting through transplant shock. Daffodils from original planting starting to bloom. No change in river birch tree.


Section 5.
Redbud tree starting to look healthier and leaf buds forming. Chickweed growing all over.


Section 6.
Daffodils from original plants starting to bloom.


Section 7.
1 daffodil from original planting starting to bloom.


Section 8.
Dragonflower plant slightly larger and leaves starting to spread. Daffodils from original planting starting to bloom.


THIRD OBSERVATION March 29, 1999

Weather conditions

    Sunny
    High - 71.6° F
    Low - 43° F
    Sunrise - 5:59 am
    Sunset - 6:29 pm
    Humidity - 27%
    Wind speed - 10.73 mph
    Barometric pressure - 30.02"


Section 1.
Ferns still small but fiddleheads seen. Boston ivy continuing to grow. Hemlock tree is starting to look larger than it was when originally planted; it is now wider at bottom.


Section 2.
Wild strawberry covering ground. Daffodils getting ready to bloom. Cricket hopping among wild strawberry. Thistle continuing to grow in height as is partridge berry bush. Lots of dandelions. 1 pillbug and 1 earthworm seen.


Section 3.
Leaves of cranberry bush starting to appear.


Section 4.
Lots of ground cover and dandelions. Dragonflower looks good.


Section 5.
Chickweed all over ground. Some leaves starting to sprout on redbud tree.


Section 6.
Daffodils planted this year starting to sprout. Sunflower also starting to grow.


Section 7.
Lots of ground cover.


Section 8.
3 new daffodil bulbs starting to sprout.


FOURTH OBSERVATION - April 9, 1999

Weather conditions

    Rain
    High - 72° F
    Low - 48°F
    Sunrise - 6:42 am
    Sunset - 7:39 pm
    Humidity - 51%
    Wind speed - E 14 mph
    Visibility - 10 miles
    Barometric pressure - 29.63"

Section 1.
Everything appears to be growing well. Daffodils starting to bloom.


Section 2.
Silvery spider web seen in corner of building. No spider seen but there was a dead gnat in the web. Daffodils in bloom. All plants - dandelion, chickweed, partridge berry, thistle growing significantly.


Section 3.
Dandelion patches and chickweed (and probably other weeds) present in large amounts prior to weeding. Obtrusive plants starting to appear; they look like possible seedlings of the river birch


Section 4.
Dandelion patches and chickweed (and others) also present in large amounts prior to weeding. River birch tree starting to bud.


Section 5.
Daffodils getting ready to bloom. Leaves sprouting on redbud tree. Chickweed growing like wildfire prior to weeding.


Section 6.
No major changes except for continued growth of weeds.


Section 7.
All daffodils have bloomed. Lots of dandelions, chickweed. 1 sedum plant appears to have grown by several inches. Holly bush and blueberry bush have green buds.


Section 8.
Cinquefoil flowering. More green leaves on hydrangeas. Sunflower seeds sprouting - 2" tall.


FIFTH OBSERVATION - April 14, 1999

Weather conditions

    Sunny
    High - 72° F
    Low - 48° F
    Sunrise - 6:34 am
    Sunset - 7:44 pm
    Humidity - 45%
    Wind speed - 11 mph
    Visibility - 10 miles
    Barometric pressure - 29.96"

Section 1.
Everything growing well; thistle growing too well. Ivy considerably increased in size.


Section 2.
Everything flourishing- Dandelions, wild strawberries, thistle.


Section 3.
Cranberry bush growing quite well. Leaves now ~ 1 cm. All types of ground cover flourishing.


Section 4.
Dragonflower now 4-5" tall. River birch has buds and some starting to open with little green leaves. Sunflowers continue to grow.


Section 5.
All plants including chickweed flourishing. All daffodils had bloomed during previous week. Small white buds on rosebud tree.


Section 6.
New daffodils blooming. Lots of ground cover. Sunflowers continue to grow.


Section 7.
White flower buds on blueberry bush. Daffodils starting to wilt.


Section 8.
Thistles everywhere. New daffodils blooming.

(From this point on, a consolidated overview of changes in the entire ecosystem will be made, rather than section by section.)


April 19, 1999

Weather conditions

    Periods of clouds and sunshine
    High - 64° F
    Low - 47° F
    Sunrise - 6:27 am
    Sunset - 7:49 pm
    Visibility - 9 miles
    Humidity - 82%
    Wind speed - SSW 6 mph
    Barometric pressure - 30.09"

Everything growing! Daffodils in all sections have bloomed. Redbud tree blooming. Ground cover abundant everywhere. Thistles quite tall and are taking over. Blueberry bush is budding. Mushrooms have expanded in various parts of ecosystem. Flowers starting to appear on strawberry plants. Cranberry bush now about 1 ½ feet tall and leaves are 3/4 to 1 inch wide. River birch tree growing well - many new shoots and leaves getting larger. Sedum foliage has increased and they are starting to do well now.


May 12, 1999

Weather conditions

    Sunny
    High - 85° F
    Low - 59° F
    Winds - 9.45 mph
    Visibility - 9.75 miles
    Barometric pressure - 29.97"

Wild strawberries have bloomed. Clover ball heads have appeared on clover. Hydrangeas have budded. Various wild flowers have appeared. Blueberry blossoms have disappeared and berries are now present. A few unidentified as of yet mystery plants have appeared from "nowhere". Paw paw tree has grown by about 3 inches. Christmas ferns have appeared in section 5. Daisies have started to die. Sunflowers in section 5 have grown by about 3 inches.


May 19, 1999

Weather conditions

    Sunny
    High - 78° F
    Low - 66° F
    Winds - 6.41 mph
    Visibility - 9.05 miles
    Barometric pressure - 29.97"

New leaves on redbud tree. Christmas ferns continuing to grow. The birch tree is now 8-9 feet tall; when it was observed in March it was about 6-7 feet. Thistle plants on north side of ecosystem starting to bloom. Thistle about 5 feet tall; needs to be cut back. Sumac in sections 1 & 6 now about 5 feet tall. Sunflowers in sections 5 & 6 now about 1 foot tall. Buds almost ready to bloom on sweet spire. Ripe wild strawberries are all over the ecosystem. Daisies fading. Boston ivy thriving in section 1. Butterflies have been flying around thistle plants. Holly is growing vigorously. Buds forming on sedum. Blueberries starting to form but look dry. Hydrangeas in section 6 starting to bloom. Buds forming on hydrangea in section 8. All hydrangeas now about 3 feet tall. Paw paw tree now about 2 feet tall and looks thirsty. Chickweed is dying. Almost all daffodil foliage is gone. Clover is taking over as ground cover on south side and strawberries and thistle are on the north.

All thistles appear to have glistening sticky substance on them. Aphids on thistle starting to die. Mushroom heads starting to curl. Dragonflowers doing well in sections 4,5,6 & 7. 2 sparrows seen.


June 5, 1999

Weather conditions

    Sunny
    High - 84.9°F
    Low - 60.1° F
    Winds - 6.63 mph
    Visibility - 10.0 miles
    Barometric pressure - 30.22"

Although this is a natural system, the drought is having severe effects on paw paw and hydrangeas, so decided to water. Sedum appears to be withstanding drought. Dead branch removed from rosebud tree. Sunflowers in sections 5 & 6 growing like crazy and are about 1 ½ feet tall and other almost 2 feet tall. A wild grapevine (previously unnoticed) starting to grow around back of hydrangea in section 6. Mildew is on river birch. 2 silver maples have naturally seeded. When you rub the seed pods on the cinquefoil, red and white seeds pop out. The red seeds are on lots of the plants. Seed pods have appeared on chickweed. Seeds starting to form on thistle. Seedlings of alder or river birch starting to appear throughout ecosystem.



Bumblebee on Dragonflowers
September 1999







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