The road directly leading into the field station is made of gravel, and has little or no area separating it from the forest. In less shaded areas such as in front of the apartments there is grass (tidy), and many sympodial trees, which coincides wth the reading on light availability and forest structure. In areas with a larger space and a greater incline there is more shade and you can see more tabonuco trees, as well as more leafy and woody litter. In steeper slopes there are many fern saplings.
The asphalt road that is Road 186, on the other hand, is more open and sunny. There was a notable difference in temperature as well; I was barely sweating on the other road but I got really hot once I walked out. I walked up the mountain toward Espiritu Santo and for the most part there is no large space between the road and the forest. In fact, I hit the mountain pretty quickly, which presents issues for site accessibility.
Near Espiritu Santo there was a very large area that may have once been a parking area. It is gravel and with black dirt underneath which may be black asphalt. There were some small, yellowing grasses there, and alot of trash from a full wastebasket.
Near the river there is more clay-like, brown dirt, as well as bamboo and ferns.
The gravel road seems to have less of an impact on the forest, at least in terms of grassy plants. The canopy is denser along this road, which may account for that, but if I'm gearing my study toward possible alternatives in road development then a thick canopy may not be feasible in terms of maintenance. Even so, how does EVFS deal with road maintenance? Aside from maybe a fallen tree or two, I don't see an issue with it, even if there is alot of litter on the floor. Then again, the road is pretty bad and I wouldn't expect people to be driving on it over 30mph, as I see on Rd. 186. Wet, slippery leaf litter might be an issue then.
As for the area near the river, I don't think that would be a good place to have the project since I'd have to control as much as feasible for other types of disturbances. The river is a natural disturbance, and it would thus affect the surrounding vegetation in addition to the road.
Another very interesting observation is where the bamboo are located, at least in the vicinity. If walking uphill, the bamboo dominate on the right side of the road, where the mountain drops dramatically. I say in the vicinity because I've seen bamboo on both sides of the road in the mountains where Omar lives. Also...OH MY GOSH!!! I have a new fear: bamboo toppling over while I have my back turned and it landing on my back. Scary.They just creak and sway when a breeze blows through-its seriously the most frightful thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment