Over the course of all of our field trips this semester we will visit locations at very different elevations (sea level to 8200 ft) and hike trails with a variety of slope aspect (compass direction perpendicular to the slope). In the final weeks assignments you will be asked in several ways to summarize the effect of elevation and slope aspect on the plant communities and living systems we observe. This assignment is intended to get you think about it ahead of time. You are not the first to ponder this concept and you are in good company.
Alexander Von Humboldt was one of the most unique thinkers of the 19th century. He was an man of great energy and attention to detail, focusing on noting every observation and measurement he could along his travels and then mapping them out and looking for patterns and he used this approach to all of his investigations of elevation and biodiversity published in his famous treatise Plant Geography. You will be using your notebook in a similar fashion. To figure out the relationship between elevation and plant species he he hiked up mountains (including Chimorazo at 20,000ft) and simply wrote down the names of each of the plants as he encountered them and then made a graphic to see the overall pattern.
Check out Humboldt’s work looking closely at the Chimborazo illustration and then answer the following questions:
1. What aspects of the this type of illustration or technique do you like?
2. What could be improved about Humboldt’s diagram that would make it more informative and how might you incorporate these ideas into your synthesis poster project? You should think about how you could include slope aspect effects, for example.
Part 2 : One study area you will visit, or If Humboldt had satellites
Sam Merrill Trail
The Sam Merrill trail goes from the Cobb estate (scroll down to the left on the map) to the Mt. Lowe Railway Historical marker. Following along the trail (scroll up on the google map) you should notice profound changes in the plant communities, particularly on either side of the ridge at the end of the trail. Aspect and elevation are something we can track as part of this investigation.
Answer the following question:
3. Describe the different plant communities you see in this area and write down some notes about them. Are there different types of scrub communities, or maybe some forested sections? Be open to noting anything you can see on this satellite image.