The Community and Ecosystem Ecology

Running Head: BIOL 3021_SW3 - Community and Ecosystem Ecology
Field Research Paper
BIOL 3021_SW3 - Community and Ecosystem Ecology
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BIOL 3021_SW3 - Community and Ecosystem Ecology 2
Abstract
The study was conducted in Oregano plants in North America. The study explores the research
hypothesis that ‘Oregon plant is more abundant in shady forest area’.
The study is cross sectional study and uses random sampling. The site was carried out at a
residential area in Oregon. The site of study involved 4 locations, each with 5 rows. Each of the
4 site locations was investigated for the diverse plants, wetland plants, pugs and bare ground
species. The independent variables were the sites, the climate and stand. The attributes related to
site were direct radiation, slope and elevation. The attributes related to stand involved the tree
canopy cover percent, shade tolerance and basal area. The climate variables involved the
temperature, moisture, sunlight and precipitation.
Out of total 577 plants collected, the records showed the most abundant species as Salal (n=148)
followed by Oregon Grape (n=52), Red Huckleberry (n=46) and blackberry (n=45). The least
number of plants were Nootka Rose(n=1), Pacific Poision Oak (n=5) and Doughlus Fir (n=6).
Most of the plants in this region are shrubs which grow in wide range of sunlight though they
grow best in shady areas.

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Introduction
The study area chosen for the field study is Wildwood forest area in Oregon, where I live. The
area is rich in bare ground, small gardens, diverse trees and a pond. Oregon has marine, mild and
equitable coastal and continental dry climate with relatively wet and cold winters and hot
summers. The ecosystem in Oregon is marine influenced, inhabits low density forests
constituting open habitats with limited shade and lot of sunlight. The area involves grassland and
City Street with shrubs and ornamental trees. It is a residential area with flats and buildings. We
initiated this research project to identify the key ecological features of most abundant local trees
and plant species in this area. The key attributes we focused for the assessment of each plant
species involve its distribution, growth habit, phenology and site requirements. We visited the
site in June-July month (27 C temperature), during the noon time when there was adequate
sunlight.
Rationale
The research provides a real time opportunity to conduct ecological practice and detailed field
observations, collect data and test the hypothesis.
Context of existing Research
The Oregon is 2/3 surrounded by trees and forests. Wild flowers and annual grasses predominate
with large pine trees. The dense forests include ground coverings of different herbaceous plants,
intrusions of other trees and understory vines. It is one of the main region producing
blackberries, raspberries, strawberries and loganberries. Most of the native plants of Oregon are
planted require shady area with less sunlight with moist soil. For example: Cascara, vine maple,
pacific dogwood, pacific ninebark, Oregon crab apple, huckleberry, snowberry, hairy Manzanita
and many others. The native Oregon plants are drought resistant and low maintenance (Oregon
Department of Forestry, 2019). The site belongs to Columbia and Snake River Valley Region
where there are hot days and warm nights. According to Oregon State University (2012), the soil

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in this hot climate zone can lose up to ½ inch water in a day. It may be a reason for high density
of plants in shady areas.
In the Oregon landscape areas, the invasive plants develop in abundance due to drier climate,
low elevation trees, shrub-steppe lands, woodlands and grasslands (Rapp, 2015). The invasive
plants spread below the native trees in shady areas. Majority of plant species we expected to
collect from this climatic zone were as listed in the table below:
Common Name Scientific Name
Salal Gaultheria shallon Pursh
Oregon Grape Berberis nervosa Pursh
Red Huckleberry Vaccinium parvifolium Smith
Blackberry Rubus laciniatus Willd.
Scotch Broom Cytisus scoparius (L.) Link
Bracken Fern Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn
Nootka rose Rosa nutkana
Ribwort plantain Plantago lanceolata
Sword fern Polystichum munitum
Conifer Pinophyta
Trailing blackberry Rubus ursinus Cham
Research Hypothesis
Oregon plant is more abundant in shady forest area.
Aim of the study
(a) The study will test the aforementioned hypothesis through field based experiment.
(b) It will evaluate the findings of the study in terms of existing peer reviewed literature.

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Methods
Study Design
The study involves cross sectional observational experimental testing of hypothesis. The data
collection and interpretation is qualitative.
Field Sites
This study was carried out at a residential area in Oregon. No special permission was needed.
The study did not involve any protected or endangered species. The site of study involved 4
locations, each with 5 rows. Each of the 4 site locations was investigated for the diverse plants,
wetland plants, pugs and bare ground species.
Sampling Units
The sample plants and trees under observation were selected through simple random sampling.
The study site was divided in 4 areas, each area having 5 rows. Each plant or tree species in a
row was given equal chance of selecting it in the sample. The abnormal or diseased plants wree
excluded from samples and only the normal plants were included.
Data Collection
The number of different species in each of the four rows (T1-T4) was noted down. The number
of plants in each species for each row was collected and recorded during regular visits at the site
for continuous 15 days. Data collected was analyzed for the type of plants found in higher
abundance, those who were found in normal numbers and those found in lowest numbers.
The collected plant species and their abundance (n) is given in table below.

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Plant Species n
Salal 148
Oregon Grape 52
Red Huckleberry 46
unknown spp A 10
Blackberry 45
Clover 19
Beach
Strawberry
9
Ribwort
Plantain
22
Scottish Broom 8
Conifer 11
unknown spp B 23
unknown spp C 11
Barred Yellow 21
snowberry 13
Nootka Rose 1
Braken fern 31
Douglus Fir 6
Sword fern 18
Trailing
blackberry
23
Pacific Poision
oak
5
Pearly
Everlasting
25
Buttercup family 30

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Statistical Analysis
Cluster Analysis was done to group together all the plant species at each of the 4 sites. The
density of each species at every location was determined using indicator species analysis. The R
programming language was used to perform statistical analysis. The independent variables were
the sites, the climate and stand. The attributes related to site were direct radiation, slope and
elevation. The attributes related to stand involved the tree canopy cover percent, shade tolerance
and basal area. The climate variables involved the temperature, moisture, sunlight and
precipitation.
Results
The collected records showed the most abundant species as Salal (n=148) followed by Oregon
Grape (n=52), Red Huckleberry (n=46) and blackberry (n=45). The least number of plants were
Nootka Rose(n=1), Pacific Poision Oak (n=5) and Doughlus Fir (n=6). The results collected
during the study showed the number of trees/ plants in each row, with whether the species is bare
ground or wet land species. There was no wetland species collected in the study. Out of total 577
plants collected and recorded for their presence, 148 were salal, which is the most abundant plant
in the study site.
It grows in USDA zone 5-9 and grows best in partial shade, acidic and well draining soil. These
plants are less likely to be edible by deer. They are drought resistant and also hold capability to
grow in the dry weather and full sun. That may be the reason for their high abundance in the
study site.
Discussion
Data Interpretation: The salal are the woodland plants growing in partial shade, a bark chips
layer usually spread over the soil surface maintains the coolness and dampness of the roots in hot
weather. The plant attain 5 ft height in shady locations while when grown in open direct sunlight,
it can reach only 1-2 feet height (Dyer, 2018).

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The Oregon grape grows in USDA zone 5-9 and grow best in dense or partial shade (Myers,
2019). It grows better in moist and humus rich soil. Similarly, huckleberry a perennial shrub
grows to 10 feet when grown in shady conditions in USDA zone 7-9. All these plants require
acidic and moist soil.
Most of the fruit bearing shrubs like different types of berries crop and grow well in shady areas
mainly during the summer season (BBC Gardners’ World Magazine, 2019). These berries grow
well in north or west facing directions and use very less sunlight for their growth.
In addition to it, there are several non native species in abundance in western Oregon. Most of
the grasses and composites were difficult to identify even though we tried identifying during
peak phenology. One of the most essential factors determining the species distribution is shade
tolerance. For instance, Scotch broom is found to be more sensitive to canopy cover in
comparison to other stand density measures (Feng & Zhao, 2018). Himalayan blackberry was
identified to be more sensitive to basal area. The basal area increases at lower rate than the
canopy cover, the Himalayan blackberry is more tolerant to shade than other berries (United
States Department of Agriculture [USDA], n.d.). Most of these shrubs can persist at closed
canopy stands and are not associated to any particular climate variable. It may be the reason for
their higher ability to spread further in the forests and gardens. Their seeds are also dispersed by
the birds.
The annual temperature range of the area and the frequency of species are positively related
(Lorain, 2010). The frequency fades up with increasing height of the plant. In dried hilly areas,
we can find Oregon white oak, and other commonly low growing shrubs like huckleberry,
Oregon grape and salal. Doughlas fir is the most widely found on the top floor of hilly slopes.
Conclusion
The study site had a broad range of vegetation and climate. It includes warm dry valleys and
warm and moist coastline. The majority of non native plants is abundant in thinned land areas
and is primarily associated to stand density rather than the climate. It is found that the non native
species are highly abundant in the stands with youngest and smallest trees. Most of the plants in

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this region are shrubs which grow in wide range of sunlight though they grow best in shady
areas.

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Literature Cited
BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine (2019). 10 of the best fruit crops for shade. Retrieved from
https://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/10-best-fruit-crops-for-shade/
Dyer,M.H.(2018). Salal Plant Info: Tips On Growing Salal Plants. Retrieved from
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/salal/growing-salal-
plants.htm
Feng, J., Zhao, K., He, D., Fang, S., Lee, T., Chu, C., & He, F. (2018). Comparing shade
tolerance measures of woody forest species. PeerJ, 6, e5736. doi:10.7717/peerj.5736
Lorain,D.(2010). Afoot and Afield: Portland/Vancouver: A Comprehensive Hiking Guide.
Berkeley: Wilderness Press.
Myers,V.R.(2019). Growing Oregon Grapes in Your Home Garden. Retrieved from
https://www.thespruce.com/oregon-grape-profile-3269178
Oregon Department of Forestry (2019). Native plants and trees of Oregon. Retrieved from
https://www.oregon.gov/ODF/Documents/AboutODF/NativeTreesPlants.pdf
Oregon State University (2012). Growing Your own. Retrieved from
https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/catalog/files/project/pdf/em9027.pdf
Rapp,V.(2015). Invasive plants in 21st century landscapes. Oregon: Pacific Northwest Research
Station.
United States Department of Agriculture [USDA], (n.d.). Proceedings of the fourth annual forest
inventory and Analysis Symposium. New Orleans: North Central Research Station.

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