Changing of Greens

 As we transition from summer into winter, we enter the season where there is little to no growth. Most plants and some animals start to hibernate and the animals that fly migrate south to stay in conditions where they will continue to thrive. For the most part this is exactly what is happening in my space. There has been a noticeable decrease in activity since my visit in September- last month I saw deer, frogs, turtles, squirrels, and lots of caterpillars and butterflies, but this month there is a lack of most of those species. I saw a few squirrels and a frog but no deer, turtles, caterpillars, or butterflies. This is most likely due to the temperature dropping as we go from fall to winter. These temperatures result in many animals hibernating or migrating as the conditions outside are no longer favorable for them. This is the same for plants, as most of the trees and flowers are going into hibernation, as there is a considerable amount of leaves on the ground and decaying flowers. Trees that are low are dropping their leaves at a more rapid pace than those that are higher up due to them obtaining less sunlight than the ones that are above them. This reduction in sunlight leads to less productivity as photosynthesis rates decrease, which therefore results in a reduced growth rate. This is shown through the changing of leaf colors and the leaves eventually falling. Leaves are green due to chlorophyll, but when the leaves don’t get as much sunlight, the leaves start to change color due to reduced chlorophyll. This reduction leads to low energy which results in stunted growth, meaning the leaves falling is eventually inevitable. This all is what I expected when I visited. What was not expected was the lush green over the pond despite the colder temperatures. 

When I visited my landscape, I figured that it wouldn’t be as vibrant and full of green colors, but rather, orange, red, and brown colors contaminating the area. It therefore surprised me and left me questioning why the pond was still so full of lush green life. The green that I noticed is mainly one species, known as Parrot’s feather, accompanied by Lemnoideae. The lemnoideae have been on the pond and from what I’ve been observing, are still progressing over it despite cooler temperatures. Parrot’s feather is an aquatic plant native to South America- specifically the Amazon River basin- but has become an invasive species on all continents excluding Antarctica. This species has most likely been in the pond for a while and is only now showing itself, as it has five foot long stems and can grow to a foot above the surface of water. Connecting back to the trees, as the leaves fall and decompose in the pond, nutrients are released. The excess nutrients make sense why parrot’s feather exists here, as they thrive in nutrient-rich waters.