Our class field trips to Lake Tradition, Asahel Curtis, and the North Fork of the Teanaway have distinctly illustrated the role that elevation and distance from Puget Sound play in determining vegetation and landscape patterns. As we moved away from the Sound and up in elevation, moisture levels increased and at higher elevations temperatures decreased. We also visited these sites along a temporal continuum. We can see the effect that these spatial and temporal factors have on environmental characteristics, forest species composition, and plant phenology. In addition, we have noticed some common themes in forest ecology as demonstrated by all three of these sites. These include the effects of small-scale changes in environmental variables on the pattern of vegetation in a landscape, the response of trees and forests to disease, the role of soils and parent material in vegetation patterns, and the prevalence of growth adaptations to the environment.

Table of Contents Sound to Mountains Comparison Environmental characteristics Phenology Forest species composition Forest Ecology Paradigms Spatial heterogeneity of vegetation Disease Soils Forest Management Issues Web page developed by Catherine Pappas