Ecological Survey of the Makeup of a Plot of Land One-Hundredth of an Acre at the Kalamazoo Nature Center

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to make an ecological, primarily qualitative, survey of a 21' by 21' plot of land. Weather data were recorded from the marsh plot and from the beech plot, a piece of land in a beech-maple forest situated 40 ft above the marsh area. The survey investigated the physical and biological factors of importance as limiting factors as they affect the marsh study plot. Animal and plant communities of the marsh study plot were, determined and discussed. The study period was from 1 November 1968 to 31 January 1969. The data support soil moisture concentration as the main determining factor for the types of plants that grow on the marsh study plot. Light, wind, snow, rain, pH, glacial deposition, stream soil deposition, plot 1og, man, neighboring trees, and elevation of land were discussed as influential factors affecting the marsh plot.