Physical Characteristics

The Pine forest of UBC-Okanagan covers quite a wide area. My chosen area of the forest was on a slight incline up and above the Residences of the school. The forest is filled mainly with clustered Ponderosa Pine trees and some Douglas Fir trees all standing skinny and tall. The prominent Ponderosa Pine's have a orange/ brown tinge to them, covered over top with patchy brown and black bark. The lower half of the trees are quite scraggly, stuffed with twisted, sharp branches with little to no greenery. As you climb the tree, the long green needles appear on the branches in bundles of three. They are yellow/ greenish and are very flexible and thin. The needles protrude at the end of the winding branches, and they cluster together. The trees are quite skinny, with no large or full trunks. The forest is very open and light compared to boreal or tropical forests, but is becoming more and more dense as the future proceeds. Fire suppression in the Okanagan valley is causing the over growth of trees in this area, blocking out sunlight that is supposed to widely reach the ground. The forest floor is littered with tons of Pine needle debris, again, more than normal because of over population. This over time can cause the soils to change acidity. The floor is also covered with approximately 8 cm long Pine cones, small and large rocks, and various sized wood debris. There are a lot of sticks and logs strewn about from the Ponderosa's, many of them covered in mosses and lichen. Lifting up some of these logs can expose many insects and spiders living in the area who prefer darkness. Another thing evident in this landscape is the lower elevation, forest floor species. There are a lot of various grasses, small bushes and plants covering the ground. One of these species, which isn't alive during the colder months, is the sunflower. During this month of October, it now lays decaying on the Pine needle strewn ground. Another thing I have come across is rocks with Lichens holding on. Since this is a fire managed ecosystem, fire remnants exist. There are many stumps with fire scars appearing on the wood, turning it to charcoal. The stumps, as told by Don Gayton of Okanagan Odyssey, have strange, mushroom like shapes caused by the fires roaring up the hill side and burning on one side, causing the tree to grow around the fire damaged parts. The forest runs alongside a dirt road and a rocky canal for water flow. This allows a lot of UBC-O students to venture up the road and into the forest, adding garbage and beverage debris into the natural environment. I have noticed particularly during this time of year (October and Early November) that there has been rainfall and damp periods, adding to the moss and lichen growth. During the summer months this area would be drier and less green, during the wetter, colder months a contrasted situation. Another thing about this forest is there is a series of trail systems put forth by the University. This allows students to easily navigate through the natural space. The forest all together has a precise balance to it, being the ratio of Ponderosa Pine trees to the forest floor ecosystem. Together, with equal balance, the forest is a functioning environment.