Field Trip Report

Amity to Lincoln City, OR

My route started in Amity, Oregon.  From there I made my way along Highway 18, up and over the Coastal Range, to Highway 101 leading to Lincoln City, Oregon.  I made stops in Sheridan, H.B. Van Duzer State Park, and Lincoln City and observed the changes in vegetation from the valley to the coast as well as possible disturbances to the surrounding area.  My wife went with me on this trip.  I received her cooperation by promising that our final stop would be at the Outlet Mall.

The objective of this trip was to get a picture of how the vegetation changes moving from east to west, valley to coast, lower elevation to higher elevation.  I will took careful notice of how occasional bad weather, climate, topography, and different disturbances have affected the levels and types of vegetation.  I hope to have fun on this trip in spite of the fact that I am not well versed with the subject matter.  My conclusions will most likely come from a layman’s perspective.

My trip provided me with different gradients along the way.  There were two different elevation gradients as I moved from the western edge of the Willamette Valley up through the Coastal Range and down into Lincoln City.  The climate experienced change as well.  Living in Oregon for many years, I know that the Valley and the Coast often have the opposite weather.  This is because the Valley is an inland climate while the Coast has a maritime coastal climate.  In general, Ohmann and Spies spoke well of Oregon’s vast differences from east to west.  They wrote, “Within Oregon and for the range of geographic extents we examined, variation in the environmental correlates of species gradients was more strongly associated with geographic location than with geographical extent, although topographic factors explained slightly more variation at smaller geographic extents” (Ohmann and Spies 1998).

The spatial extent of this trip extended about 70 km from east to west (Amity to the Coast), and about 5 km north to south (the Coast to Lincoln City).  The grain of observation for each stop varied.  Our first stop (Sheridan) had a grain of 1-5 meters as it was easily observed (few trees).  However, our stop at the H.B. Van Duzer State Park required about 30 meters or more because more walking was required to see what was around.  The final stop’s gradient on the beach depended greatly on my wife’s feet at that time. 

The remainder of this report will entail quite a few things.  First, I will show you the route I followed, stop by stop.  Then, in detail, I will explain and illustrate what plant species I saw at these different sites.  I will focus on a couple of species that caught my attention as either weird or interesting.  Finally, I will summarize my trip in such a way that it will be my report in a nutshell, without all of the niceties in between.

Route Taken:

http://www.mapquest.com/directions/main.adp?mo=ma&1ex=1&src=maps&un=k&go=1&2ex=1&1c=Amity&1g=Znr3uIrMnv7thFZKONXwEg%3d%3d&2tabval=address&1l=YYHUROMbGns%3d&2c=Lincoln%20City&cl=EN&2g=KsPbuF%2fCmeLlj6zVwSvyYg%3d%3d&1s=OR&2l=Q%2b5E%2bvHOHmg%3d&ct=NA&1v=ZIP&2n=Lincoln&1y=US&1tabval=address&1z=97101&2s=OR&2v=CITY&2y=US

Time	Km	Stop	What I expect to see at this stop	Notes
10:00	0	Amity, OR	Small town; buildings, grass, a few deciduous trees	Starting Point of Trip
10:20	20	Sheridan, OR	Grass and hay fields; sparse trees out in the open, but more trees towards the west	Typical vegetation for valley floor before elevation change; smaller scale within this stop
11:30	35	H.B. Van Duzer State Park	Lots of deciduous trees; possible disturbances and/or human intervention near or around forest (obviously not in forest because of protections); change of climate should be noteworthy; this stop will require a bit more walking in order to observe the underbrush as well as the trees	The change in elevation should be apparent from the first stop to this one; how is the climate different?
12:45	20	The Beach, Lincoln City	Limited trees; shrubbery and different types of vegetation along or near rocks; soil is not conducive to an abundance of trees; level of wind is much greater than in the valley	Pay attention to the levels of humidity as compared to the valley; does climate affect soil types?
2:30	2	Outlet Malls	A lot of clothes that we probably don’t need; my wife will be happy	Keep track of expenditures

            Our trip began in Amity, Oregon.  This small town is at the very edge of the Willamette valley.  What characterizes Amity, other than small businesses, apartments, and houses is its fields.  This becomes even more prevalent when heading to Sheridan.  Most of the vegetation in town (Amity) has been planted, so I would not call it indigenous, although they can survive in this climate.  Below are a few examples of tress that have been planted in this climate.

            The vast majority of trees in Amity are from fir or pine species.  The heights vary greatly.  They can range anywhere from 2 to 15+ meters.  However, these trees are separated so much that it is difficult to effectively demonstrate height difference with a camera.  Shrubs, as seen in the middle, are also quite prevalent.

The next stop was in Sheridan where it was much easier to see the valley merge with the mountains.  Sheridan is used quite a bit for farming.  That makes it necessary to have sizeable fields away from trees.  The following pictures identify the environment of Sheridan.

It is apparent that smaller trees and shrubs dominate this area.  I did not see very many larger evergreen

or deciduous trees.  The picture above shows some type of fruit, probably pears on a pear tree.  I could be wrong.

What most fascinated me about this area were the fields surrounded by trees.  Some of the boundaries were

obviously human made.  However, it was clear that the physiognomy of the land was changing as we were

increasing in elevation.  We began in Amity, which was around 200 feet elevation.  Sheridan was not much further up (around 300-350 feet).  Nevertheless, things were changing.  The broadleaf shrubs and small trees seemed to be a nice fit for the open grass fields.  I was interested at how small changes in elevation and temperature could affect the surroundings so much.  The heights of the vegetation in this area (other that the grasses) seemed to be from 5 to 10 meters.

Our next stop was at H.B. Van Duzer State Park, which was on the outskirts of the Suislaw National Forrest.  The approximate altitude is 760 feet, which is much lower in elevation that the Cascades to the east.  It was there that we found the much larger trees and forest canopies that characterize temperate rainforests.  Evergreen trees were clearly dominant, although some broadleaf trees and shrubs filled the lower layers of the canopy.  Interestingly enough, the article “Descriptions of Terrestrial Forest Ecosystems” indicates otherwise stating, “The Oregon Coast Range Province includes the coastal mountains of western Oregon from the Columbia River south to the Middle Fork of the Coquille River. This area is dominated by forests of Douglas-fir, western hemlock, and western red cedar, with a narrow band of Sitka spruce along the coastal headlands” (Northwest Forest Plan Documents 2004).  I am probably just terrible at identifying trees, so I will trust that they know much more than I.

These pictures seem to epitomize the forests of Oregon, at least on the west side.  According to Glen MacDonald,

“Light penetration in mature canopy of the temperate rainforest is very limited.  In addition, the litter from the dominant conifers makes the soils quite acidic.  As a result, the structure of the forest is very simple, usually consisting of a continuous conifer canopy and sparse subdominant layer made up of early successional trees such as California bay (Umbellularia californica) and immature conifers.  A lower layer of shrubs includes huckleberry (Vaccinium spp.), together with a few herbs and ferns.  Thick carpets of moss are also encountered.  The canopy of the forest generally ranges from 40 to 60 m in height” (177).

It is quite evident that moisture dominates the “under canopy” in the temperate rainforest.  The huge amount of mosses and fungi is unreal.  It was difficult to see the trunks and/or branches of some trees because of the extensive moss coverings.  I was expecting to see signs of disturbances, either disasters or logging effects.  However, I did not see either.  According to Halpern and Spies, “Most stands originated after catastrophic wildfire of varying size (Henstrom and Franklin 1982, Agee 1991), although periodic, low-intensity underburns were also common in places (Teensman 1987, Morrison and Swanson 1990)” (1995).  The forest seems to have healed itself very well.  Granted, I am only speaking to the stop itself, not the drive along the way.  Clear cutting was easily seen along the way.  Logging seems to be the greatest factor determining the lives of trees along Oregon’s Coastal Range.  Debris is everywhere in logging areas, although not much in the mature forest.  Franklin, Spies and Thomas indicate “…amounts of coarse woody debris can be very high early in succession, low in mature forests, and somewhat greater in older forests” (1988).  This supports the idea that H.B. Van Duzer State Park is a mature forest and, as it appears, the government is attempting to keep it that way.

The final “scientific” stop along our journey was to Lincoln City on the beach.  Obviously, the elevation at Lincoln City was sea level.  However, the suddenness of vegetation change was amazing.  We were out of the forest only a few minutes before we hit the beach.  I had never paid much attention to that before this field trip.  The coast was characterized with lots of sand, shrubs, and brush.  “Sea-rats” (seagulls) also made for an interesting experience. 

I did not see one tree along the coastline.  The soil probably does not permit such vegetation, but grasses and shrubs were abundant along the banks.  The most influential force along the coast is the water.  Fires are not normal, but the water level affects all that it touches.  Regardless, the ocean is a beautiful sight.  I do not think I could live very far away from it.

Topographic Cross Section

Topographic cross sections tend to give a well laid out picture of a region.  A.W. Kuchler writes, “Regions, on the other hand, are parts of the surface of the earth characterized by one or more features that give such an area a certain degree of unity” (1973).  I believe this topographic cross section gives an indication as to what was seen at different elevations along my short journey and demonstrates the flow of unity of which Kuchler spoke.

                                                Evergreen, Fir, Moss

                                                                                    Broadleaf, Shrubs, Grasses

                                                                        Shrubs, Grasses, Needle leaf

Dunes, Grasses

            As odd as it may sound, I wanted to see the distribution of moss along my trip.  I figured I would see it most everywhere.  I was surprised when its occurrence in the valley was far less than in the forest.  I believe that the lack of sunlight and the abundance of moisture give moss the ability to break loose on trees or anything else it can latch on to.  It was in Amity, Sheridan, and H.B. Van Duzer State Park, but not quite as much at the beach, which was surprising.  The trees provide an atmosphere for the moss to flourish.  Moss doesn’t grow well on sand or rocks that are constantly drenched.

            Overall, this field trip and report were very challenging.  I was not expecting this course to be this in depth and I have felt like I have been playing catch up.  Nevertheless, I did enjoy noticing the different plant and animal species on the trip.  Normally I would be concerned with my destination only without truly noticing my surroundings.  In the midst of all this scientific confusion, I was able to relax enough to notice what was going on in the natural world.  I hope others were able to do the same, only have more success with the intellectual aspect.

Bibliography

“Descriptions of Terrestrial Forest Ecosystems.”  Northwest Forest Plan Documents.  2004 Oct. 13.  <pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/Chapter_4/4_1.htm>. 

Franklin, Jerry F., Spies, Thomas A. and Thomas, Ted B.  1988.  “Coarse Woody Debris in Douglas-Fir Forests of Western Oregon and Washington.”  Ecology, Vol. 69, No. 6, pp. 1689-1702.

Halpern, Charles B. and Spies, Thomas A.  1995.  “Plant Species Diversity in Natural and Managed Forests of the Pacific Northwest.”  Ecological Applications, Vol. 5, No. 4, pp. 913-934.

Kuchler, A. W.  1973.  “Problems in Classifying and Mapping Vegetation for Ecological Regionalization.”  Ecology, Vol. 54, No. 3, pp. 512-523.

MacDonald, Glen.  Biogeography: Introduction to Space, Time and Life.  Los Angeles: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2003.

Ohmann, Janet L. and Spies, Thomas A.  1998.  “Regional Gradient Analysis and Spatial Pattern of Woody Plant Communities of Oregon Forests.”  Ecological Monographs, Vol. 68, No. 2, pp. 151-182.