Between 1530 and 1700 I observed Hunter Park during spring on May 10th, 2022. Hunter park is in Langley, British Columbia and off of 45 avenue in Langley city. While it is in Langley city, it is close to the border of the township of Langley. The weather was sunny but somewhat cloudy and there was a light cool constant breeze. The park is shaped in a rectangle and is roughly 180-200 meters long and 35-40 meters wide. It is a city park that has a small playground and a few gravel walking paths. The park is flat with no hills but does have many large cedar trees. Many different types of shrubs, tree species, and garden weeds were observed. Some trees were taken down from the park due to laminated root rot, but large stumps still remain.
I started by walking around the park taking in everything and then after that, I sat down on a stump to write down my thoughts and sketch out an overview of the park layout. I was fascinated with the dandelions and their bright yellow glow. In addition to dandelions, there were many other common weeds such as plantains and clovers.
While there are walking paths and most of the park is well maintained there are areas that grow free of landscaping and their biodiversity is much greater than the highly trafficked areas. As you go away from the path and closer to the unmaintained area there is an increase in the density and diversity of different lawn weed species.
Questions:
- How do the large stumps that have not been removed affect the surrounding plant and animal life, specifically mosses?
- How does the lawn weed density and diversity change with regard to varying levels of human activity?
- How do Cedar trees affect biodiversity in parks?
Cheers,
Reid Marriott (T00716013)