Bear Creek Park, Surrey BC
Location: I have selected to observe Bear Creek Park in Surrey, 49°55’51″N, 119°31’18″W, British Columbia. Its surface area is about 158 hectares (151 hectares of upland and 7 hectares of foreshore) offering a diverse mix of landscapes and ecosystems and is located near 88th Avenue and King George Boulevard.
Topography: The forest has relatively flat regions with some slopes. It has different walking paths, a creek, and some areas of forest. The park includes both open grassy and wooded areas.
Vegetation: The vegetation is native trees, such as Douglas fir and cedar, with some ornamental plants. The area has shaded regions with different plants including moss, making it a great site for studying moss growth patterns. Also wetlands and grassy areas exist in the park.
Potential Gradients:
The park has different areas of wetland zones around the creek. The drier areas change to the wetter regions and the areas around the creek seem a unique habitat for a variety of plant and animal species.
Light: Different levels of sunlight
Elevation: Sharp changes in elevation
Designation: Bear Creek Park is designated by City of Surrey and has recreational amenities such as walking paths, gardens, and picnic areas. The variety of vegetation and the natural space of the park makes it an ideal place for ecological research.
I visited the park on July 18, 2024, at around 6 PM. It was a sunny, day with temperatures around 25°C. It is early fall, and deciduous trees are changing color, but park is still mostly green. Potentially, the subject I may choose to study for my research project in the Bear Creek Park can be topics such as mosses, bird species, small mammals, and the ecosystem around the lake in the park. I observed several regions with mosses in shaded and some mosses in sunlit places. These two different regions and the consequences for the growth rate of mosses can be chosen for further research.
Questions:
How does sunlight influence the diversity and abundance of moss species in different parts of Green Timbers Urban Forest?
What effect does soil moisture have in determining the growth and distribution of moss in the forest?
How can the walking paths impact the growth of moss?