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> The first day of work in the tundra, Working out in the plots
Tom_Crumrine
post Jun 16 2005, 04:49 AM
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15 June 2005

I think it is the 15th. I’m really quite tired. This constant light really takes a little getting used to. Its not that I can’t sleep or anything like that, its just that with the sun so bright all the time you feel like you should be acting like it is noon-when really it is 8:30 at night.

Today we went up to the plots that Donie works on and I learned how to help out with what she does. The work she is doing this year deals with species removal. There are 102 -- 2x3 meter plots. Within those there are 17 experimental treatments ranging from plots where nothing is done at all to plots where moss, dwarf birch, labrador tea all removed. Each of the 17 treatments is repeated 6 times.

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We spent the day doing the hard work of removing certain species from certain plots. In order to not disturb the tundra too much there is a system of ladders and walking platforms from where the work is done. This certainly protects the tundra but it also makes you have to reach down quite a ways to pull out various species.

Luckily I had a great instructor for today. Donie’s husband Peter not only taught me what to do but gave me a mini lesson on plants and mosses of the arctic. I would have had to have a recorder to remember everything he said but I think with a few weeks of species removal behind me I will be able to remember quite a few of them. I also got to work with Donie's friend Eugene, and her student assistants Joe, Meredith and Greg. They have all been super nice and helpful so I thought I would thank them for their kindness by including a candid shot of them at lunch.

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This picture shows the bug jackets that we have all been wearing. The weather has been warm (80s) and the wet surroundings have been perfect for breeding mosquitoes. There was a slight wind that kept them down today but if that goes away they will be swarming like crazy. I do prefer them to the black flies of New Hampshire though--if I was forced to choose the lesser of two evils.

The day reminded me of the “species removal” I did for Mrs. Choate up on Squam. She liked her blueberry patches free of ferns so I spent the good part of the summer a few years ago pulling ferns for her. This was a little more interesting since there were so many different types of moss. It also helped that Donie had so clearly laid out why we were doing all of this.

She is interested in how species respond to changes in the environment. So she is looking at what happens when species are removed from certain areas. For example when all the moss is removed from a plot—what will happen? She has been working on this project since 1997 so she has quite a bit of data. I think I’ll wait for tomorrow to begin sharing some of that with you.
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