Reflection on forests study trips
- 1. Reflection on Summer Bridge’s study trips to El Yunque Tropical Forest and Guánica’s Dry Forest. By: Angélica M. González Sánchez After visiting El Yunque National Pluvial Forest and the Guánica Dry Forest we can determine that the differences between these two ecosystems are drastically evident. According to our inquire and as shown by the soil’s condition as well as by the organisms’ adaptations, while El Yunque receives about 200 inches of water per year, the Guánica Dry Forest remains with less than 30 inches.We can conclude that this is caused by their different geographical locations and altitude. By our experience on both ecosystems, we can determine that the humidity in El Yunque is a lot higher than in Guánica, while the temperature is lower in the Pluvial Forest; unfortunately we didn’t have quantitative data from Guánicaon these topics to compare. Because of the qualitative evidence shown by the adaptations of plants on both forests, we can also deliberate that evolutionary variations result from adjustments of the organisms to their environmental requirements. We could observe the evident differences between the variations of the vegetation that have resulted from natural selection: in El Yunque, most of the plants were taller, leafier and had bigger leaves, while in Guánica Dry Forest the plants had smaller, fewer leaves and were lower. As we can see, the survival conditions of the organisms are directly related to the conditions of their habitat. According to our observations, some other factors, such as the pH, the wind velocity, the competition of other organisms in the area, the different reproduction cycles, between others also seem to affect the organisms’ variations according. While comparing the data collecting methods used on both expeditions we can conclude that they are very different from each other, but that they both reached their inquire objectives very well. As a group, we would recommend to use the same research techniques on both forests because that way it would be easier and more effective to compare the obtained facts. In conclusion, we would say that this trips were enriching experiences because they allowed us to see some of the natural resources of our Island form both a tourist and a scientific perspective. From my point of view, our trip to El Yunque Tropical Forest was a remarkable experience to our lives. Just the fact that we walked so much to go to the top of the mountain and the view at the top of it was something outstanding. By taking samples of the soil and making measurements we learned new techniques on how to take nature samples such as the pH of the soil, the humidity, the velocity of the wind in that area and many other things. Our objective was to experiment the feeling of going to a tropical forest and introducing ourselves to sampling, and we certainly reached them. We were also capable of observing the great multiplicity of creatures that live in this huge forest, as well as their exceptional adaptations and how, mostly because of men, these adaptations haven’t been enough to make them survive, making them become
- 2. endangered species. Because of all these, this trip was a unique experience for our scientific lives. In our trip to Guánica’s Dry Forest was a very particular trip. Since we got on the bus, we started learning a lot about the forest, for what I can say that we filled ourselves with knowledge about it. Once in the forest, we started getting a tour in it and learning about all the plants, especially about the mellow cactucs and the agave. The most interesting thing that I learned about these plants was the special adaptations that they have to survive in this arid ecosystem, such as their thorns. After our tour through the forest, we started making two types of sampling which resulted innovative to me. These were line transect and line transect. Both of these samples resulted quite appealing because the allowed us to concretely observe the organisms of the forest. It really amazed me all the diversity found in the forest despite its hard survival conditions. These two fieldtrips were amazing and unforgettable. Acknowledging that all these things that we did and learned will be useful and constructive for a near future it’s even a bigger satisfaction that we get from these trips. Also, the techniques learned will be very helpful for future studies. From these trips we were able to realize, once again, that the beauty and wonders of our island are beyond description and how unfortunate it is that people are damaging and destroying them.