Rosy Mound Nature Center Blog!!!!!

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My Day at Rosy Mound Nature Center- Report

I had a good time when I went to Rosy Mound. When we started hiking to the beach, i didn't even think of looking at the dunes and appreciating the natural beauty of them. once we got to the beach we learned how the marram grass traps the sand, how the sand got here and what dune succession is. Next, we saw how other organisms lived in their ecosystem and interacted with  their surrounding resources. We learn more and more interesting things until we meet all up and head to the Forested Dune. We realize how the whole dune was bare sand and succession turned it into a light soil layer and a forest. After walking through all of the ecosystems, Beach, Foredune, Trough, and Forested Dune, we were on our way home and i was soaking up all of the information i learned. Dunes are truly amazing places i think everyone has to see at least once.

Importance of Dunes

Sand dunes are important because they aid in the prevention of erosion of beaches. They also provide a necessary habitat for many species. These Sand Dunes show us the process of succession that other places don't. If there were no sand dunes, no wind, no marram grass, there would be a very small population and Rosy Mound Nature center would not exist. Not only are dunes good teachers but good sightseers and a great place to sit by and relax. Thats why it is so important we protect them. one way to protect sand dunes it to walk of the trails, not on the dunes itself. This provides protection for animals and plant species in that dune area. Another way humans can help protect the Dune ecosystem is to pick up trash littering the dunes, even if it is not yours. This will make it so everyone can see the dune's beauty for themselves.

Plants of Rosy Mound

Pitcher's Thistle- Trough

Beech Tree- Forested dune

Marram Grass- Foredune

Sand Cherry Bush- Trough

Juniper- Trough

Oak Tree- Trough



















Pine Tree Seedlings - Trough























Hairy Spinifex- Beach

Animal in the Forested Dune

Forested Dune.....
Squirrels thrive in the forested dune because there are a lot of acorns there because of the abundance of the trees.

Animal on the Beach

On the Beach.....
Seagulls live on the beach and its easy for them to survive because it is on the water shore so it makes it easy to hunt both on land and on sea.

Animal in the Trough

In the Trough......
Wolf spiders are well adapted to the Trough because the ground (sand) is good and cool to make their burrows underground.

Animal in the Foredune....

The Foredune......
Granivorous birds eat seeds of the Marram Grass and because of this those birds are well suited to live in the area with all of the marram grass.

Marram Grass

Beach grass is clearly one of the most critically important dune plants. Marram grass has long roots that intertwine through all of the sand and the new sand buries on top of each other. This helps keep the sand more compacted in the dune. Marram grass "grasps" the sand a traps it in the plant this helps to form the entire dune. Marram grass thrives in a harsh, wind-blown sandy environment. Once the Marram grass has stabilized the soil, it creates an environment no longer suitable for its own species. This is the main succession concept. Marram grass creates a good enviroment for many organisms and creatures.  

Effect of The Great Lakes on the dunes

The Great Lakes Have Prevailing winds, a good source of sand, and marram grass to trap the sand to make a dune. The sand is made of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks and was brought by glaciers. 

How To Make a Sand Dune!

1. Source of sand 
2. Lots of wind
3. Vegetation to trap the moving sand

Succession from the Trough to the Forested Dune

From the Trough to the Forested Dune, it is all forest. Trees are held in barely by a thin layer of soil that laid itself on top of sand and because of this, it shows us how this Forested Dune (hence the name) went through succession to survive. 

When Lumber was abundant beyond imaginable, Lumberjacks went through this Forest and  cut down most of the trees. It has gone through succession and replaced the specific types of trees with new ones. this picture shows another way close to the lumberjacks, natural disasters.

Succession from the Foredune to the Trough

From the Foredune to the trough, a lot of things change. There are new organisms and plants than by the beach. there is barely and Marram grass because it is not needed when sand doesn't blow. There are only sun-loving shrubs and plants because there is less sun. Once, the blowout leading to the forest in the trough was a full forest then was replaced with some sand and new organisms.

Succession from the Beach to the Foredune

On the beach, there is no vegetation with little organisms living there. About 50 ft. over, marram grass becomes present. This picture tells us how the foredune is created. 

When the sand is blown inland from the beach, the tall blades of the Marram grass catch the sand and it falls down and covers the plant. Marram grass continuously grows as it is coverered, spreading its root-like rhizomes out to connect with other Marram grass plants to create a large network of webbing which keeps the sand from moving very far. 

Once, the place where the foredune was, was all glaciers. The sand was carried south into Michigan by the glaciers. This is an example of succession. Another example is that somewhere, Marram grass was planted or also blown in the wind. Because of this, the sand was caught like in the diagram and began the start of the dune. The grass was not present before and it helped the whole ecosystem prosper. 

Succession

Succession is the replacement of one type of community by another at a single location over a period of time

A good example of succession is if a forest gets burnt down, after a long period of time, new organisms live in the ecosystem and their is a new amount of organisms and species creating a whole new ecosystem. The plants involved are trees, basic shrubbery and bushes.  

At Rosy mound, succession happens when the marram grass in the foredune creates a more suitable environment for other plants like Oak trees, Pine trees, beach trees, and sand cherry trees etc. These plants create shade for plants who need less sun. This creates a forested dune!