|
Come back to this page each day to read another entry from Frederick R. Gehlbach's almanac of suburban natural and unnatural history, "Messages from the Wild," which chronicles the world of a forested ravine in central Texas.
|
 |
Cold air is heavy and falls, displacing warmer air, so the ravine bottom is colder than my home hillside, especially before sunrise. Creekside trees grow leaves and wildflowers bloom a week later than their hillside counterparts in the spring, and the trees turn color and lose leaves about a week earlier in autumn. Yet the disadvantages of a colder, shorter growing season are offset by water availability and protection from storm damage. Tree rings show that creekside trees grow somewhat faster than hillside trees in the more limited time they have available each year, reminding me about the principle of compensation. |
Frederick R. Gehlbach is Professor Emeritus of Biology and Environmental Studies at Baylor University. His ecological studies have taken him from New Zealand to Slovakia and, in the Americas, from Alaska and Newfoundland to Guatemala, Belize and Honduras. His research interests include the life-history strategies of small owls, small burrowing snakes and urban wildlife ecology.
From MESSAGES FROM THE WILD: AN ALMANAC OF SUBURBAN NATURAL AND UNNATURAL HISTORY by Frederick R. Gehlbach, Copyright © 2002. Courtesy of the University of Texas Press.
|
