Observation of Marmot Dam at Sandy River

The interesting thing that surprised me was the date of construction of the Dam from  1930 to 2007. In my mind, I did not think the people already had the capacity to build the Dam. Basically, when you look at both sides of the river you can see the differentiation of the forest. One side is covered with conifer trees, and the other with deciduous trees. 

  

Indeed, the decision made to destroy the Dam shows that the people value the wildlife in Oregon. That's interesting, isn't it? In my perspective,  I think that it was a good decision to conserve and protect the fish species in Sandy river. As the person gave us the tour said, the fish needs space and distance to travel back and forth in the river. Good one!!

In the riparian zone of the Dam removal there is a secondary succession taking place where the trees start to grow by testing the soil to see which species will thrive. Definitely, I saw seedling Douglas firs among the species growing after the removal. Then, a part of the Marmot contains rock that we can consider as the primary succession there are not even trees in that space. This helps me understand the differentiation of the ecological succession of plants.

In the southern part of Marmot Dam the overstory forest is comprised of Douglas firs that can be considered co-dominant trees. In fact,  it is a secondary succession forest, and it is an even age forest where the establishment of the plant age class forms natural seeding. Basically, the trees compete to fight for nutrients, and to get more sun because with more sun a tree grows faster.

My focus on the soil in the southern part is really meaningful to me by observing and touching the soil. Eventually, the soil is like a sponge, that is a good thing. The more aerated the soil the better the trees grow. And then, the woody debris plays an important role in the forest to contribute the nutrient for the trees after the decomposition by fungi.