Moist Evergreen Forest Niche

I walked the lower Strawberry Canyon Fire Trail to find organisms of moist evergreen forest.

1. Millipedes (Class Diplopoda) - I found this organism under a rotting log. It is well suited for moist evergreen because it seems to thrive in moist dark places which are abundant under the shadows of the trees and the layers of rotting plant material on the ground.
2. Beard Lichens (Genus Usnea) - I found this organism growing on the branch of a dying tree. This is typical of bearded lichen that grow on dying trees with less foliage so they have access to more light for photosynthesis. Also the moisture in a moist evergreen forest probably allows it to flourish despite the fact that its host is dying and drying out.
3. Red-flowering Currant (Ribes sanguineum) -This organism was found growing in the strawberry creek canyon. It has big leaves which make it productive in a shady climate because it can absorb as much sunlight as possible. This plant can live in both moist shady regions and more dry open regions which is why it is so abundant in the Berkeley and Oakland hills which have both of these climates.
4. Unidentified plants (Kingdom Plantae) - This organism was found growing on the fire trails. One person on inaturalist thinks that it is some type of geranium but it is hard to tell because it was not flowering. It looks like a plant that can live successfully in soil that is covered with lots of rotting plant material and has big leaves to take in as much sun as possible.
5. Unidentified Mushroom (Kingdom Fungi) - This organism was found right near the Clark Kerr track field. It was growing in the shade and partially under a log. It loves moist atmosphere and wet soil which and does very well in a moist evergreen forest.

Posted on February 20, 2013 09:30 PM by miriamm