One of the reasons I decided to apply to the Spring Creek Field Studies Program was to learn more deeply about how Earth systems interact to shape the world we see in front of us. Over the first half of the course, I was fascinated by the different plant communities we saw on the preserve and in national forests, mostly because of how they can shape abiotic components in an environment. Some species like saltbush have adapted to the salt-rich soils of the prairie and actually take in some of those salts. Others like clover can transform nonreactive forms of nitrogen into compounds that other plants can use. 

Looking around at the complex plant communities I’ve seen in Wyoming, I wondered if streambank habitat characteristics, specifically vegetation type and surface cover, could influence the availability of nitrogen in the aquatic environment. To study this, I chose two sites on the North Fork of the Little Laramie River: a riparian forest and a shrub-dominated wetland. I hypothesized that whichever habitat had a larger amount of nitrogen-fixing vegetation and less large woody plants should have higher concentrations of bioavailable forms of nitrogen. 

In my field work, I tested both habitats for ammonia, a form of nitrogen that is produced by bacteria, decomposers, and waste products, to assess the difference in nutrient dynamics between the two sites. I chose a 50-meter stretch at both sites and tested three different locations in each for ammonia and other parameters affecting water chemistry like temperature and pH. At these locations, I also measured vegetation cover and identified vegetation type and species up to 10 meters away from the water to get an idea of how streambank and wetland vegetation could influence the nitrogen cycle in a habitat. To standardize my data collection, I collected data at the 0-, 25-, and 50-meter marks at both of my transects. To collect data on vegetation, I established 10-meter transects perpendicular to each of these points and measured vegetative cover over the same surface area using a Daubenmire frame at the 0-, 5-, and 10-meter marks. 

I don’t expect to get crystal clear, conclusive results from two days of research at only two sites. But the work and the raw data I collected were helpful, even if they only end up helping me identify new patterns and other trends I want to ask questions about. I look forward to analyzing my data in the last two, short weeks we have left before heading home, and I can’t wait to share with all of you what I’ve learned.

All the best, 

Lillian