#packera

Drier hillside, Richardson preserve, section of depositional karst conglomerate based hillside. Open woodland sections with dry soils surrounded by mesic zones often have their own unique forbe community compared to the rest of the forest. In this photoset the light glazes over many different members that make up this mixing composition. twords the base of the hill we see normal mesic riparian floodplain and flat species such as Phlox divaricata,  Thalictrum thalictroides,  Geranium maculatum, Polemonium reptans, Polemonium reptans. A species more prominent in mesic areas yet mixed into all sections of the forest floor mosaic is Delphinium tricorne, Collinsia verna ( an annual) too. The drier sections show signs of mainly  Packera obovata, though what’s also apparent in the drier sections is what’s to come,  Camassia scilloides and  Allium cernuum. 

Adaptation to water requirements and being more associated to a niche based on soil chemistry can be a fairly obvious thing once you see your plant communities change, species do prefer an active site and will “compete” or rather fill in the niche better, have higher fetality(reproductive success of seed made), recruitment ( new individuals that actively are found and may establish) and Natality( a true function of recruitment, a rate at which the species propagates(new recruits/total population in area)),  if site requirements favor the species over another that is coevolved in the same region. Looking at these mosaics also gives you a spatial reference for the size of the habitat/deposit/site of interest and may even tell you the potential for other species that are of more interest that could be hidden. Zones where more establishment long term meet a zone or area with high average mortality or low average species specific density form a theoretical fluctuating border to the realized niche, while the theoretical boarder may be in flux due to active recruitment, the yearly average or areas with commonly low density can be considered a indiscrete abrupt area that boarders a potential edge or theoretical/fundamental niche edge. Competition favoring a new/ different species over a species that was already there can also eventually disrupt this border so these things are considered somewhat transient or always having potential fluctuations ecologically speaking. 

Atlantic Woodland Cammas, Camassia scilloides