This year’s Last Chance Audubon Society/Carroll College $1000 award goes to Hannah Winn in support of her senior research project, “Age and growth rate of trees along forest-meadow ecotones”. (Note: An ecotone is the boundary between two different plant communities.) Identifying at least two forest-meadow boundary sites in the Helena area that exhibit small tree growth extending into meadows, and based on field and published research, Hannah proposes to gain a better understanding of how climate change may affect tree growth within the forest-meadow boundary areas. The goal is to identify the possible long-term affects climate change may have on habitats, birds and other organisms by focusing on the factors influencing the growth rate of trees. (Thanks to Janice Miller and to Bob Martinka for their help in reviewing and commenting on Hannah’s proposal; and to Stephen Turner for his assistance in helping with communications.
If you would like a copy of Hannah’s research proposal, contact Sumner Sharpe at mtnutmeg@gmail.com.) The research proposal will also be posted on the LCAS website in the future.
Sumner Sharpe