Owen Clarkin

Unido: 27.dic.2015 Última actividad: 27.mar.2024 iNaturalist Patrocinador mensual desde julio 2021

My main focus is woody plants, and trees in particular. I am especially interested in uncommon native species (which may have been more common historically) and catching early stage naturalization of alien species. A main motivation is to find and document native populations (including "new" populations) of trees/shrubs/life before they perhaps be lost/extirpated, and prevent erroneous conclusions in the future that maybe "it was were never there in the first place": i.e., if there wasn't photographic proof to the contrary. As such my photos of trees/shrubs are aimed to document multiple features of each plant and leave as little doubt as reasonably achievable regarding species ID. For some trees of interest visible only at a distance (e.g. view from a road of a tree on what may be private property), often high-zoom photography is sufficient to make a confident species ID (e.g. growth form, apparent habitat, colours, twig/bark/leaf/flower/fruit/cone details, "gestalt").

Some trees of conservation concern (e.g. Butternut, American Chestnut) receive significant and deserved attention already so I tend to focus on problems which I think deserve more attention and get very little, such as the Elms (especially Rock and Slippery Elms), and Spruces (especially Red Spruce).

My philosophy is to upload what I noted on a particular hike, with a goal to be comprehensive regarding trees/shrub species I encountered on a trip, and additionally any other lifeforms that caught my interest.

Some recent lectures available on Youtube:
Elms of Eastern Canada and the Northeastern United States
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snB81si0qVo

Red Spruce in Eastern Ontario: No Longer Hiding in Plain Sight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yc-LyJzhceM

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