We started off the morning by going back into the forest and measuring the trees. The forests are measured in grids of 1 hectare. Hopefully you guys figured it out by now, but 1 hectare is about 100 meters by 100 meters. We then broke this up into smaller grids of 10 meters by 10 meters and measured all of the trees in the 10 by 10 meter area. That’s right, every single tree that had a DBH(Diamter Breast Height) of 1 cm or more. See, learning about the metric system actually comes in handy. Scientists really do use this stuff. So I actually learned a lot of the species of trees that are found in the forest around here like Beech trees, Red and White Oak, American Holly, Iron Wood, Hickory, and Tulip Poplers. Those are just a few of the main ones. What we did was record the DBH for each tree, the species of tree, where the tree is on the X and Y axis of the grid, where the tree is in relation to other trees(Dominant, Co-dominant, Intermediate or supressed) and if the tree is living, standing dead with the top fallen off, or standing dead with the top bent. And then we went on to measure these factors for all trees in the grid until we broke for lunch. We came back and did this again after lunch and throughout the day we only finished about three 10 by 10 meter areas. The scientists will be measuring about four different areas of 1 hectare so just imagine how many hours it will take these scientists to measure these plots of land. It is quite a task and as you can see, this is just one small study that needs to be done in order to see what the effects of climate change are to forests. As you can see, it takes a lot of patience to be a scientist, but it is great being out in the woods breathing the fresh air rather than sitting at a desk in an office all day long. See if you can answer the questions below:
1.What type of data needs to be collected as I take my measurements?
2.Why do you think the species of trees are important to measure?
3.Today we split up into about three teachers per group measuring on plots of 10 meters by 10 meters. If there is an average of about 10 trees per plot and it takes the three teachers about 1 hour to measure each plot, how long would it take for 15 bankers to measure the same plot of land. (Sometimes bankers from HSBC come to the same workshop that the teachers are participating in.) See if you can get Mrs. Wago to help.
1.What type of data needs to be collected as I take my measurements?
2.Why do you think the species of trees are important to measure?
3.Today we split up into about three teachers per group measuring on plots of 10 meters by 10 meters. If there is an average of about 10 trees per plot and it takes the three teachers about 1 hour to measure each plot, how long would it take for 15 bankers to measure the same plot of land. (Sometimes bankers from HSBC come to the same workshop that the teachers are participating in.) See if you can get Mrs. Wago to help.
Labels: Second Day
posted by Brad Lewandowski @ 12:22 PM
13 Comments:
How do scientists name the trees?
Does the condition of the tree reflect the type of weather in that region?
And could the weather in that region reflect what kind of climate there is(over there)?
Your blogger,
Scott Y., Period 5
P.S. ...still waiting for that site
Yeah, first commentor!!!! Well, the first question that I wanted to ask you is how do you measure that trees? Is it more useful if you measre my meteres? Also, I wanted to know that with this "formula" for Co2, do you take into effect the height of the tree, and not just the circumference? That's all...
From,
The Melvin Miyashiro...
P.S. Would it take twelve minutes for 15 people per 10 by 10 square meters?
Good questions Scott. The scientists actually have scientific names for these plants like Quecus robur, but the common names for some of them are the ones I listed. I'm really not sure how they name species such as oak trees and maple, but I think you could find them on the internet by looking up the origin of words and finding it there. The condition of the tree reflects the weather, the competition among other trees close to it, animals in the area, and other environmental conditions like pollution. As far as the weather is concerned, it is so variable day by day that it cannot really reflect the climate or predictions of the climate that is occuring.
Alright Melvin, the first commentor! We're measuring the trees using these measuring tape devices called DBH measurers. Fancy name for a nicer measuring tape. It is more useful to measure in meters because it is part of the SI units that we talked about in class that all scientists use. With the formula for CO2, we do actually take into account the height of the tree, the circumference, as well as the density of the tree and with a fancy mathematical formula, we can calculate the Carbon in the tree. To measure the height of the tree, I climb to the top and yell down how high I think I am. Just kidding. They actually have laser range finders where you point the device at the top and it tells you how high it is. Good questions and in response to your P.S. question, I'm not answering it yet.
By the way Scott, I'm not quite sure again which wind site you were looking for.
Hey Mr. Lewandowski, I was just wondering how exactly yall are tying all of this tree measuring to climate change. Are you looking for differences in the conditions of the trees over time?
PS. Your sub called me stupid. Come back soon please.
PS again. Do bankers measure slower than teachers?
Does different kind of tree species hold the same amount of Co2?
From,
Jahdiel Seiuli
So let's say that 100 trees have died. Will it make a difference in how much carbon is in the air or how much oxygen we have to breathe?
-Travis Kamioka
Does different type of trees absorb different amount of co2?
What type of things are you and the scientists going to look for?
How big is the forest and are you going to research all the areas of the forest?
Hey Mr Lew,
Just wondering why You have to measure the trees on the x and y axis? Also, how do you measure the trees and how do the diffrences in each of the main trees affect how the climate is in certain areas?
hi mister
hope your having fun..
chey edrado
I was wondering...
How exactly is DBH found(I can't really hear the video well).
How does the DBH reflect the biomass?
Finally, are DBH usually measured in cm's? Or whatever unit is convenient and accurate?
...Scott Y. , Period 5
P.s. I remember you suggesting something about "house" website, or maybe it just sounded like it.
P.S. II: the sub didn't help that much, and I don't really get the labs....If you come back Monday, I won't be there (though I think you come back Tuesday right? Well, I'll have to turn it in on Tuesday)
..wAzZuP mR. lEw?
..i'm just thinking..is there an average tree life span ?
if so, what is it?
..do you think the results of the tree measurement(height etc) is really reliable?
..oh its not really related but do you stay in a house in the woods or you stay in tents or something else?
♥ :] mHaRy [: ♥
Post a Comment
<< Home