Woody Debris Debriefing!

Today we tromped through the research forest in search of downed twigs and rotting logs along an 80 meter imaginary line in the forest (called a transect.) Our focus was on woody debris on the forest floor. Woody debris is the dead stuff that falls from trees- like limbs, branches, and bark. If a tree dies and fall to the floor, it's also called “woody debris.” We have loads of woody debris on the school's nature trail. Usually its rotting and littered with decomposers like fugus and bugs, especially when you flip it over.

Hmmm. Why do the scientists want us to look for, measure, and record all the dead woody stuff in the forest? Seems like sort of a crazy job. Well, you know that trees take in carbon dioxide when they photosynthesize, right? Remember the formula we discussed in class last Friday: (CO2 + H2O) + “the sun's energy” = Oxygen and Tree Food. The carbon that trees take in during photosynthesis becomes the building material for the trunk and branches of the tree. When the tree dies or the branches fall off to the forest floor, that carbon is released back out into the atmosphere. Because scientists here are studying the effects of global warming in this particular research forest, they want to understand ALL of the processes in the forest that either add carbon to the atmosphere or take it out of the atmosphere. Living green trees take carbon OUT of our atmosphere. Woody debris that is decomposing on the forest floor ADDS carbon to our atmosphere. Hence, our expedition today was to measure all rotting gunk in the woods to help determine this forest's "carbon budget."

Your classroom assignment for today is simple. Line up and march your wonderful selves out of the classroom for an inspection of the school's nature trail. You're looking for woody debris. Thanks to seventh grade's diligent maintenance, the main trail is mostly clear of invasive vines. Proceed down the main trail and around the dock bordering Sam's Cove. As you exit the dock, turn left onto the trail that heads south and parallels the creek. You should find lots of woody debris along that short spurt of trail; in fact, you'll have to step high over a huge chunk of downed tree in order to access that section. Note the level of decay. That's one of the things we had to record on our data sheet today- the stage of decay of the woody debris. Is the wood bark-less, hard, soft, falling apart, or totally crumbly? Knowling that helps the scientists guess how long it's been on the ground which is the same thing as knowing how long it's been releasing carbon back into our atmosphere.

Remember, the big issue with global warming is that there is way too much carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Most of that excess is caused by humans- by the burning of fossil fuels which releases carbon back into the atmosphere. We burn fossil fuels like oil and coal to create electricity or the energy we need to drive our cars, build our homes, heat our homes, grow our food, cook our food, transport our food, make our computers, play our computers, watch TV, power our schools, power our businesses, power our factories, and to provide us with all the modern marvels that we've come to know and appreciate as Americans in the 21st century. The scientists tell us that we can't keep burning fossil fuels because that extra carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is heating the planet. Do you know what a blimp looks like? Each year, you add 2 blimps worth of carbon dioxide to our atmosphere. Can you believe that? You really do. So do I. That's a lot. There are ways we can get that amount down to 1 blimp or even a 1/2 blimp. Do you want to try? I do. I'll help you figure out how when I get back. Anytime you figure out a way to use less electricity, you help reduce the size of your blimp.

Well, that's all for now. Thanks for sharing this Earthwatch Expedition with me. You are all official “citizen scientists” now. Congratulations. See you Monday!

Ms. Z.

Two Videos as Promised (be sure to read the post "A Living Graph" below the videos.)

A Living Graph!

Good morning! We continued with tree mapping in the Flood Plain of Muddy Creek. Remember, we're helping a scientist make an exact record of a 100x100 meter plot of forest so that he can study changes that might happen to that forest as the earth's overall temperature increases. Global warming won't just affect the forests, it'll affect the polar ice caps and a whole lot more, but forests are his specialty. Here's the step by step of how we helped. (Mrs. Antonio is going to have you re-create this project in class using graph paper. She'll draw the step by step procedure on the board as you read along.)

1st: We made a 10x10 graph in the forest by laying down two long rolls of measuring tape in the shape of the letter “L.”The tall part of the “L” is the x axis; the short part of the “L” the y axis.

2nd: One by one we approached each tree and determined where it lay on our x, y axis.

3rd. Then, we used a measured walking stick to determine the “breast height” of each tree. Breast height is 1.3 meters above the forest floor. Breast height is where you measure the circumference of each tree.

4th. Using our special "calculated" tape, we measured the circumference of each tree in our 10x10 graph. Next, we hammered a tag into the tree giving it an identification number.

5th. Next, we identified the species of each tree. We could tell if the tree was a poplar, maple, gum, or ironwood tree by looking at its buds, leaves, bark and canopy shape. (I'll help you with that during my Skype broadcast on Thursday.)

6th. Next, we determined the health of each tree by determining the breadth of its canopy (or crown of the tree.)That means how much it dominates or is suppressed by the other trees around it. There was one really, really big tree in our plot that was as fat as a refrigerator. We called it “the Dominator!”

7th. Finally, we recorded all the information on each tree's location, girth, species, and health onto a data sheet to give to the scientist.The scientists use the data we collected to make something called a “Scatter Plot.” I'll attach it below. Take a look. Can you figure out what each circle represents? A

tree! Green ones are poplars- there are a lot of them in this particular forest. The size of the circle represents the girth of the tree. Can you figure out from the Scatter Plot which trees are the oldest in this forest? And which are the most common? The part where the Scatter Plot is blank is the area in the forest where we are working. The scientists will be able to use the data we collected on the trees to fill in those section.

I really enjoy hearing from you.

-Ms. Z.

Tree Mapping in the Flood Plain

Ok, folks. It's been raining, and when creeks get filled with rainwater, they over flow their banks into what's called a flood plain. Do you think a flood plain would be a good place to build your home? I think not. This afternoon we identified trees by their bark, leaf shape, and budding, measured trees, and plotted trees on an Y,X coordinate system that we created in the forest with long rolls of measuring tape. Wet work, but I loved it. This data collection will help the scientist studying global warming in this particular forest to create something called a scatter plot. I'll show you one tomorrow- in fact, I'll show you the one our scientist is creating.

Dinner time now. I'll report later with a video, as promised.

Ms. Z.

Back to the Bark!

Now a Word from our Expert Measurer...

We spent this morning at a table indoors sorting through gigantic piles of leaves that were collected in buckets set in the various forest research plots. By looking at the shapes of the leaves and roughness of their edges, we could determine if they were Sweet Gum, Tulip Poplar, Red Maple, or Oak. Once bagged, the scientists weigh the bags of leaves to determine how much room they take up in the forest's overall canopy. Remember, trees are always competing for light, so if you're at the top of the canopy, you dominate!

This afternoon is sunny and beautiful- a great day to be frolicing in the woods. I'll attach a video later in the day. Thanks for all your great questions. I can't post them here, but I'm replying via emails with Mrs Antonio. Keep thinking!

Copenhagen "Hopenhagen?!"

Good morning! Later today, I'll post a little action clip of me measuring tree girth in the forest. In the meantime, here's a picture of the SOLAR power mega-golf cart they use to tote scientists around the edges of the forest. It's really beautiful here- a lot like our forest in Virginia. Hey, did you know that Julia and Taylor's father wrote a fantastic book called Global Warming for Beginners? There's a copy in our library. Its chock full of really useful information on what's happening to the world climate and what you can do about it. According to this book, a great deal of the solution will depend upon policies and plans developed by governments all around the world. Confronting global warming is going to take a team effort.

Did you also know that Monday was the opening of the Copenhagen Climate Conference in Denmark? Leaders from 110 different nations are meeting for the next 10 days to try to make a global plan to reduce the manmade greenhouse gases blamed for trapping solar heat and disrupting Earth's fragile climate system. Can you image all those leaders from different countries agreeing on one subject? It is something that has never happened before in history. That means it is “unprecedented.” Please add “unprecedented” to your vocabulary list for this week.

If all goes well, world leaders on December 18 may agree to a political deal or a “treaty” that sets down a course of action to confront global warming. Add “treaty” to your vocabulary list for this week as well. You may hear our very own President Barack Obama address the American people and say something like, “I pledge to help pass laws to reduce our country's carbon emissions by 50% and to limit temperature rises by just 2 degrees centigrade.” Wouldn't that be a nifty start?

Hey, don't think President Obama and the world leaders are in this alone. You're a part of that world team too, you know. Your first step as future world citizens is to understand the science behind global warming. Once you understand the causes and consequences of too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, you'll better understand your role in working towards a solution. Here's an important excerpt from Global Warming for Beginners: “The solution to global warming depends ultimately on concerned, well-informed citizens. As knowledgeable citizens, we have the power to elect officials who will best represent our views, who in turn determine government policies that will affect everyone on the planet now and in the future.” Remember, all Virginians are represented by elected officials, and someday you'll be able to vote. If you want our government to conduct research on alternative sources of energy like wind turbines and solar panels, or to take steps to prepare against sea level rising and changes in crop yields, then you'll need to “speak up” by voting. Your goal is to be an educated voter when the time comes.

For a classwork on Wednesday, ask Mrs. Antonio to help you research the Copenhagen Climate Conference on the internet. Write and send me a brief paragraph on what you learned. Please include your prediction of what the 12 day conference will achieve to help stem global warming. Later on this week, we'll use some of your research to compose a letter to Congress, the elected officials who make the laws of our great nation. I look forward to hearing from you.

Weeding a Really Big Forest

Well, it's raining in our neck of the woods. Today we weeded. Seems like a silly thing to do in the middle of a forest, however we were helping a Smithsonian Environmental Research Center scientist, John Parker, set up an experiment to determine which factor has a greater impact on the growth of native species in a young forest- deer or non-native vegetation. What's your hypothesis? Remember, non-native (invasive) vegetative species are not natural to the forest. They are twisty vines like Japanese honeysuckle or spiky vines like Wineberry that have been introduced to the forest from other part of the United States or another country. Sometimes on purpose, sometimes by accident. One hugely invasive grass in this particular forest came across the Atlantic Ocean as packing material on ships in the 1930s! By the way, we have tons of non-native species growing at the entrance of our nature trail at Chesapeake. That's what 7th grade battles and cuts back at the start of each school year. Fact: of the 17,000 different plant species in America, over 5,000 are not originally from America. They're immigrants!

Short Video: Battling the Big Bad Barberry Bush!

Mr. Parker's hypothesis is that the non-native vines will have a greater impact on the growth of native vegetation than deer. He thinks deer are not so picky about what they eat and will browse both species. The neat thing about scientists is that their opinion only goes so far. They have to test everything using... drumroll...The Scientific Method. That's where we come in. Mr. Parker set up a manipulative experiment in the forest here. He set up 32 fenced areas (called deer exclusion plots) in the forest. Half of them are weeded, and half are not. Then he set up 32 non-fenced areas (marked by white posts) in the same forest. Again, half of them are weeded, half are not. Well, not all of them are weeded... that's what we helped with today. Can you tell which of the plos I'm weeding in? After between 5 and 15 years of observing and monitoring insect and plant growth in all 64 plots, Mr. Parker will know if his hypothesis was right. It takes a patient person to be a scientist, don't you think?