Last Day: Goals Met

We did, in fact reach the North Pole: (the end section marked with the pink taped pole). The view was amazing as we looked back over our plot of forest full of quaking beeches, pioneering poplars, towering oaks, and muscled ironwoods each bearing a tag which shimmered in the morning sun. I have also shown Jan and Lindsey (my roommate) entering our neck of the woods. I often expected The Lorax to greet us here and applaud our efforts to better understand his forest. I have come to appreciate how wondrous and majestic a forest truly is and better understand Frost's poem shown below with which I will leave you as this great adventure comes to a close.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know,
His house is in the village though.
He will not see me stopping here,
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer,
To stop without a farmhouse near,
Between the woods and frozen lake,
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake,
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep,
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
-- Robert Frost

Day 5: measuring Trees in the Rain

We have two 10m x 10m plots left to finish our part of the data collection. We did three this morning in the rain. We did not realize how wet we were getting until we came in to get ready for lunch. We will be going to a Christmas luncheon today and meeting many more scientists. We are bringing pasta salad which we made last night. The pictures provide a frame of reference for how big a 10m X 10m plot is. When plotting the trees we provide both the x and the y coordinates using the two tapes. You will notice the white pvc post acting as the vertex so in essence we have a spatial graph and we call out the coordinates much like a game of battleship. It is important to be accurate in our measurements so that the mapping turns out correctly and they can locate the trees in 4-5 years to recollect the data. Perhaps one of you will take this job. I have also included some of the obstacles that we encounter in laying and reading the tapes as nature does not provide a smooth clean grid. The white pipe with blue tape at its top is what we use to measure the Dbh from which we measure the circumference. We use the same tools to measure and tag each tree and follow a set protocol for this type of research.

We will be going into Annapolis this evening to have a dinner which we do not have to cook. We will be eating at a sustainable seafood restaurant called The Rock Fish.

Questions I would like you to answer:

1. Identify at least 6 variables that are kept constant in this experiment

2. Analyze: What steps do you think we took to measure each tree in a plot?
(Please use at least 6 numbered steps)

Day 4: Those tricky trees

This is a video of our team trying to identify a tree. Sometimes it is tricky. I asked you yesterday what characteristics we could use to perform such a task. How did you do? We had a very productive day as our team measured trees in 10- 10m X 10m plots. That's 1000 m2 in case you didn't care to do the math. The weather was amazing with temperatures in the upper 50's to mid 60's. It sprinkled on us a couple of times but we just donned our rain coats and carried on. This evening we have a lecture covering the Socioeconomic Impacts of Climate Change. It includes an activity and should run until 7:00 pm ; after which, we will have dinner. I took a stroll after dinner to call my husband and saw a fox. He had white tips on his tail and was quite beautiful. It is the first live animal (other than birds) that I have seen.

Tomorrow there is an 80% chance of rain and then Friday it drops to a 70% chance. I really hope that it holds off as we only have 4 plots left to measure. We are the last team of the season and I really don't want to let this project down. We were informed that we have been one of the most enthusiastic teams to participate.

I would like for you to write down at least 5 questions that you would like to ask during our video conference which I hope will take place on Friday if all goes well. I cannot believe that the week is almost over. I have been having a great time learning something new and feeling like I am making a contribution to something larger. I may never know the results of the study as it will not end for five years, but I can take home that what I have done here this week added knowledge to our understanding.

Will blog again tomorrow. L Rohrer signing off.

Day 3: measuring trees

Today our team tagged trees in 8-10m X 10 m plots. There were a lot of small ironwoods in our plots. We measure and tag trees that are greater than 1 centimeter in diameter (about the size of your thumb.) Pictured above are Polly and Jan. I am the one below nailing the tag into the tree as this was my job today.

Trees that were smaller than 8 centimeters in diameter had to be tagged using coated wire that we tied in a square knot. There are several hazards in the forest: poison ivy (shown on the tree), deer ticks, and tripping hazards. So far I have avoided all three. After lunch we climbed up in the tower that measures CO2 at the canopy top.

The forecast for tomorrow calls for a 90% chance of rain so we will probably be sorting and massing leaf litter. We have to identify the trees when we are recording our data. This can be difficult as this is a deciduous forest. I spoke with my husband and heard that it was sleeting there. Tonight we have a presentation on the science of climate change, then we have dinner, and then we have homework for tomorrow. There are some amazing trails here, but it is too dark by the time that we finish so I will need to get up earlier in order to explore them.

I was amazed to discover that we have an ancient forest in Oklahoma and thought that you would be excited to learn about them also.

Step 1:

Check the weather conditions using the website for weather underground and then record your data on your blog page

Step 2:

Define the term deciduous forest and then identify and explain 3 characteristics that could be used to identify the trees this time of year.

Step 3:

Go to the website shown below and answer the questions that follow:

http://www.uark.edu/misc/xtimber/rna/keystone.html

a. Which species of tree is most abundant? Least abundant?

b. How large are the largest trees? The smallest trees?

c. Click on the Introduction and explain why the ancient forest is important

d. Go back and then click on the problem page and identify at least 4 problems that the forest

faces.

e. Go back and then click on the map page to identify where the forest is located.

I will blog you again tomorrow. Stay safe and warm. I am hypothesizing that you are still not able to leave comments as I have yet to receive any. I am sorry that I cannot answer your questions, but hopefully we will be able to do the webinar so be thinking of what you would like to know.

Day 2

The picture is a very small part of the 3,000 acre forest in which we are working. Our experiment is rather unusual in that the goal is to change nothing in order to observe and monitor what is already here in an effort to gather and analyze data to quantify how long it takes a logged forest to regain its status as a carbon sink. The scientists that we will work with stated that it is very difficult to leave invasive species in the plots. Our job is to tag, measure, identify, and record where each tree is located for all trees over 1 cm Dbh (Diameter at breast height) in an intact mature forest to create a map much like the one shown at the top of this blog. Other teams have gathered data that is related to logged plots. Each study site is 1 hectare that is divided into smaller plots that measure 10 meters by 10 meters. We practiced measuring trees today using a special tape to find the circumference to find how accurate our measuring skills were before we collect the true data beginning tomorrow.

Am taking my lunch break now, and will write more later. It is really cold here today. We had two speakers this morning and were only outside about 1 hour. Hot soup for lunch really hit the spot. Our day begins at 7:30 and ends at 7:00 pm when we make dinner and then clean up. We have a duty chart. I am scheduled to cook tacos on Wednesday evening and tonight I have kp (kitchen cleanup) duty. The sun set here today at 4:44 p.m. (Nice pattern don't you think?)

Question to consider:

Step 1:

Return to the weather underground website to check local conditions both here and in Oklahoma City and then record them on your blog sheet

Step 2:

Answer the following questions using the Map for the 2008 HSBC Control Mature Forest Plot # 2 at the top of this blog:

a. How many species of tress are shown on the plot?

b. Which species is most abundant (use color)? Least abundant(use color)?

c. What unit is used to measure the trees?

d. What patterns do you notice? BE SPECIFIC AND INCLUDE ESTIMATED DATA FOR PERCENTS

e. Hypothesize: How might this plot differ from one that has been logged?

Step 3:

look up and define the following terms:

f. carbon sink

g. hectare

h. invasive species

I am here!!!!

I love to fly as it reminds me of the vastness and three dimensionality of this small planet on which we live. It was amazing to rise above the clouds and to see them suspended in mid-air. We are all settled in and it is very darkand cold here. Evidence of yesterday's snow lingers. Will begin my adventure in earnest tomorrow as we meet with the scientists leading our team. My fellow teachers are all very nice and interesting people. My roomate is Lindsey. She was an environmental education specialist before she became a teacher. She is from Mexico, Maine. You were wrong about Polly who has been teaching for 37 years, she does not bake cookies; although she does like to cook.

Today's assignment is (drum roll please!!!!!!)

Step 1:
Follow the directions on the blog page that I wrote yesterday December 6 Blog
Step 2:
Calculate your carbon footprint using the link shown on the December 2, Blog

Getting There

I'll be leaving Oklahoma City before sunrise and blogging you tomorrow evening after sunset so I felt that it was appropriate to show the sunrising here and the sun setting there; unfortunately my computer will not cooperate so you are actually seeing the sun setting there and the sunrising here.


In getting ready to leave for my fellowship, I have done a lot of research and am exciting about meeting with the scientists at SERC to learn more. This is my first experience to engage in actual field work related to climate change. I found the websites linked to be very useful in my understanding of the goals of this project. To help you better understand what I will be doing please follow the steps outlined:

Step 1:

Click on the website and answer the questions below the link to find out more about the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

http://www.serc.si.edu/inside/index.jsp

a. What is SERC's mission?
b. What % of the world's population lives in a coastal region
c. What are some positive and negative aspects of living on or near coastal lands?
d. What are the goals of SERC scientists?

Step 2:

To see a satellite image of where I am, Go to Google Maps and then enter the following information, select satellite image and then answer question e

N 38° 53' 16" W 76.54595

e. Evaluate: Is the forest fragmented? SUPPORT YOUR ANSWER

Step 3:

Change the coordinates to those shown below and then use the map to answer question f.
N 35° 31' 13.7" W 97.61025

f. How many trees can you count on our campus?

Step 4:

Let's check the weather both here in the city and at the SERC campus in Edgewater

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/hdfForecast?query=edgewater+maryland&searchType=WEATHER

Next, change the zip code in the search area to 73122 to get our weather. Record both in the space on your blog page.