A Tree Survey
Developed by: Tanya Lange

Summary:

Forrest destruction increased dramatically when the industrial age began. With the advancement of technology such as earth moving equipment and population increases, the number of trees per acre has decreased in some areas.

Connection:

    1. Ecology
    2. Technology

TEKS:    8A thru D

Time:
Two each, eighty minute classrooms.

Season:
Weather that will allow students to work outside and take measurements.

Objectives:

    1. Students will survey numbers and species of trees in the school neighborhoods.
    2. Students will measure height of each specimen.
    3. Students will plot and gather GPS measurements for each tree.

 Materials:

    1. GPS and digital camera.
    2. Plant clippers
    3. Protractor (as a clinometer)
    4. Long tape measure or a range finder.
    5. Information chart.
    6. Grassland Safari: The Schoolyard Earth Book, by Edith J.S. Doherty.
    7. Tree field guides

Procedure:

    1. Find an area of your neighborhood where students can mark off at least a one-acre perimeter. Use the GPS to record and plot the perimeter.
    2. Follow instructions for making and using a clinometer (pgs 129-130, Schoolyard Safari)
    3. Record information on as many trees as possible within your predetermined perimeter.
    4. Create a graph for one acre showing the numbers of species within that acre.
    5. Repeat step 1,3 and 4 on a second or third acre.

Questions:

    1. What species of trees are in your area?
    2. What is the condition of the general tree population?
    3. How many trees are you finding per acre?
    4. How would this population of trees compare to a population of trees within an area that does not have the construction pressures that our locale has.
    5. How would our tree population compare to one acre of land at Miller Springs.
    6. What are some possible reasons for the differences in tree populations?

Evaluations

Students must gather various information about the tree population in their neighborhood. Students must create an information sheet to record the tree information and decide on criteria for measuring trees.

Expanding the Lesson:

Students will then gather information in the same manner for an acre of land at Miller Springs. Students must draw conclusions from the information gathered at both sites about population growth and the effects on tree population.

Students can use the GPS coordinates to plot trees on graph paper and draw a map of the acre samples.

Resources:

Grassland Safari: The Schoolyard Earth Book, by Edith J.S. Doherty

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Last Edited: 09/01/00