Nature Net’s Pre- and Post-Field Trip Materials
Subject: Woodlands
Level: Elementary School
Introduction
Woodlands are forest communities dominated by coniferous and/or deciduous trees with a variety of shrubs. Healthy woodlands contain a variety of different tree species, at varying stages of growth. Animals inhabiting forest and forest-edge habitats often rely on various trees for shelter and food.
Vocabulary
Habitat: The native environment of a particular plant or animal.
Deciduous Tree: Deciduous trees are broad-leaf trees that lose their foliage at the end of the growing season. Common deciduous trees include oaks, maples, elms, and walnut.
Coniferous Tree: Conifers are trees that have needle-shaped leaves, which they retain year-round, and seeds within cones. Common conifers include pines, cedars, and firs.
Canopy: The roof of the forest formed by green leaves and branches.
Understory: Undergrowth of small trees and shrubs, below a forest canopy.
Advanced Vocabulary
Succession: An orderly process of vegetative replacement of one plant community by another.
Old-growth: Mature stands of trees present in an area that has been undisturbed for many decades; usually exists of large trees dominating the canopy.
Second-growth: Growth following the removal of an original forest, by cutting, fire, or other cause. Second-growth forests generally consist of fast-growing trees of limited mature size.
Reforestation: The natural or artificial restocking of an area with forest trees.
Concepts
-Old-growth woodlands are dominated by mature tree species that dominate the canopy and limit the growth of understory plants. When these trees die from disease, fire, or cutting, it opens up new areas for second-growth species to thrive. Second-growth trees often grow quickly and tend to spread out in the understory and do not develop into taller trees that dominate the canopy.
-Logging has altered the condition of many native forests across the country. Reforestation is often with tree species valued by the lumber or paper industries. There are advantages and disadvantages to this type of reforestation.
-The duff layer, at the base of the forest, serves to recycle dead plant and animal material. In this layer, nutrients are brought back into the environment, and spur the growth of additional plant life.
Suggested Post-Visit Activities
After your visit to some of the Nature Net sites, you can explore woodland communities further by planting native trees in your schoolyard. This will serve to beautify the area, as well as provide future habitats for birds and other animals.
Suggested Readings
For Teachers:
Project Learning Tree: Environmental Education Activity Guide. American Forest Foundation, Washington, D. C. 1993.
Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region. Little, Elbert L. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 1980.
For Students:
Who Lives in the Forest?. Hirschi, R. Dodd, Mead. 1987.