Forestry
Learning Objectives
*Correlated with the Academic Standards and Assessment
Anchors for Environment and Ecology
After completing study on this issue, students will:
I. Knowledge of Trees (Forestry Reference Materials CD Section 1.)
a. Identify common species without a key and specific or unusual species of trees or shrubs using a botanical key. (Use if a botanical key is an important skill in many environmental professions. Practice with the Summer Key to Pennsylvania Trees provided.) Pay special attention to shade tolerance and soil moisture requirements of each species studied. Understand their timber and wildlife values.
* 4.2 Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources - 4.2.4.A - D, 4.2.7.A - D, and 4.2.10.A and B
b. Explain typical tree growth and life cycle. Be able to describe the parts and tissues of a tree and their arrangements and functions. Recognize defects that effect a tree's health, quality and resource potential.
* 4.7 Threatened, Endangered, and Extinct Species - 4.7.10.B
c. Explain the cause and effect relationships between environmental factors, (light, soil and moisture) and tree growth. Be able to interpret these effects in the growth rings of a sample of wood (either a "tree cookie" or core taken with an increment borer).
* 4.6 Ecosystems and their Interactions - 4.6.7.A - C, and 10.A
II. Knowledge of Forest Ecology (Forestry Reference Materials CD Section II.)
a. Explain general forest typing based on the dominant tree species. Describe major forests types found in Pennsylvania. Analyze and type a specific forest site.
* 4.6 Ecosystems and their Interactions - 4.6.10.A
* 4.7 Threatened, Endangered and Extinct Species - 4.7.7.A - C
b. Explain typical forest structure (canopy, under story and ground layers) and crown classes.
c. Explain typical forest succession from open areas to closed canopy and back again. Analyze the successional stage of a specific forest site.
* 4.6 Ecosystems and their Interactions - 4.6.7.C and 10.C
d. Explain how wildlife habitat relates to the forest plant community (i.e. tree species present, age structure, snags and dead-and-down trees, availability of food and riparian zones).
* 4.6 Ecosystems and their Interactions - 4.6.10.A
e. Explain what effects a specific species increase or decrease might have on the forest ecosystem.
* 4.3 Environmental Health - 4.3.10.C
f. Evaluate species diversity and its importance. Explain biological diversity as an indicator of a healthy environment as well as analyze the effects of species extinction on the health of an ecosystem.
* 4.3 Environmental Health - 4.3.10.C
III. Knowledge of Forest Benefits and Resources (Forestry Reference Materials CD Section III.)
a. Be able to summarize the general history of Pennsylvania's forests from the arrival of the first humans 10,000 years ago to the present.
* 4.4 Ecosystems and their Interactions - 4.4.10.A
* 4.8 Humans and the Environment - 4.8.10.C
b. Describe values and benefits of forests for recreation, wildlife and watershed quality.
c. Demonstrate the use of common forestry equipment (Biltmore stick, diameter tape and clinometers), to measure tree diameter and height. Be able to calculate wood volume.
d. List products and uses of the following commercial species frown in Pennsylvania: Red & White Oaks, Black cherry, White as, hickories
* 4.4 Ecosystems and their Interactions - 4.4.10.A
e. Describe the benefits of maintaining trees in urban and suburban communities and factors effecting their health and survival.
* 4.3 Environmental Health - 4.3.12.A
IV. Forest Resource Management and Protection (Forestry Reference Materials CD Section IV.)
a. Study The State of the Forest: A Snapshot of Pennsylvania's Updated Forest Inventory 2004. This is the most current data available describing Pennsylvania's forest resources. Particularly note the patterns of forestland ownership, area of forests, distribution of age and size classes and of tree species, wood volume statistics and regeneration issues.
b. Explain the uses of these silviculture techniques in even-aged and uneven-aged forest management: thinning, clear-cutting, seed-tree method, shelter wood method, and selection method. Describe the practices of "high grading" and "diameter limit" cutting.
* 4.2 Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources - 4.2.10.C
* 4.4 Ecosystems and their Interactions - 4.4.12.A
* 4.8 Ecosystems and their Interactions - 4.8.10.C
c. Identify and describe the life cycle and impacts of common forest pests and invasive plants. Research integrated pest management strategies for selected pests.
* 4.5 Integrated Pest management - 4.5.10.A and 12.A
d. Predict how human or natural action can produce change to which an organism cannot adapt (Gypsy Moth, Chestnut blight, invasive species, etc.)
* 4.6 Ecosystems and their Interactions - 4.6.10.B
* 4.8 Humans and the Environment - 4.8.10.C
e. Explain the role of fire in forest ecosystems. Describe the basic principals of wildlife prevention erosion and sedimentation.
* 4.6 Ecosystems and their Interactions - 4.6.12.C
f. Explain the potential for pollution from timber harvesting and the practices used to minimize erosion and sedimentation.
* 4.3 Environmental Health - 4.3.10.B
* 4.8 Humans and the Environment - 4.8.10.C
g. Summarize State and local regulations and programs pertaining to timber management including PA Code Chapter 102 Erosion & Sedimentation Control regulations, waterways management regulations - PA Code Chapter 105, Pennsylvania's Right to Practice Forestry Act and the Forest Stewardship Program.
* 4.9 Environmental Law and Regulations - 4.9.12.A
Assessment Anchors:
S.11.A.3.1 Analyze the
parts of simple system, their roles, and their relationships to the system as a
whole.
S.11.A.3.2 Compare observations of the real world to observations of a
constructed model.
S.11.B.1.1 Explain how structure and function at multiple levels of
organizations.
S.11.B.3.1 Use evidence or examples to explain the characteristics of and
interactions within a forest ecosystem.
S.11.B.3.2 Analyze patterns of change in natural or human-made systems over
time.
S.11.B.3.3 Explain how human -made systems impact the management and
distribution of natural resources obtained from forests.
S.11.C.2.2 Demonstrate that different ways of obtaining, transforming, and
distributing energy have different environmental consequences.
S.11.D.1.2 Analyze how human-made systems impact the management and distribution
of natural resources in relation to forests.
Reference Materials
Forestry Reference Materials Compact Disk - Review the topics and objectives listed above on the Forestry Reference Materials compact disk provided by your County Conservation District. Most of these materials are from publications produced by the Pennsylvania State University or from the USDA Forest Service.
Although the CD contains a large amount of material, many topics are covered more than once in different ways. So, it is not as overwhelming as it might appear at first glance.
Forestry CD Index
I. Knowledge of Trees
Common Trees of Pennsylvania
Penn State CD: Tree Identification Power Point; Summer Key; Slide Index
(from CD provided)
Tree Rings (an example of interpreting patterns
in the growth rings of trees)
Tree Layers (an illustration of the tissue layers
that make up a tree trunk)
II. Knowledge of Forest
Ecology
Forest Types of Pennsylvania
Penn's Woods: Our Heritage from the Past, Our
Legacy for the Future
Forest Succession and Wildlife
Habitat Adaptations of Some Common Trees of
Pennsylvania
Vertical Stratification
Pennsylvania Woodlands: #6 Woodland Wildlife
Management
Understanding Biological Wealth in Our Forests
II. Knowledge of Forest
Benefits and Resources
People of Penn's Woods
Tree Inventory & Utilization
Forest Measurement Tools
Measuring Tree Height Using a Clinometer
Urban & Community Forestry
Benefits of Urban Trees
From the Woods Series
1.
Hardwood Lumber
2.
Hardwood Veneer
3.
Ten Important
Hardwoods
4.
American Chestnut
5.
Incredible Wood
6.
Maple Syrup
7.
Paper
IV. Forest Resource
Management and Protection
Basic Forest Management
State
of the Forest
Pennsylvania Woodlands: #8 Principles of silviculture
From the Woods Series
1.
Sustainable Forestry
2.
White Tailed Deer
Insect Threats
1.
Hemlock Wooly Adelgid
inPA
2.
Gypsy Moth Control
3.
Emerald Ash Borer
4.
Asian Longhorn Beetle
What is an Invasive Plant?
Purple-loosestrife;
Mile-a-minute;
Bush honeysuckle;
Japanese honeysuckle;
Japanese barberry;
Japanese-
knotweed;
Multiflora-rose;
Tree-of-heaven;
Autumn-olive;
Garlic mustard
Watershed Management
Wildfires in Pennsylvania
Government Programs and Regulations Pertaining to
Forestry
Non-Government Sources of Forestry
Pennsylvania Woodlands: #4 Forest Terminology
2008 Current
Issue "Recreational Impacts on the Natural Environment" and their overlap with
Forestry.
Recreation issues and impacts on
State Forest lands are summarized in an appendix to the forestry resources. The
document titled Recreation on State Forest Lands is included on the 2008
Current Issue CD.
Review updated information with these on-line resources:
Information on Pennsylvania native wild plants, invasive exotic plant problems and ginseng can be found at www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/wildplant/index.aspx.
Check recent developments in the fight against invasive plant species on the internet at www.invasivespecies.gov under "Species Profiles".
Get updated information about the Emerald Ash Borer, Gypsy Moth and other insect on the DCNR - Bureau of Forestry-Forest Pest Management website www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/fpm_invasive.aspx and the US Forest Service web site at http://na.fs.fed.us/fhp/eab/
The Penn State College of Agriculture Sciences - School of Forest Resources provides a Sustainable Forestry Teacher Resources Center. It provides lesson plans in sustainable forestry, natural resources, water, and wildlife. The lesson plans are designed by teachers for actual use in the classroom and meet Pennsylvania's environmental and ecology education standards. Each lesson plan indicates subject matter, grade level, and regional applicability. The lesson plans can be adapted to fit your location. These resources are found at http://sftrc.cas.psu.edu/.
Additional sources: The following books contain helpful information, illustrations and background materials. They are available in libraries and bookstores.
Peterson Field Guide Series, Published by Houghton Mifflin Company
1. A Field Guide to
Eastern Forests, by John C. Kricher and Gordon Morrison.
Good coverage of several complex topics:
Section 2. Forest Field Marks
Stratification; predicting a Forest's
Future; The Forest Food Chain and Ecological Pyramid
Section 4: Disturbance and Pioneer Plants
Ecological Succession: The Process of
Vegetation Development Over Time
Section 8: Autumn and Winter
Tree Trunks and Growth Rings
2. For help with tree
identification try these titles, also from the Peterson Field Guides series:
A Field Guide to Trees and Shrubs, by George A.
Petrides
A Field Guide to Eastern Trees by George A. Petrides/Janet
Wehr
Bureau of Forestry Service Foresters can help teacher/advisors prepare for local Envirothon events. See page 27 in the Teacher Resource Packet for the name, phone number and email address of the service forester for your county.