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Coniferous Trees

Coniferous Trees. Environmental Science Fireside 2014. Learning Goals. Students will identify 10 species of native conifers in the lab and in the field Students will use a dichotomous key. The Value of Trees. Wildlife:

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Coniferous Trees

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  1. Coniferous Trees Environmental Science Fireside 2014

  2. Learning Goals • Students will identify 10 species of native conifers in the lab and in the field • Students will use a dichotomous key

  3. The Value of Trees Wildlife: • FOOD (nuts & other fruit, twigs, buds roots, wood in living or dead trees) • SHELTER (cover for deer & moose, roosts for birds/squirrels, weasels, or fallen logs for salamanders, mice, martens) • PATHWAYS (tunnels left from decayed root canals are used by rodents, amphibians, and reptiles are used to transport and store food) • SUBSTRATES (nesting, perching for hunting & singing) • SUPPORT (lichens, mosses, epiphytic/aerial or parasitic plants & vines)

  4. The Value of Trees The Ecosystem: • The capture, storage, & slow release of nutrients in trunks, leaves, roots • A key role in the carbon cycle, water cycle, and nitrogen cycle (thus influencing climate and soil fertility) • Sinks for excess atmospheric carbon (if unburned) • Regulators of runoff from precipitation (reduce impact of rain on the land & act like sponges to release water slowly/prevent erosion) • Air cleaners (produce O2 and capture CO2 in their wood)

  5. Carbon Cycle

  6. Water Cycle

  7. Nitrogen Cycle

  8. The Value of Trees People: • Fuel (wood and charcoal) • Lumber, Paper, Cork, latex, rubber, cellophane & rayon • Essential oils (for aromatherapy and perfumery) • Spices (bay leaves, cloves, all spice, cinnamon) • Oil and syrup • Fodder for domestic animals • Resins & gums used in turpentine, lacquer, paint, polishes • Methyl alcohol (wood alcohol) used to make degreasing compounds, silicone, formaldehyde, aerosol propellants & paint removers • Medicines (eg. Pacific Yew for cancer treatments, Ginko for circulatory disorders)

  9. What Are Conifers? • Trees and shrubs in the Class Coniferinae • 50 Genera and 550 species in the world today • Dominate landscapes in colder & drier climates (Boreal Forests of Canada, Northern Europe, and Siberia) • Largest and Oldest living things in the world (Bristlecone Pine – PinusLongaevais 4 700 years old and growing in the US) • Characterized by needle-like leaves with many drought-resistant features and cones • Have flowers! (separate flowers for male and female) • Leaves are evergreen in almost all species (except for larches and a few other groups)

  10. How To Identify Conifers Use a DICHOTOMOUS KEY… But not this one 

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