Information Support
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Understanding forest systems begins with measuring the forest for a wide range of information, such as volume, density, composition, etc. Foresters have invented many job-specific tools to make the inventory tasks accurate and efficient. A lot of math is built into field tools. This episode also includes another way to use forestry tools; using them to create music!
Major Points
Measuring the forest, or a forest inventory, is one of the first and basic steps in order to understand, and then, manage a forest. An owner or manager must know what is "there" before sustainable practices can be implemented. Forestry tools incorporate arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry, statistics, sampling, and many other math discplines. Different tools and procedures are used to achieve various levels of both accuracy and precision. For an idea about the diversity of forestry tools, try exploring the Forestry Suppliers website (including a science education section). For a multi-week high school forestry curriculum, click here.
Many descriptors can be applied to our forests, including basics such as area, volume, and species composition. A basic question might be how to define a tree or a forest. What the difference between a "tree" and a "shrub"? The Society of American Foresters suggest a tree has a definite stem, is at least 15 feet tall and 5 inches diameter at maturity, and a definite crown with no branches for at least the forest three feet.
Tree identification is, of course, an essential element in measuring forests.
The U.S. Forest Service is charged with measuring the nation's forests on a regular basis. These inventories begin in the 1930s and, these days, field crews collect data every year, with a complete state inventory every five years. State forest agencies and forest corporations, and other groups have developed inventory systems to suit their particular needs. The newest technologies are used, including Geographic Information Systems, satellite imagery, lasers, drones, and many others. Some foresters specialize in technology use and development.
BeLeaf It or Not! Video ProductionThe purpose for these videos is to INTRODUCE a few concepts for each episode topic. They are meant to be light-hearted and entertaining. Yet, the intention is to have both feet on solid science ground (biological, economic, social, et al.). We acknowledge that many of the topics are introduced or reinforced in school curricula at the fourth through seventh grades. So, these students, and their teachers, are the primary target audience. All of these topics can be more fully explored within the classroom setting or, in some case, be explored IN THE WOODS! With this in mind, these support pages are embedded into the Michigan Forests Forever website, which already houses a wide range of information about Michigan forests, designed for use by teachers. This entire project cost about $100,000. No small amount, of course. The primary authors were Bill Cook, Georgia Peterson, and James Ford. Additionally, most of the episode scripts were either drafted and/or reviewed by cooperating foresters, biologists, teachers, and other experts. If you're curious about who helped produced these videos, visit the "credits" page. |