Unit 3 Phenology LESSON OUTLINE: OUTCOMES: GRADUATION STANDARDS: KEY CONCEPTS: and abiotic factors can change over time.

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Constance Lloyd
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1 Unit 3 Phenology

2 Unit 3 Phenology LESSON OUTLINE: I. January to June multi-year Outdoor Phenological Study: a collection of observations that students will use to compare current to previous years data. a. Plot Assignments b. Atmosphere Investigation c. Integrated 7-Day Data Sheet (January - June) d. N,S,E,W picture from center of plot (January - June) e. Bud Sketch (March - June) f. Bird Survey Data (April - June) g. Tree and Shrub Ht. Data Sheet (May or June) II. St. Paul Public School s Belwin Environmental Learning Center (1 full school day) a. Coniferous vs. Prairie abiotic comparison b. Diameter of coniferous tree planting comparison - thinned portion of planting vs not thinned portion III. MN Biomes & Climate Will Steger Foundation a. Lesson 2: What defines Minnesota s biomes? b. Lesson 3: What defines Minnesota s c. Lesson 5: What does the data show? KEY CONCEPTS: Phenological observations play a key role in seeing climate change at a personal level. Collecting that data over multiple years can lead students to a deeper understanding of how biotic and abiotic factors can change over time. OUTCOMES: Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to: 1. make phenological observations and compare them to other year s student collected data for the same location/plot. 2. identify characteristics of biomes and ecosystems and how they work as a system. 3. analyze Minnesota s biomes biotic and abiotic data related to climate and describe how climate has changed over time in Minnesota. 4. identify Minnesota s four main biomes. 5. identify characteristic vegetation and animals found in each biome. 6. describe and compare factors that define each biome. GRADUATION STANDARDS: The following MN graduation standards apply: Identify a variety of populations and communities in an ecosystem and describe the relationships among the populations and communities in a stable ecosystem Explain how the number of populations an ecosystem can support depends on the biotic resources available as well as abiotic factors such as amount of light and water, temperature range and soil composition Explain that the total amount of matter in an ecosystem remains the same as it is transferred between organisms and their physical environment, even though its

3 form and location change Describe ways that human activities can change the populations and communities in an ecosystem Evaluate the reasoning in arguments in which fact and opinion are intermingled or when conclusions do not follow logically from the evidence given Recognize that land and water use practices can affect natural processes and that natural processes interfere and interact with human systems. Unit 3 Phenology

4 Learning Activities: I. Como Woodland Outdoor Classroom (CWOC) Plot Assignment: Students are grouped in teams of two or three for the time period between January to June to make and record the following phonological measurements at their assigned plot. All measurements/observations/pictures will be kept in an assigned plot 3-ring binder (i.e. MN1 will have their own binder, US2 will have their own binder ). The binders will be kept in the classroom and each year s data will be added to the previous year s data to make a multi-year record of each plot. (1 two hour period of time per month January to June) a. Atmosphere Investigation - Integrated 7-Day Data Sheet will be used from January to June. Students will record data and share in class the following day with the teacher and other groups to assure all data is recorded for the day for all plots. (30 minutes in January and by June it should take 15 minutes) b. North, South, East, and West Pictures will be taken by the student group to have a visual of how the plot looks in all directions and will be printed out back in the classroom to be put into their CWOC Plot Binder for comparison through the years. (10 minutes in January and by June it should take 5 minutes) c. Bud sketch & measurement: will be done during March, April, May, and June. (15 minutes in January and by June it should take 5 minutes) i. Choose a tree within 5 meters of your assigned plot area that has a low branch (make sure you can reach it when no snow is on the ground in May) and tie a ribbon on the branch. ii. Sketch the bud/leaf at the tip of the branch in the space provided on your data sheet.

5 iii. Measure and label your sketches width and length of the tip bud/leaf on the low branch. d. CWOC Bird Survey: After the students have done the bird unit and are comfortable trying to identify birds, they can use the binoculars in their field bag and the CWOC Bird Data Sheet to record any bird sightings and sounds. Here is the recommended protocol for collecting bird data. (As time permits at the end of other phenological data collecting is done.) i. Census area at least once a month at about the same time each month. During breeding and migrating seasons, you may want to make visits more frequently depending on conditions. ii. Census under favorable weather conditions. This will depend upon season as to what is considered favorable, but avoid high wind conditions and heavy precipitation. During the breeding season, avoid counting if temperature is below 45 F as birds tend not to sing when it gets too cold. iii. Record weather conditions at the beginning of the census. Include temperature in F, wind direction and speed (mph), cloud cover to nearest tenth that covers sky, and precipitation (none, light snow, heavy snow, heavy mist, light drizzle, rain). iv. Record time began and time ended. Do not start before a half before sunrise and do not end more than 4 hours after sunrise. v. Walk the route the same way each time and at the same pace. Pishing is allowed but do not use tapes during official census. You may use them cautiously outside of official census and record them under incidental observations. Please indicate those species observed using tapes. vi. Count all birds observed and identify to species as best as possible. Any birds not identified should be counted and included in the unidentified category. Birds not included in the list should be filled in the blank spaces at the bottom of the list. vii. If you observe a species not observed during the official census at other times during the month, record them as an incidental observation. You can include observations other people report to you. e. CWOC Plot Tree Survey: (1-2 hours)during the June or end of the season of phenology observations, the students will use the last part of their two hours to measure as many of the trees they have on their plot. If an additional trip can be made in the last month, this data can be collected over a two-hour field investigation just to collect the Tree Survey data.

6 Clinometer TAN of Distance Eye *Vegetation *Average Dominant Reading Clinometer frm Tree(m) Height(m) Height(m) Height(m) Species Specimen 1 Specimen 2 Specimen 3 Specimen 4 Reading II. Belwin ELC: Students will go on a field investigation to Belwin ELC in early January to get introduced to abiotic factors of phenological observations and the idea of outdoor inquiry field investigations. Students will spend an entire day at Belwin working on two data collections. (1 full school day including bus transportation) a. Red Pine Plantation: Students will go to two different plots in a Red Pine plantation at the Belwin site. (1 hour 30 minutes) i. The students will measure the diameter of a sample of 15 trees and calculate the average diameter of the trees in both plots. ii. The students will use diameter tape to make these measurements (a measuring tape specific to putting the tape around the circumference of a tree and the tape markings give the diameter for that particular circumference) iii. Students will be told that the plots were planted at the same time, they have the same soil type, and both plots are on the same slope. iv. Students will measure the distance between the trees for both plots. Then the instructor will point out the stumps and explain that a number of years ago one plot has been thinned out where every other tree had been removed. v. Students are then asked to come to a conclusion as to why the trees in the thinned out section have a larger diameter than the non-thinned out section. 1. Reason more competition for water, nutrients, and sunlight in the non-thinned out section resulted in less growth every year as can be seen in the tree rings. At this point have class head back to the nature center to examine tree rings from different samples of tree cookies. b. Prairie and Coniferous Forest Comparison: (1 hour 30 minutes)students will go to two different biomes on the Belwin campus, prairie and coniferous forest where they will measure the abiotic factors in both and compare signs of

7 Field Site # wildlife seen. During the winter students find animal tracks like deer, and mouse, and occasionally bird tracks. Site Description BE SPECIFIC! *canopy, major plant types, other observations Avg Wind Speed (km/h) Wind Chill Temp ( C) Air Temp ( C) Surface Temp ( C) Light Intensity lux (Vernier) Time: Coniferous Forest Time: Prairie

8 III. MN Biomes & Climate Change Will Steger Foundation Curriculum: a. Lesson 2: What defines Minnesota s biomes? (2 hours) b. Lesson 3: What defines Minnesota s climage? (2 hours) c. Lesson 5: What does the data show? (1 hour)

9 RESOURCES: CWOC Master Plan: Atmosphere Investigation Integrated 7-Day Data Sheet nts/weather- 7%20day%20data%20sheet.pdf Land Cover Investigation Graminoid, Tree and Shrub Height Data Sheet over/appendix/datasheets/lc_ds_treeht.pd f Como Woodland Bird List Landcover_ds_canopycover.pdf Tree and Shrub Green-Up Data Sheet CWOC Bird Data Sheet Camera (form Bridge to Nature Kit) Calculator Binoculars (from MOU Kit) GLOSSARY: Abiotic - physical rather than biological; not derived from living organisms. Biome - an area that is climatologically capableof supporting certain species. Biotic - of, relating to, or resulting from living things, esp. in their ecological relations: the preservation of biotic diversity. Climate - the weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over a long period, it defines the geographical area of a biome. Phenology - how climate affects living things Will Steger Foundation: Minnesota s Changing Climate EQUIPMENT: Field Bag Equipment List: Tape measure (15 meter) Temperature probe Light sensor probe Vernier Labquest Ruler/meter stick Cloud chart (from weather guide calendars) Clipboard Snow melt container Map of plot graph paper for 20m square Atmos. Investig. Integrated 7-Day Data Sheet

Biological Inventories

Field Lab 1 Urban Ecology Center Biological Inventories Introduction In order to begin work on our semester research project, this week we will be conducting biological inventories at a moderately disturbed