Trees... Why are they important? What have I learned about them?

Image result for why are trees important
Picture from: https://www.neevmagazine.co.in/why-are-trees-important/

Today our Botany class was given the pleasure of a speaker Tracy Bleim to present on trees. She began the lecture on asking us one important question. “Why do we love trees?” She expressed of the common and complex reasons that trees are used for in our daily lives. She expressed that they have historical value, they are used to build our homes, and they provide extensive biodiversity for our environment. I was very interested with the facts that she presented throughout her lecture.
I was intrigued to find out that there is not a filtration system for water in the United States of America that can remove pharmaceutical waste, but she explained that wetlands can indeed remove this waste. The biodiversity that is located in a wetland can actually remove this waste. It is fascinating that the biodiversity itself can remove unnatural waste.
There were many other interesting facts presented during this informative lecture. She used a local nature preserve The Cedar Bog to guide her lecture. It was very interesting that Cedar Bog provides so many functions to the environment. (Each listed below)
·       Flood Control
·       Water Quality
·       Fish Nursery
·       Water-foul & Shorebirds
·       Plant Life
·       Endangered Wildlife
·       Recreational Use
Each of these important functions of the wetland make it definitely a very important resource to our environment.
            After her discussion on the use of the area, she then explained the difference between a bog and a fen. This was very interesting as I didn’t know of any such thing. She expressed that  bog is “clogged” and fen “flush”. This analogy allowed me to picture what each of these allow and do for an ecosystem.
            Overall, I found this guest lecturer very interesting and I would like to eventually visit the Cedar Bog once more. I have visited in the past and I loved the environment. All of the thriving plants and wildlife in the area. It is rich in biodiversity and is a great ecosystem that sustains life. Her passion and knowledge for wildlife was clearly evident and it was a great addition to our study of trees.
Image result for bog and fen
Picture from: https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC6BAAD_bog-or-fen?guid=aa1492e9-ea0f-4b04-8e58-5c1057ab7f03

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Commensalism... What is it?

Image
Commensalism: is a symbiotic relationship/association between two organisms/species in which one species/organism is benefitted by the other, and the other is neither benefitted or harmed. The commensal (the species that benefits) obtains nutrients, shelter, support, etc. from the host. But, the host is unaffected. There is some overlap in this relationship… for example a bee and a flower. The bee receives nutrients form the flower, but is unaffected because that is what is suppose to occur. This is the association between two different species in which one species benefits and the other isn’t significantly affected. Commensalism does exist today, and some examples include: ·        The bee and the flower ·        The Monarch Butterfly and Milkweed ·        Burdock Seeds on the Fur of Passing Animals ·        Emperor Shrimp and Sea Cucumbers ·        Decorator Crabs and Sea Sponges Below are pictures of a couple of the examples provided in this post.
Read more

Commensalism Examples

Image
As stated in the previous blog post, commensalism is a symbiotic relationship in which one organism or species benefits and the other organism or species isn't harmed significantly. There are many relationships that fit into the symbiotic relationship category of commensalism. The first example of Commensalism that I would like to discuss is... Picture from: https://sciencestruck.com/examples-of-commensalism Orchids Growing on Trees This relationship is commensalistic due to the fact that the trees aren't harmed by the Orchids growing on the trees, but the Orchids are provided a host in which to live. Orchids do not grow to be a large size therefore the tree isn't harmed significantly. The second example of Commensalism that I would like to discuss is... Picture from: https://sciencestruck.com/examples-of-commensalism The Monarch Butterfly and Milkweed This relationship is commensalistic due to the fact that Milkweeds contain a poisonus chem
Read more

Parasitism... What is it?

Image
What is parasitism? Parasitism is the practice of living as a parasite in or on another organism or species. This symbiotic relationships between two species of plants or animals is where one organism benefits completely, at the expense of the other organism which often will lead the "host" organism to death. Scientists classify parasites as ectoparasites which include ticks, lice, etc. These types of parasites attach to a host, and drain the host of its nutrients/resources while not providing anything in return to the host but often times killing off the host. Below, I have included the lift cycle of a tick and how it is a parasite on organisms. Picture from: https://www.britannica.com/science/parasitism
Read more