Suitable+Environment+for+Norway+Maple

=   Introduction  =

toc


Wat ershed is a year-long project assigned to groups of two or three people. Our class was assigned to pick one of the evasive species in ** Flat Rock Brook ** nature center and to examine it with a specific topic. Our group decided to study “** Norway Maple Tree .**” Be fore we began we did some quick research about Norway Maple Tree, and found out that it is one of the popular kinds of tree in United States and used as street trees.

(5 different sites that we were working on for the project) 


 * A plant or animal that has been introduced by humans to a place where it does not naturally exist.
 * Without further aid from humans, the species must be able to reproduce and create a breeding population in the new environment.
 * The species must become widespread in the new habitat.

==—  Hypothesis   ==

 Norway Maple is capable of surviving in any kind of environment due to its resilient characteristic.

(Different colors of the leaves of maple)

— <span style="color: rgb(110, 59, 232); font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif">Basic Information
Norway Maples are <span style="background: yellow none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial">not native to United States. They were brought in from Europe to use as street trees because they can **<span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif">withstand most diseases and pests. They are also capable of surviving the air pollution and infertile soil. ** **<span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif">It can live in the soil that has pH level of 3.7 ~ 7 and in any soil type whether it is sand, loam, or clay if it is not too dry or too wet. ** Therefore, The Norway Maples in Flat Rock are displacing the <span style="background: yellow none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial">Sugar Maples, which is native to United States. Sugar Maples are in many ways more useful than Norway Maples. For example, Sugar Maple’s sap is used for the production of <span style="background: yellow none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial">maple syrups and the tree is also used for the basketball court floor for <span style="background: yellow none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial">NBA and baseball bats because it is known as one of the densest and hardest tree. However, Sugar Maples are less resilient than Norway Maples. Although both the trees are highly shade tolerant, Norway Maples can survive urban conditions more easily than Sugar Maple thus proving that it can withstand a greater level of human impact. The Sugar Maple is often confused with the <span class="wiki_link_ext">Norway Maple, even though they are not closely related within the genus. The Sugar Maple is most easily identified by clear sap in the leaf <span class="wiki_link_ext">petiole (the Norway Maple has white sap), brown sharp-tipped buds (the Norway Maple has blunt green or reddish purple buds), and shaggy bark on older trees (the Norway Maple bark has small grooves). Also, the leaf lobes of the Sugar Maple have a more triangular shape, in contrast to the squarish lobes of the Norway Maple. (a drawing of Norway Maple)

= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif"> <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif"> <span class="wiki_link_new" style="font-size: 110%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif">Procedure  =

<span style="color: rgb(118, 66, 66); font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif">— tools
1. GPS (Magellan explorer 400) 2. Soil Probe (Rapitest 4 - way analyzer) 3. Camera (Lumix)

We made several trips to Flat Rock Brook over the year. We had dificutly scheduling with the ranger, since the ranger was a quite busy person. For our first visit, we were trying to find Norway Maple according to the pictures that we saw on the internet without any information about it. Soon we figured out that there are many kinds of Maples in Flat Rock Brook than we previously thought. (Tree diversity in Flat Rock Brook)

From the experience of the first visit, we went out with the ranger for the second time. But as the ranger was busy again, we just had to look at Norway Maples near the office. Then we took pictures and recorded the sites to come back later. (the red circle indicating one of the huge Norway Maple in the nature center)

The third time we decided to collect some soil to test pH level, fertility, and humidity of the soil from different sites that we found. But, later we found out that it is better to test to soil at the site instead of bringing it back to the lab because when we bring the soil to the lab the quality changed unless we use some high tech device to preserve it during transportation. (collecting soil. There is the GPS at the left side)

The next time we paid a visit, there was a new ranger. His name was Mark Dwyer and we loved him because he was younger, funnier, and more kind than the previous ranger. Unlike the previous ranger, Mark helped us a lot with our project by taking us to the different sites where Norway Maple grow and the way to identify it. The easiest way was to tell is to just take a leaf from a tree and to check the sap at the tip of the stalk. If it is a Norway Maple, it contains a milky liquid in it, and if it is not, the liquid is clear. The ranger told us that Norway Maple is the only maple that has milky sap. Also, when we look behind the leaf (the under part of the leaf), Norway Maple leaf has shiny and smooth surface unlike other maple leaves. Moreover, we found out that there are many Norway Maples alongside the Jones Road. This fact suggests that Norway Maples were planted there as street trees. (the right most one is the leaf of Norway Maple)

Our final visit consisted of the usage of the soil probe. It could test 4 aspects of the environment: fertility of the soil, light intensity of the site, moisture level, and pH level. The results made it clear that what we learned from the internet sources were actually true: that Norway Maple is extremely resilient.

(refer to the map above)
 * = Tree # ||= 1 ||= 2 ||= 3 ||= 4 ||= 5 ||
 * = Fertility ||= Too Little ||= Ideal ||= Too Little ||= Too Little ||= Too Little ||
 * = Light ||= 6 ||= 3 ||= 5 ||= 4.5 ||= 6.5 ||
 * = Moisture ||= 2.3 ||= 3.2 ||= 2.9 ||= 2.6 ||= 3 ||
 * = pH ||= 6.5 ||= 5.8 ||= 4.9 ||= 5 ||= 6.8 ||

(had to take the pictures of soil probe at home because we forgot to take camera when we went to test the soil.)

= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif"> <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif"> <span class="wiki_link_new" style="font-size: 110%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif">Discussion  =

<span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif"> The first thing we looked at was the area where Norway Maple grows. It varied from the picnic area where the soil is more infertile and dry to the inner part of Flat Rock Brook where the soil is more fertile and moist. Although the size of the Norway Maple was different in those different sites, all of them managed to survive. Later on, we checked the details of the soil such as fertility, moisture level and pH level. The soil probe, showed that Norway Maple can grow in fairly acidic soil as the pH level ranged from 4.5 to 7, and dry soil like the one in the picnic area. Moreover, although the fertility of soil was not good overall as the data represented, Norway Maples from those various sites were healthy. We used GPS for a few times in the beginning but it did not have any practical use because it wasn't hard to remember those 5 different sites. Ranger Mark helped us with his vast knowledge about trees and the ecosystem of Flat Rock Brook, and he told us the places where we should look for Norway Maples. Also we learned from him that Norway Maple is the only Maple that has milky sap.

= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif"> <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif"> <span class="wiki_link_new" style="font-size: 110%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif">Conclusion  =

<span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif"> =<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif"> = <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif"> We concluded that Norway Maple really does grow in any kind of environment, which is not too extreme like a desert, since the data we collected represented the various pH levels, and different moisture and light levels. Also the fertility of the soil in Flat Rock Brook didn't really matter to the Norway Maple because of its resiliance. Throughout the course of our investigative project we also concluded that Norway Maple is not as beneficial to our society as Sugar Maple, because we do not use the Norway Maple as much as we use the Sugar Maple. When the Sugar Maple is used for the production of maple syrups and for basketball court floors and baseball bats, the Norway Maple has the mere practical usage as street tree. We deduced from all the information we gained from this project, we felt the need for our society to prevent the uncontrolled spread of the Norway Maple to protect our native tree, Sugar Maple. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif">

= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif"> <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif"> <span class="wiki_link_new" style="font-size: 110%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif">References  =

<span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif"> http://www.treehelp.com/trees/maple/maple-types-norway.asp -a brief information about Norway Maple

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway_Maple -wikipedia page for Norway Maple

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_Maple -wikipedia page for Sugar Maple

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/terrestrialplants/woody/norwaymaple.html -an overview of the characteristics of Norway Maple

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/invasivetutorial/norway_maple.htm -detailed article about Norway Maple & Sugar Maple = <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif"> <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif"> <span class="wiki_link_new" style="font-size: 110%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif">  =