Roots; they're where we come from...

I wanted to take a photo of my tree's trunk to show where it comes from out of the ground. Most people only pay attention to a tree's leaves, so this photo and post is to concentrate on its roots. The tree has roots that are underground that we can't see, but they are very important to the tree's health. According to Sillick and Jacobi, "Roots obtain water, oxygen, and minerals from soil. Soil compaction, change in soil depth and improper watering can injure roots, increasing stress and susceptibility to disease and insects. To avoid root disease, maintain a healthy vigorous environment around a tree. Once a root system is severly affected, the tree usually must be removed." So from this, we see trees need more care than most people think they do! If the areas around them aren't a good environment for them, they can produce root disease which can result in extermination of the entire tree. Trees are important to our environment for many reasons and provide ecosystem services that I've already noted in a previous post. So in conclusion, the healthier the roots, the healthier the tree, the healthier the environment.

J.M. Sillick, & W.R. Jacobi, (August 29, 2011). Healthy Roots and Healthy Trees. Retrieved from http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/02926.html

Prediction

As the next four months pass, the weather will become cold and Bloomington will look different than it does today. My tree will look dehydrated and shriveled. It will not have leaves, so you will be able to see all of its branches. The only color of my tree will be brown. It will not be as vibrant and colorful as it is now. In the next few weeks, I will see that the leaves are turning brown and they will be on the ground, instead of on the tree branches.

Ecosystem Services

Forest ecosystems provide many goods and services for many environments. Trees specifically provide goods such as lumber and many different services. Some of the services are, maintaining biodiversity, removing air pollutants, emitting oxygen, generating soil, and cycles nutrients. Trees are important to all environments and help promote a good environment.


United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme, World Bank, World Resources Institute. "Primary Goods and Services Provided by Ecosystems." A Guide to World Resources 2000-2001 Sep. 2000: 5

Introduction

I decided to choose a tree as my natural entity because trees remind me of my earliest childhood experiences. At the age of 6, I started to climb a small lilac tree next to my house every day. It was one of my favorite things to do, but now that I think about it, I'm a little concerned why my parents didn't stop me from climbing a tree at such a young age? I may have to look into that... I had a spot in the tree where I was able to sit. As a child, you're short, and you're usually looking up at everyone and almost everything, but when I would climb my tree, I could see a lot more at once rather than only what I saw straight ahead of me.