ama's STEM explorers is made possible by the generous support of the Holle Family Foundation established to honor the legacy of Brigadier General Everett Holle and his parents, Evelyn and Fred Holle.

Champions of servant leadership, science, technology, engineering math.

All right, now on Alabama STEM Explorers.

Welcome to Alabama STEM Explorers.

I'm Riley.

Here is my new friend Blair at Cool Springs Environmental Education Center.

Thanks, Riley.

Today we're going to talk about tree cookies, which are these right here and what they tell foresters about trees.

So if you were to take a look at this tree cookie, what would you be able to tell about it?

Well, I mean, I see rings on it, which you don't normally.

I guess you see it because the tea tree is cut up.

But I see like a circle in the middle.

And that's kind of all I see.

If you had to guess, how old do you think this tree was?

Um, I'm not sure.

I don't know how to tell.

I mean, do you think it's kind of small?

So I'd say, like, the width of it is kind of small, So I'd say it's young, a little round.

So.

So you think that the tree is young because it's small?

Yeah.

That's a good observation.

So this one's small, too, right?

It's got a lot of rings, but yeah, it has more rings.

So this one is actually small because it's a branch, and then this one is small, even though it's the stem of the tree.

But we tell it's age by counting the rings inside.

I guess all trees can grow differently.

Yeah, that's like sometimes.

Well, you'll I'll see people shorter than me that are older than me, so that makes sense.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So we can't always go off in size.

So that's a good tool that foresters can use is like counting the rings inside the tree.

So this one would be would you do you count the dark ones or do you count the light ones?

Yeah.

So you can count the dark or the light ones, but it's typically easier to count the dark green.

Yeah.

And if you can't count both of them, you have to count.

Yeah.

You count one or the other.

This one's about one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight years old.

Yeah, that's right.

Oh, this one was pretty young, but it's because it's got less rings.

Yeah.

This one looks like it would be really old.

Yeah.

It has a lot of rings and it has good size too, so that's cool that the branch can also tell you how old it is.

Yeah, because each ring is each year, each season of new growth.

So as the stem of the tree and the branches of the trees grow, they put on a same rate.

Yeah, they put on a new ring.

And are there rings coming?

Are they growing from the outside or coming from the inside?

Like, does it come in?

So if this is like I'm not really sure what that is, but is the ring going to start growing on the outside or is it going to start from the inside and come out?

It's going to start growing from the outside.

So it's going to put on growth outwards.

Oh, but it's going to grow from the middle.

Yeah, that's right.

Okay.

So like right here, a new ring would grow and then it would keep moving outward.

Actually, it's going to put on new rings around here in the middle is going to stay pretty solid.

So next we're going to label this diagram and we're going to start with heartwood.

And if you could, where do you think heartwood is on this diagram?

Well, based off the name, seems like it would be right here, like right in the middle of the tree, kind of like how your heart's kind of in the middle of everything.

Yeah, that's good.

That's correct.

So the heartwood is the dead tissue in the center of the tree that provides support for the tree.

Kind of like the building block of it.

Yeah, that's right.

And so all the rings are going to grow around it.

Yes.

And the heartwood is what stores sugar dyes and oils.

And does it spread nutrients around one good thing.

Yeah.

It's kind of like how your heart it spreads blood around, which keeps you growing and thriving.

And then the heartwood spreads around like nutrients and dyes and stuff.

Yeah.

Keep you growing.

So since the heart, since the heartwood stores different nutrients for the tree, the heartwood is typically darker than the rest.

Yeah.

So you can see it really well on this one.

How it's dark in the middle and then it's lighter around and you can kind of see it in this one too.

And there is, I'm noticing a hole in this branch, but would there be a heartwood in the branch?

Yeah, you can see how it's a little bit darker.

It's darker there.

Yeah, it's really cool.

Sometimes it's sometimes it's harder to see on pine trees than it would be on a hardwood tree.

And these are all pine.

It depends on the tree.

Yeah, that's right.

Next to xylem.

So I'm not sure where that would go.

Oh, I don't know.

Where does that go?

So the xylem is what's going to come right after heartwood.

So it's going to come next.

Next.

It's like the main part of the tree.

Like main part of the tree growth.

Yeah, that's right.

So the xylem is also known as the sap wood and it's comprised of the youngest layers of wood.

The xylem is actually a network of thick walled cells that bring water and nutrients from the roots to the leaves and to other parts of the trees.

So there's kind of transporting nutrients and helping the tree to grow.

Does the xylem transport the nutrients from the heart to the rest of the tree?

Is that kind of what's happening?

Yes, the xylem is what's going to transport like water and o stuff from the ground.

Yeah, it's going to transport from the roots all the way to the top of the tree.

So it's like.

Like an elevator for nutrients.

Yeah.

And then next we have cambium.

Yes.

Yeah.

So which part do you think is that?

Cambium Maybe this thin part right here?

Yeah, that's correct.

So what is the cambium?

So the cambium is a thin layer of growing tissue that produces new form which we haven't gotten to quite yet, and it also produces new cambium and new xylem cells.

So it pretty much produces a lot.

It does a lot.

Yeah, that's right.

It helps to create the building blocks and the cells that the tree needs to grow.

And then next we have the Phloem which you just mentioned.

So we've got so the Phloem on is also known as the inner bark of the tree and the Phloem acts as a food supply line by carrying sap and sap is the sugar and nutrients.

So in the tree would be like, where would it be on this tree?

I think it's a little hard to tell because these are all so small, but would it be right before.

Yeah, that's bark on the outside.

Yeah, that's right.

It's going to be right before your outer bark, which is the next point on our diet.

Oh, the outer bark.

Yeah.

So the outer bark is like the stuff on the outside of a tree.

Yeah.

That you can see it really good on this one.

Yeah.

But you can like, peel off and take off.

Yeah.

So that isn't good for the tree, but no, but it'll fall off.

Yeah.

And so the outer bark is more of a protective layer for the tree.

So it's not really transporting nutrients through the tree and it's going to protect it from like harm or anything.

Yeah.

From, from fire or insects or, you know, like you said, peeling people coming and peeling the bark off.

So it's like you're almost like your skin, how your skin protects your body.

So I've learned a lot right now.

But I'm wondering, you have to cut these trees down to learn how old they are.

And it just seems like a lot to go through because what if you accidentally cut down a really young tree?

So is there any way, like is the only way to do it by chopping a whole entire tree down?

No.

So good point.

So, yes, these trees, we know how old they are when they were cut, but to tell how old a tree is before it's cut down, we have this tool called an increment borer.

Oh, cool.

So then we can tell the age of a standing tree.

So the increment borer, it's very compact so that it's not heavy and cumbersome to carry around.

So the end of it unscrews and it's actually a couple couple different parts that's in one.

Yeah.

So I'm interested to see how this works.

Yeah.

So once it's assembled.

Oh do you stick it into the tree.

Yeah.

And then it looks like you twist it around.

Yeah.

That's right.

You get it pretty.

Yeah.

It's got perpendicular hole right here, so just stick it right in.

Yeah.

It's got a screw on the end and a hole and it's hollow in the middle so that when you screw it in the tree, the part of the tree is coming the whole time.

And you, you want to screw it to about halfway through the tree because you don't want to go all the way through the tree because we just need to count half of the growth rings.

We don't need to count on each side.

So once you get done, there's this thing.

Yeah.

Okay.

So that part goes in the middle and you wiggle it around and that's how you get your cross-section with.

And it would pull out a stick like that.

Yeah, exactly.

Oh, I see.

Now, because you can take this little stick and you can count all the rings from it.

Yeah, it's really cool if you are lining up with this, then it's.

Yeah, that's cool too.

This tree looks pretty old, huh?

Yeah, it's got a lot of rings.

So.

No, it's pretty small.

I guess if that's halfway through, it'd be like, actually bigger than this.

So look at it from halfway and it looks pretty, pretty small.

But then take it like that.

And this has lighter wood.

So is that because it was alive whenever you took it out?

Yeah, that's right.

It's fresh.

Yeah.

So it makes it easier to count The dark growth rings.

So it's the same concept.

You just count the little dark rings.

And why would you need to know, like, how old it once again.

Yeah.

So not only can we tell the age of the tree from the cookies and the increment, we can also assess the health of the trees.

Right?

So the tighter the growth rings, the more slow growing it is.

And so like this one is super tight.

Yep.

So that means that this tree grew really fast and then it slowed down and then it slowed down a lot.

So.

So it still gets a ring every year.

Yeah, but their ring is just not as big like this one.

It grew super fast and just like, I mean, we'll still looks like a bunch of years, but definitely not as much as this.

And it's, it's really it's like almost the same size.

Yeah.

So it really goes to show how these can grow differently.

It's like amazing.

Everything that I've learned here just from being able to, like, cut down a tree or take out a stick of the tree, you can find out how old it is.

I thought people just guessed by how big it was.

Yeah, it's a it's very interesting and it's a really good tool for foresters.

It's definitely interesting to know that it's not just how big it is, it's how many ages it is.

Well, I had so much fun learning about trees with you.

I can't wait to learn more.

When I first officially got interested in forestry, probably when I was in college, I did not know that I wanted to have a career in forestry until I started school, but I was always interested in like environmental science or like having a job outside and I was interested in and the environmental studies, natural resources, field because I grew up next to a national park and I worked at the national park when I was in college.

And I got to help with a lot of research studies.

And so I knew that I wanted to be outside and have a career in natural resources for Weyerhaeuser I am in charge of the harvest scheduling and harvest planning, so that includes harvest out.

So flagging blue lines or flagging essences and buffers, looking for threatening endangered species and making sure they're protected during harvest, and then also road layout and road maintenance for log truck traffic and other activities.

My favorite day at work is probably not a day in July is probably in the winter whenever it's cool.

And being out in the woods by myself and, you know, walking around in the woods when the weather is nice and seeing cool things like flagging or really nice stream buffer and just being out and seeing nature and seeing different types of trees and maybe even seeing like some wildlife, like a deer, those are really exciting days or things, something unusual like a bobcat.

So those days are fun and that's probably what I enjoy the most.

The advice that I would give students today is if there's something that you enjoy doing, if you enjoy being outside, then find a career that's outside.

Don't pick a career because you think it's a good idea.

Make sure that it's something that you truly enjoy doing and that'll help further down the road.

Whenever you're picking a college major, picking a trade that you want to do.

Welcome back to Alabama STEM Explorers, I'm here with my friend, to learn more about Green Bay Riley today.

We're going to talk about some of the benefits that wildlife have from our trees as well as some goods from the woods.

So back behind us, we have a mature pine stand and the canopy of the trees provides shelter for birds and other wildlife like insects.

And as you come down to the roots, they provide shelter for burrowing animals.

Oh, like rabbits, kind of rabbits, groundhogs, stuff like that.

Squirrels up in the canopy.

Oh, that's cool.

Yeah.

It's amazing how one tree can just, like, be a habitat to so many different animals, like squirrels, birds, insects, and at the bottom, bunnies groundhogs, that kind of stuff.

That's awesome.

That's right.

Like, we even saw some raccoons out here this morning that can use these trees as their habitat possums.

That's right.

So home to so many different animals that call these forests home, but not just mature trees.

But we also have dead trees that once they're killed by disease, fire, insects, they're still useful to the biome and to all the animals.

For example, old snags, which are just dead trees, provide habitat to woodpeckers, nest cavities.

They can go in there and burrow holes in those, too.

Like when you see like a hole in a tree.

Is it normally from a dead tree?

So the live trees, once they get stressed and they die, they're more susceptible to woodpeckers coming in.

And the holes in those trees provide shelter for woodpeckers and other animals squirrel them from predators.

That's right.

So, yeah.

And so dead trees provide many services as well as the alive trees to us.

And even when they fall down and start decomposing, they're feeding the decomposers as well.

So what eats the decomposed tree like?

Do animals eat those?

Yeah, different animals like termites.

So bugs and beetles feed on those fallen trees.

And then the animals that can become like squirrels or I guess deer or whatever, they can come eat the bugs, right?

That's right.

So the cycle just continues throughout the big life cycle of energy.

And after they fall, natural region comes up.

So trees have seedlings, they come back up and as part of that, so then they like come back up and they grow and they start as like a baby tree kind of that's right.

And then what can the baby trees provide?

The baby trees provide also food for the deer that browse on it.

Yeah.

And then they compete against the larger trees for like sunlight, water, water and food and space.

And then those trees become mature trees again and restart the whole cycle all over.

So pretty much if they're dead, if a tree is dead or alive, growing, fallen, it will still provide pretty much it'll still provide for the environment.

That's right.

That's really cool that that can happen.

All part of how about like, okay, so when the tree falls, how does it grow again?

Are there seeds in the tree that like come back up and grow?

That's right.

So have you ever seen pine cones?

Yeah.

So those are just packs of seeds and they're each one of those little pointy thing.

What do you think is coming out?

Holds the seed that when, when, when comes along or it falls, it'll come out and it'll fall to the ground and start as a young sapling.

Whoa, That's really cool.

And then the sapling comes up and it's a young tree and the deer can come and browse on that and then it matures.

That's really cool how that cycle keeps happening, you know?

Right?

Yeah.

It's amazing that, like, trees can do that because they're pretty much good for anything, even if they're dead.

Okay, so what else can you tell me about them?

Is there anything else?

So next we're going to talk about some of the goods that we can get from the woods, like this stuff on the table.

That's right.

So our activity is going to be to organize these into four different categories food, paper, wood and others.

So all these items on the tree in some way started out as trees.

Wait, so you're telling me that gum started out as a tree?

That's right.

That's crazy that all of these things can start out as trees because you just look at a tree and you see that.

But what's the first thing we're going to be doing?

So we're going to be organizing these different goods that we have down here food, paper, other and wood.

That's right.

All right.

So we'll start off with coffee.

The nuts and seeds of any trees provide food for both humans and animals.

Most of the world's coffee is obtained from berries of the Arabica coffee tree and other edible nuts like pine kernels, walnuts and pecans.

So where do you think that coffee would go up on there?

Well, it's not wood paper, and I'm I think it would go under food because you can eat it.

Well, you can drink it.

That's right.

For today, we'll group drinks and food together into that category.

Next, we have facial tissue like tissues that you use whenever you sneeze.

That's right.

So papers, including facial tissues, toilet paper, paper towels, newspapers and writing papers are made from the cellulose, which is the main building block of the trees.

And they have to grind it down really, really thin, I guess, to get at this then that's cool that it comes from a tree.

That's right.

So they go to pulp mills and it goes from some of the smaller trees in here are cut down and taken through the mill and then it comes out as pulp, which then can be made in different paper product.

Yeah.

So where do you think facial tissue would go up on the board?

We'll go into paper.

There we go.

Next stop, we have toothpaste.

So toothpaste actually contains a cellulose gum, a natural product derived from wood.

And the gum acts as a binder that provides this creamy texture in the toothpaste.

Many toothpastes also contain Turpin, which is a chemical derived from the wood used to sweeten spearmint or peppermint flavors.

I had no idea toothpaste came from a tree or part of your face came from a tree that's right.

That's crazy.

Cellulose senate, which comes from the fibers inside the tree.

I'm already learning that trees do so much more than just make paper or just help for habitats.

I'm guessing that would go on other.

That's right.

All right.

So sticky notes also come from trees, the branches of large trees, and also the trees themselves on smaller ones are used to make thousands of different paper products, including writing paper tissues like we talked about before, and boxes like you get with a package.

Yeah, like a cardboard box.

That's right.

So where do you think the Post-it notes or sticky notes go?

I think sticky notes would go under paper because it's paper.

Yeah.

What's next?

So crayons also come from trees, the wax and the crayons, which comes from the leaves of certain trees, is the waxy component of crayons, lipstick and other cosmetics.

It's also used in car wax and finish coating in furniture, fruits, vegetables and a wide variety of other products, like the coating on medicine tablets.

That's crazy that that can come from a tree, Right?

So where do you think that crayons would go up on the board?

Well, up on the board, I think we're going to other.

That's right.

It's not a wood food or paper.

It's something else.

What's next?

So next step we have cookies.

Oh, yum.

Wait, Those come from trees?

Yeah.

So many foods contain cocoa from the seeds of the tree and vanillin, which is an artificial vanilla flavoring made from lignin, which is the natural glue that holds the wood together.

Oh, cool.

Yeah.

So, like, the vanilla is, like, kind of can be, like, the frosting inside of some cookies, you know?

Yeah, they can, like, bond the two cookies together.

It can provide the flavoring as well as the bonding of the cookies in some products.

All right, What's next?

Next up, we have rulers.

Rulers.

So I guess they are made out of wood.

Kind of, right?

At least the wooden rulers are.

So.

Yeah, the trunks of trees are used primarily to make solid wood products like lumber, like we have here, as well as lumber handles for tools and instruments, a variety of species of trees can also be used to make rulers, including white pine, oak and maple.

Oh, cool.

Yeah.

So where do you think that the wooden ruler would go up on the board?

Well, it's wood.

That's right.

That's really cool.

I mean, honestly, I just thought trees made paper, but they make a lot more.

That's why they provide wood paper products as well as the cellulose.

And that provides the foundation for many other products like we see up here on the board.

Yeah, I didn't realize they provided anything other than wood.

Yeah.

And so part of the sap actually goes into chewing gum, which is maybe the rosin store acts of the sun from the sap of spruce usually is the tree that provides this chewing gum may also contain those two we talked about earlier and wood chemicals used to sweeten peppermint and spearmint flavors.

Oh, cool.

So we can like, cause minty flavors or sweeten them.

That's right.

That's really cool.

I think we've got one more to go with this.

Go under other food.

There you can go under Both spring.

Put it under either.

All right, I'll put it under other for now.

What's next?

Next step we have soda, especially citrus soda.

Soft drinks contain chemicals from the wood called esters.

These esters, which are chemical leftovers from the papermaking process, act as a weighting agent and an even mixture of citrus flavors.

So they make sure that like an orange flavor stays even and isn't like stronger in some sips and like weaker in the others.

That's right.

They act as kind of that mixing agent in there.

Oh that's cool that they like mix it as a chemical.

That's cool.

I think we've got one more to go.

Yeah.

The last one we have is pencil, a very obvious wood product we have here, and this softwood is able to withstand repeated sharpening.

It can be cut without splintering is aromatic and easily takes wood stain or lacquer for its coloring and for its consistency.

Yeah.

So they've got to have like a pretty strong wood since it gets sharpened a lot.

That's right.

All right.

That's really cool.

I honestly had no idea that all of these things can come from a tree, like, especially food.

I didn't know that the trees had chemicals like that, but is there anything else we need to talk about?

Yeah.

So in order to keep these chemicals or to keep these products, we need to sustainably manage our forests to make sure we can keep on having these products available.

So that means every time that a tree is cut down, we replant it with one or more new ones and keep that out of, say, development or other uses.

So we keep it in forest so we can keep the habitats and all the animals safe.

And we can also have all of these things.

That's right.

That's really awesome.

I'm I can't believe I was able to learn this much about trees.

I came into this knowing that they could make paper and obviously wood and products because they're wood, but that's about it.

And I've learned so much about the growing and how they age and everything.

So thank you so much.

Yeah, of course.

Yeah.

They provide Habitat for Wildlife several products, and our job as foresters is to keep them sustainable and ready for the next cycle.

That's awesome.

See you on next episode of Alabama STEM Explorers.

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Alabama STEM explorers is made possible by the generous support of the Holle Family Foundation established to honor the legacy of Brigadier General Everett Holle and his parents, Evelyn and Fred Holle, champions of servant leadership.