Oh, hey, didn't see you there. I'm lil_n00blett, and I'm an environmental scientist. No, no, not one of those liberal PETA environmentalist faggots. An environmental scientist studies the world around us, such as animals, aquatics, soils, forestry, etc. I take part in an international competition called Canon Envirothon, spanning throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Seeing as my part on the team is the forestry expert, and I am from Oregon, I will be talking about some common trees in Oregon and later moving onto some other common trees found throughout North America.
[B]But first, an overview! What is a tree?[/B]
Wikipedia says a tree is "most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance." It's really easier to look outside and find as many leaf-covered objects as you can and group them together by height. Trees are usually taller than humans, anything shorter can be flowers, bushes, and a variety of other plants.
[B][U]Components of a tree:[/U][/B]
[B]Leaves[/B]
[img]http://www.scriptfx.com/gallery/plants/leaves.jpg[/img]
Leaves are found on the branches of trees and are essential to the life of a tree. Leaves absorb sunlight, and through a process called photosynthesis, convert materials into glucose for use in the tree. Needles are also leaves, despite looking different.
[b]Trunk[/b]
[img]http://www.ibanorum.netfirms.com/trunk-langat.jpg[/img]
The trunk of the tree provides a couple of different functions. Firstly, it is like one big superhighway that transports water and glucose to all different areas of the tree. It also provides support to the tree so it doesn't fall over like a giant, wood-covered flaccid dick.
[b]Roots[/b]
[img]http://www.arborcentre.co.uk/images/roots.jpg[/img]
The roots are the third main component of the tree. Roots burrow into the ground and, depending on the type of environment, either dig deep down or fan out to collect nutrients and water from the soil.
[u][b]Tree Cross-Section[/b][/u]
[img]http://education.nachi.org/images/upload/LH_Tree_cross-section_nomenclature.jpg[/img]
You can ignore some of the terms in there, what you really need to focus on are these key parts of a tree trunk:
[b]Outer Bark[/b] - The outer bark is what you peel off when you're bored. Don't peel off too much though, or the tree will die. Outer bark provides protection and insulation to the tree.
[b]Inner Bark[/b] - The inner bark, or phloem, transports glucose from the leaves to the rest of the tree. An easy way to remember it is by the name, [i]phloem,[/i] it sounds like [i]flow.[/i] And where do things flow? Downward. From the leaves, [i]down[/i] to the rest of the tree.
[b]Cambium[/b] - The cambium is an extremely thin, almost microscopic layer of cells known as the "growth layer" of the tree. It is what leaves rings behind every year that scientists use to count the age of a tree.
[b]Sapwood[/b] - The sapwood, or xylem, transports nutrients and water from the roots to the rest of the tree.
[b]Heartwood[/b] - The heartwood in the center of the tree is a large mass of dead tissue that provides the support to the rest of the trunk and keeps the tree upright.
[b][u]Trees[/u][/b]
Now, what you came in here for. Trees!
[B][U]Douglas Fir[/U][/B] - [I]Pseudotsuga menziesii[/I]
[img]http://www.fast-growing-trees.com/images/DouglasFir-220w.jpg[/img]
Douglas Firs, or Doug Firs, aren't actually fir trees. They were improperly named and were eventually given their own family after being unable to be classified. Douglas Firs are huge in Oregon's lumber industry and are one of the most widely-used trees in the world. They are great for construction, and are the trees you buy every year to put in your house for Christmas.
[B][U]Bigleaf Maple[/U][/B] - [I]Acer macrophyllum[/I]
[img]http://www.bentonswcd.org/projects/treesale/images/big-leaf-maple.jpg[/img]
Bigleaf Maples are another important tree. They are used for furniture and various instruments such as the piano and guitar. Despite the Canadian Flag simply using a "maple leaf," a very broad term, the maple leaf they had in mind when designing the flag was probably that of the Bigleaf Maple.
[B][U]Ponderosa Pine[/U][/B] - [I]Pinus ponderosa[/I]
[img]http://www.mt.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/ecs/forestry/images/ponderosa.jpg[/img]
Ponderosa Pines are found all along the west coast of North America as well as throughout the Rockies. They are used in window frames and furniture, I believe, and are a pretty unique-looking tree, with 4-6 inch-long needles and golden jigsaw puzzle-like bark.
[B][U]Western Hemlock[/U][/B] - [I]Tsuga heterophylla[/I]
[img]http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/treebook/westernhemlock.jpg[/img]
Western Hemlocks are an easily-distinguishable tree. Their needles are short and blunt, and the top of the tree, the "leader" of the tree, is drooping, as you can see in the picture. The tree is used in tea for its nutritional values, but, outside Oregon, it is commonly used for lumber and paper.
[B][U]Incense Cedar[/U][/B] - [I]Calocedrus decurrens[/I]
[img]http://www.cwsd.org/images/incensecedar.jpg[/img]
Incense Cedar, there's another name for it that is more commonly used but I can never remember, is an ornamental tree, usually used as hedges and such. It is also the most commonly-used tree in pencils, because of the properties of the wood in that it doesn't like to splinter as much when sharpened.
[B]Conclusion[/B]
I hope you enjoyed listening to me ramble on about trees, and maybe you learned a thing or two. Check back in with me if you'd like, I may have added some more trees to the list.
If you're feeling like you've never thought about what kind of tree it is that's sitting out in your lawn, and you're from western North America, take some pictures of the tree and maybe I can identify it for you. You'll need a picture of the entire tree, as well as a picture of a branch and leaves up close, and a close-up of the bark.
Those fuckers almost killed us all.
[highlight](User was banned for this post ("Snipe." - ventilated))[/highlight]
You forgot to mention the best part, the fact they're combustible.
Why are we getting threads on stuff we already know?
every 10-15 minutes, 200 football (american football) fields' worth of amazon rainforest gets cut down
Where the hell is the Canadian flag and Rush!?
[editline]02:13AM[/editline]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWHEcIbhDiw[/media]
[img]http://d2k5.com/sa_emots/emot-canada.gif[/img]
[QUOTE=KaIibos;16659221]every 10-15 minutes, 200 football (american football) fields' worth of amazon rainforest gets cut down[/QUOTE]
your point is?
[QUOTE=jani_killer;16659258]your point is?[/QUOTE]
it's a thread about trees isn't it
forests are composed primarily of trees
the amazon rainforest is a particularly important forest
gg
Informative but useless.
[QUOTE=Reaver1991;16659242]Where the hell is the Canadian flag and Rush!?
[editline]02:13AM[/editline]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWHEcIbhDiw[/media]
[img]http://d2k5.com/sa_emots/emot-canada.gif[/img][/QUOTE]
The Canadian Flag was mentioned, had you read the thread.
i have not
[editline]02:21AM[/editline]
i did skim over the pictures, though
[QUOTE=meatballfish;16659207]Why are we getting threads on stuff we already know?[/QUOTE]
You might know what a tree is, but chances are you can't identify more than ten, nor do you know the functions of the parts of a tree.
[QUOTE=KaIibos;16659317]it's a thread about trees isn't it
forests are composed primarily of trees
the amazon rainforest is a particularly important forest
gg[/QUOTE]
why is this amazon your talking about so important we got threes all over the fucking world don't we?
but remember three makes you houses and keep you warm in the winter, so i say as long as they keep about 30% of the forest standing in the end we shouldn't care.
I have shampoo that smells like leaves
[QUOTE=jani_killer;16659440]why is this amazon your talking about so important we got threes all over the fucking world don't we?
but remember three makes you houses and keep you warm in the winter, so i say as long as they keep about 30% of the forest standing in the end we shouldn't care.[/QUOTE]
Considering the Amazon has a hell of a lot of trees, they contribute a ton to reducing CO2 levels. Plus, the rainforest is one of the most biodiverse areas in the world, and is an extremely important ecosystem.
However, that statistic is a complete fabrication, and while it is a major problem that South Americans are leveling the rainforests, they aren't doing it that quickly.
Found this image, should contribute it to the OP. It's a pretty good example of how the natural environment of trees in North America has been affected by humans. Trees have changed somewhat subtly with the introduction of humans and the way we affect their natural habitat.
[img]http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/6154/slenderforest2bcopy852.jpg[/img]
You forgot Ebony.
Or Rosewood.
Or Mahogany.
WHERE ARE ALL THE AWESOME WOODS?
[QUOTE=Shock;16659617]Found this image, should contribute it to the OP. It's a pretty good example of the natural environment of trees in North America, untouched by humans. Trees have changed somewhat subtly with the introduction of humans and the way we affect their natural habitat.
[img]http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/6154/slenderforest2bcopy852.jpg[/img][/QUOTE]
Alas, those trees have indeed been touched by humans. Proof:
Benches/fences in lower right, lack of foliage on understory of forest indicates human intervention, slender man on the left, and the lower ~20 feet of the trees have been cleared of branches.
[img]http://badatsports.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/Family-Guy-4ACX29-Evil-Tree.png[/img]
Sumpin bout' trees
[QUOTE=lil_n00blett;16659656]Alas, those trees have indeed been touched by humans. Proof:
Benches/fences in lower right, lack of foliage on understory of forest indicates human intervention, slender man on the left, and the lower ~20 feet of the trees have been cleared of branches.[/QUOTE]
Not to mention were looking form the perspective of a [I]camera.[/I]
Trees are cool. But we got so many of them i see no urgency in stopping deforestation. Of course rain forest forestation needs to stop because we can learn so much from them. I do believe Tree farms are a great idea however.
I'm more of a Coral Reef person myself.
Fun Fact: At the current rate of deforestation the Rainforest is going to be gone by 2050, well within our lifetime.
In other words, we're going to lose not only the cure for Cancer (It's somewhere in there, god dammit!) We're probably going to lose the cure for a lot of other diseases, or even medical wonders not related to disease.
Not to mention Africa is going to get next to nothing rain because of its loss, since the water vapor released by tree's are some of the primary forms of making rain.
[QUOTE=OvB;16659795]Not to mention were looking form the perspective of a [I]camera.[/I]
Trees are cool. But we got so many of them i see no urgency in stopping forestation. Of course rain forest forestation needs to stop because we can learn so much from them. I do believe Tree farms are a great idea however.
I'm more of a Coral Reef person myself.[/QUOTE]
The word you are looking for is deforestation. And, at least in America and most western civilization, the harvesting of wood is a well-established industry that is very well-regulated. However, in places like the Amazon, deforestation is a problem because of the huge rate of harvesting and such little attempts to replace those trees.
There are such things as tree farms, by the way.
[QUOTE=Shock;16659617]Found this image, should contribute it to the OP. It's a pretty good example of how the natural environment of trees in North America has been affected by humans. Trees have changed somewhat subtly with the introduction of humans and the way we affect their natural habitat.
[img]http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/6154/slenderforest2bcopy852.jpg[/img][/QUOTE]
There's trouble in the forest.
[QUOTE=lil_n00blett;16659656]Alas, those trees have indeed been touched by humans. Proof:
Benches/fences in lower right, lack of foliage on understory of forest indicates human intervention, slender man on the left, and the lower ~20 feet of the trees have been cleared of branches.[/QUOTE]
that's what i was meaning to say, but my brain farted while i was typing
You forgot spruce and poplar, the MANLY trees.
[QUOTE=lil_n00blett;16659656]Alas, those trees have indeed been touched by humans. Proof:
Benches/fences in lower right, lack of foliage on understory of forest indicates human intervention, [B][I]slender man on the left[/I][/B], and the lower ~20 feet of the trees have been cleared of branches.[/QUOTE]
I like how subtley you slip that in... I was going to have to if you didn't anyway.
The picture is in that thread... so "found this pic"... well....
Yes.
You should join the green party
I like trees, they have their priorities straight.
OP, if a tree falls in the forest, and nobody is around, does it make a sound?
I had a tree in my front yard, but it got cut down.
:(
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.
