Ch 8 - Exploring the Forest Flashcards
The forest community lives around and depends on what plants?
trees
How does the sapsucker depend on trees?
Trees have sap and contain many insects which provide food for the sapsucker.
How has God designed the balance in the forest community?
Birds eat many insects that could destroy the plant life and upset the balance of nature.
What kind of life begins a food chain?
green plants
The tiniest plants of the forest do not grow from seeds. What do they grow from?
spores
What are fungi and bacteria?
Fungi and bacteria are plants containing no chlorophyll that must get their food from other plants or animals.
How are fungi and bacteria good for the forest?
They decay dead plants and animals, returning the minerals to the soil.
Give an example of a kind of fungus.
mushrooms
toadstools
What are the largest plants in the forest?
trees
How can you tell the age of a tree?
You can tell the age of a tree by counting its annual rings.
What are annual rings?
Annual rings are the circles in the wood of a tree trunk. Each circle stands for a year’s growth.
What is sapwood?
Sapwood is the lighter rings of wood that carry the sap from the roots to the leaves.
What is heartwood?
Heartwood is the dark rings of wood beginning at the center of a tree trunk. Heartwood is very hard and strong.
What do wide annual rings indicate?
Wide annual rings mean there was plenty of rain while the tree was growing.
What happens to the annual rings as a tree grows older?
The annual rings get thinner.
What are the three main parts of a tree?
crown
trunk
roots
What is the crown of a tree?
The crown is its branches and leaves.
What is the trunk of the tree?
The trunk is the stem, which moves sap and food up and down the tree.
What are the roots of the tree?
The roots are the part in the ground. They take in water and minerals from the soil and hold the tree in the ground.
What does decay mean?
To decay means to break down.
What do trees give off?
oxygen
What substance from the soil is used to make food in green plants?
nitrogen
Is it true that frost makes the leaves change colour in autumn?
No. Frost would kill the leaves, turning them brown.
What makes the leaves change colour in autumn?
The leaves stop making chlorophyll, which gives leaves their green colour.
