A Little Bit More
You can be part of a citizen science project to document bud burst in your area. Check out www.windows.ucar.edu
Our unit poster deals with the phenological (fee-no-LODGE-ih-cal) cycle of the American Beech tree. Phenology is the science of relating climate to periodic biological activities. With the advent of satellite coverage of the Earth, phenologists can look at global vegetative patterns to help them better understand climate changes all over the world.
The dormant buds on trees and shrubs across North America all contain the necessary ingredients for next year’s growth. But the factors that initiate this process in the spring are not well understood and are quite complex. Although many researchers have looked at the phenomenon of bud burst, much more work needs to be done to even begin to understand what all of the factors are that triggers bud burst each spring.
Regardless whether we understand bud burst well or not, it’s an interesting and almost miraculous event that none of us should miss.
Activities
Science – Bud Burst Series
Objectives: Monitor bud burst on local tree/shrub
Materials: Access to tree or shrub, digital camera, colored ribbon, graph paper and pencil
Check out the great citizen science project at www.windows.ucar.edu
Most schools will have access to a tree or shrub on their property or nearby, but if not, a walk down the street in most places will find a tree that can be monitored. The idea here is for students to make some close observations of the actual opening of buds on a local tree or shrub.
Select a dormant tree or shrub that is readily accessible for you and/or students
It will probably be easiest if you tie a colored ribbon around a specific small section of a lower branch as your “subject” for this exercise (you only need to monitor one or two buds for this activity).
This is a wonderful opportunity for your students to use a digital camera to record data. Once one or two buds have been identified, have someone take a photo of the buds you’ve selected on a regular basis. As much as possible, take an “identical” photo each day (same time, format and camera angle) until the leaves are completely out. If you find that you started much too early in the season and are not getting any results that first week or two, simply discard your earlier photos in favor of subsequent ones that do show change. Be sure that each photo is dated (many cameras will date the photos for you) so you don’t mix up your series. Once you’re finished, you should have a nice series of photos showing a totally dormant bud change over time to bud burst and leaf growth for your selected tree.
If you wish, you can set up a graph to accompany your photos. Using graph paper, place dates on the X axis (you may want to do this daily or every other day) and bud appearance on the Y axis (eg. totally dormant buds, buds beginning to swell, bud burst, leaves beginning to unfold, and leaves fully unfolded)
Key Concepts
Scientific Method/Approach, Life Cycles, Growth and Development
Questions
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