| Explore | Larger trees tend to intercept more storm water and reduce more pounds of CO2 . Larger trees that bear fruit appear to conserve plenty of energy, greatly contribute to the air quality, and increase property value. The tree that contributes the least to its environment is the lemon tree (tree 1), and the three that contributes the most is the orange tree (tree 4). The Jacaranda tree (tree 3) has the largest diameter and is the only tree to not sequester any CO2 as well as contribute any square foot of Leaf Surface Area (LSA). For most of the trees, the amount of CO2 sequestered is greater than the amount avoided; the Jacaranda (tree 3) and Weeping Fig (tree 4) are the only trees to have greater amounts of CO2 avoided. |
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| Research Question | Do exposed roots have an effect on a tree's health? When above ground, roots are known to be very sensitive and make the tree vulnerable to harsh winds and storms. Roots above ground are also not as efficient in providing and acquiring water to hydrate a tree. Tree health can be defined by the status of the leaves, and status can be defined by the appearance of the leaves. |
| Predictions | We predict that trees with exposed roots wouldn't be able to obtain water and nutrients as well as trees with submerged roots. These trees with exposed roots will then be more vulnerable to external damage and wilting due to dehydration and malnourishment. |
| Experimental Design | For our experiment, we will observe 3 citrus trees with exposed roots and 3 citrus trees without exposed roots. In this case, our independent variable would be the exposed roots and our dependent variable will be the status of the leaves (appearance, size, texture, etc.) In order to perform this experiment, one must first find 3 trees with exposed roots and 3 with healthy, submerged roots. The species of the trees are taken note of and all 6 trees will be observed. The leaves are the focus of the experiment, so the characteristics such as color, size, and texture would be taken note of. For the sizes of the leaves, one must take one leaf from each of the trees and measure their lengths and widths three times. Afterwards, the average of the measurements will be calculated. All of this data will then be compiled into a data table for conclusions to be made. |
| Conclusion | As predicted in our hypothesis, exposed roots negatively impact the health of citrus trees; this conclusion was determined by observing and comparing the lengths of the trees’ leaves. Notably, trees with larger roots uncovered from the soil caused more insufficient water flow and damage, which led to the lack in growth of the leaves. Due to some constraints, there were notable external factors such as differing weather and soil depending on the location of the citrus trees. If this experiment were to be completed in ideal conditions, a specific species would have been analyzed over a longer period of time and with a larger sample size. The information gained through this experiment will be useful to help grow and prevent disease or lack of nutrients from broken roots of citrus trees. |
| Investigation Theme | TREE |
| Grade Level | High School Students (Grades 9,10,11,12) |
| Teacher Name | Crystal Davis |
| School Name | California Academy of Mathematics and Science |
| Session | Spring 2021 |