a history of succession

Lesson 2: A History of Succession

LESSON 2A History of Succession

LEAF Guide • 9-12 UNIT40

NUTSHELLIn this lesson, students work in small groupsto create a descriptive timeline that illustrateshow Wisconsin’s forests have changedthroughout history in response to disturbance.To gather information for the timeline, studentslisten to a short presentation on Wisconsin’snatural history, read passages dealing withNative American relationships with the forest,and watch a video about influences onforests since European settlement. Groupsthen use a Wisconsin Land Cover Map todiscuss the changes that have occurred inland use since European settlement. Studentsuse the timeline and tree characteristics todeduce changes in the distribution of certaintree species. In conclusion, students discusscurrent causes of change in Wisconsin’sforests and discuss how the causes fit intothe context of the forests’ disturbance history.

BIG IDEAS• Forests differ in composition and structure.

These are both affected by biotic (e.g., animals,plants, humans) and abiotic (e.g., soil, moisture,sunlight, climate) factors. (Subconcept 2)

• Ecosystems are continually undergoing naturalchange. This natural change occurs throughsuch processes as long-term evolution orthrough relatively short-term processes suchas succession, in which one plant communitygradually supplants another. (Subconcept 13)

• Ecosystems are dynamic and altered bynatural or human disturbance. Disturbanceplays an ongoing role in ecosystem structureand function. (Subconcept 14)

OBJECTIVESUpon completion of this lesson, students willbe able to:• Describe the process of forest succession using

the terms “change,” “primary succession,”“secondary succession,” “composition,”“structure,” “disturbance,” “events,” and“large-scale forces.”

• List some of the major causes of forestecosystem change in Wisconsin over thelast 64 million years.

• Describe, in general, the natural features andcurrent land use patterns in Wisconsin.

• Explain why the distribution of specific treespecies in Wisconsin has increased anddecreased throughout history.

• Identify and describe the current causesof forest ecosystem change in Wisconsin.

SUBJECT AREASLanguage Arts, Social Studies (Geography,History)

PROCESS SKILLSEssay writing, Map interpretation, Multimediainterpretation, Timeline development

LESSON/ACTIVITY TIME• Total Lesson Time: 275 minutes• Time Breakdown:

Introduction ...............................45 minutesActivity 1....................................30 minutesActivity 2....................................30 minutesActivity 3....................................50 minutesActivity 4....................................40 minutesActivity 5....................................30 minutesActivity 6....................................25 minutesConclusion ................................25 minutes

TEACHING SITE Classroom

Lesson 2: A History of SuccessionLEAF Guide • 9-12 UNIT 41

MATERIALS LISTFOR EACH GROUP (5 TOTAL)• Copy of either Student A, Tree Profile

Card - Red Pine OR 2B, Tree Profile Card -Jack Pine OR 2C, Tree Profile Card -Quaking Aspen OR 2D, Tree ProfileCard - Black Ash OR 2E, Tree ProfileCard - Sugar Maple

FOR EVERY 2 STUDENTS• Copy of Student Pages 1A-B, Native

American Land UseFOR THE CLASS• Several pieces of poster paper• Markers• Scissors• Forest Story video (DVD provided by LEAF)• Chalk/marker board• Ten sheets of 8.5" X 11" paper• Tape• Rulers• Assorted colored pencils• Five small, irregularly shaped objects• Five copies of Student Page 3, Example

Tree Profile - White Pine• Wisconsin Land Cover Map poster (provided

by LEAF)FOR THE TEACHER

• Overhead of Teacher Page A1, PrimarySuccession Diagram

• Overhead of Teacher Page A2, SecondarySuccession Flow Chart

• Copy of Teacher Page A3, Pre-humanInfluences

• Overhead of Teacher Page A4, Beforethe Ice Age

• Overhead of Teacher Page A5, The Ice Age• Overhead of Teacher Page A6, The

Glaciers Recede• Overhead of Teacher Page A7, Native

American Settlement• Overhead of Teacher Page A8, Forest

Disturbance Timeline• Overhead of Teacher Page A9, Example

Disturbance Timeline (White Pine)• Copy of Teacher Page A10, White

Pine History• Copy of Teacher Page A11, Tree Histories• Overhead of Teacher Page A12, Snapshots

of Change

TEACHER PREPARATIONBecome familiar with the information onTeacher Page A3, Pre-human Influences.

Lesson 2: A History of Succession LEAF Guide • 9-12 UNIT42

VOCABULARYComposition: The species that constitute aplant community.Disturbance: A natural or human action that causes change in forest ecosystems bydamaging or killing some existing plants (e.g.,fire, flooding, logging, insect infestation, wind).Events: Social or environmental influencesthat affect disturbance patterns and causeregional changes (e.g., glacial advance,human migrations, social policies).Forest Regeneration: The process ofrenewing forest cover through natural orhuman establishment of trees. Glacial Outwash: Rock material composedmostly of sand-sized particles; transported bya glacier and deposited by meltwater as theglacier retreated.Glacial Till: Rock material composed of largerrocks and boulders; transported by a glacierand deposited directly by the ice.Glaciation: The advance over land of largeice masses from the poles of Earth; occursin cycles as global temperatures cool.

Ice Age: The last geologic period, the QuaternaryPeriod, which started 1.8 million years ago andis characterized by the cyclical advance andretreat of glaciers in North America.Large-scale Forces: Broad social trends orenvironmental forces that shape events andcause widespread change on the landscape(e.g., climate change, mountain formation,evolution, industrialization, human populationgrowth and expansion).Primary Succession: The establishmentof vegetation in an area that lacks biologiccommunities, soil, and immediate sourcesfor plant reproduction.Secondary Succession: The establishmentof vegetation in an area that has some plantremnants capable of reproduction.Stress: An environmental factor that graduallyweakens organisms (e.g., air pollution, waterpollution).Structure: The horizontal and verticaldistribution of layers in a forest, includingheight, diameter, and species present.Succession: The change from one biologiccommunity to another over time.

BACKGROUND INFORMATIONFOREST SUCCESSIONDaniel Botkin, in his 1990 book DiscordantHarmonies: A New Ecology for the 21st Century,wrote that, “change now appears to be intrinsicand natural at many scales of time and place inthe biosphere.” This statement summarizes theshift in thinking that ecologists have introducedto forestry. Forests across the landscape havechanged throughout history, are changing today,and will continue to change.

Changes that forests undergo are part of aprocess called forest succession. Succession is a change in forest composition and structureover time and is often defined as a transitionfrom one biologic community to another.

Change in forests can be caused by the naturalaging and dying of plants or can be causedby disturbances. Disturbances are forces thataffect the structure and composition of a forest.

They include fire, wind, logging, floods, drought,insect infestation, disease, animal browsing,etc. Disturbances can be influenced by othernatural and/or human events.

Large-scale forces, both social andenvironmental, are exerted over largeareas for long periods of time and shapeevents and ultimately, disturbances. Theseforces include things such as climate change,evolution, plate tectonics, human populationgrowth and expansion, industrialization, andmore recently, globalization. Natural and socialevents occur in response to these forces andultimately shape the disturbance patterns inforests. Natural events include things suchas volcanic eruptions, glaciation, earthquakes,and extreme weather patterns. Human eventsinclude things such as war, social movements,migrations, and settlement.

To understand why forests change, it isnecessary to understand the relationshipbetween social and environmental forces,events, and disturbances. To understand howforests change, it is necessary to understandhow trees, plants, animals, and other organismsrespond to different disturbances.

Two types of succession can occur within a forestecosystem – primary and secondary succession.Primary succession is the establishment ofvegetation in an environment that lacks biologiccommunities, soil, and immediate sources forplant reproduction. Primary succession occursafter lava flows, glaciation, or any event thateliminates all reproductive sources of plants.

Secondary succession occurs on sites thathave some plant and animal remnants. It takes place when a given disturbance or set of disturbances affects forest structure and/orcomposition, but does not remove all of the plantreproductive sources. These sources can beseedbeds, tubers, root suckers, live plants, etc.

Common disturbances that can cause secondarysuccession include fire, logging, insect infestations,animal browsing, wind, and flooding.

Secondary succession also occurs in theabsence of major disturbances. Time is a majorfactor in succession, and as forests age, theenvironmental conditions within them change.This can include amount of shade, density of theunderstory, soil conditions, and moisture levels.When old trees die, it is likely that the tree thatgrows into its place in the canopy will be of adifferent species – a species more adapted to theconditions present at that time. In this way, forestscan change even without major disturbances.

The changes that take place in both primary and secondary succession depend on thecharacteristics of the trees, plants, animals, and other organisms present. Using trees as an example, some trees are tolerant of shade(e.g., sugar maple, eastern hemlock, beech) and some trees need full sunlight to grow (e.g.,aspen, birch, jack pine, red pine, cherry). Asshade conditions change in forests, the treespresent will change. This is true for all of theconditions in the forest, including moisture, soil type, disturbances, climate, diseases, etc.

DISTURBANCE REGIMESA disturbance regime is defined as the type, intensity, frequency, and distribution ofdisturbances in a specific area. As you will see, disturbance regimes are at the center of the controversy over forest use, but are rarelymentioned as the issues are reported.

Some environmental groups stress our need toprotect or preserve areas of forest as they are.Certain types of forests, typically old forests, arescarce due to human use, and these groupsattempt to protect the ecosystems from humanintervention, most notably from logging.


Other groups, sometimes called wise-usegroups, argue that forests are to be used. They say that forests are always changing and benefit from logging. They stress that anyattempt at preservation is delaying the inevitabledeath of the trees and, at the same time, keepingthem from being used by humans.

Though each of these two types of groups claims to be concerned with the health andsustainability of forests, they are often driven by other, broad goals. Environmental groupsattempt to draw attention to the rapidconsumption of forest resources created by a pro-growth, consumer culture. In their largerbattle, they often lose sight of the current needsof forests and the local communities that dependon them. Wise-use groups are most often funded by industry and related groups that areconcerned with making money from increasedaccess to protected lands. In their effort to turn a profit, the groups lose sight of the needs of the forest ecosystem and the long-term needs of society.

The controversy over forest use often focuses on the arguments of these two groups, each ofwhom has a valid point to make. A key point ofenvironmental groups is that to sustain forestsand the many services they provide, certainforest areas (forests that harbor endangeredspecies, forests that protect key water and soilresources, forests with cultural value, etc.) needto be protected. The wise-use groups make thepoint that both forests and people can benefitfrom forest management.

A debate about forest protection could center onthese two points and, for each forest ecosystem,answer the following questions: How has thisforest developed throughout history? What types

of disturbances has this forest undergone andhow did it react? What type, intensity, andfrequency of disturbance is beneficial for thisforest and what intensity and frequency isharmful? How have disturbance patternschanged and how has this forest been affected?What types of disturbances or managementtechniques are needed to sustain this forestecosystem?

The answer to each of these questions will bedifferent for different forests and different regions.They are dependent on a detailed understandingof the historic and current disturbance regimesand how those regimes will continue to change.

PROCEDUREINTRODUCTION – Succession Overview1. Tell students that during the next few class

periods they will look closely at how bothnatural events and human actions haveinfluenced Wisconsin forests throughouthistory. They will begin millions of years inthe past, before humans arrived in Wisconsin,and finish in the present.

Ask students when they think plants firstappeared on the landscape. (The earliestplant fossils are about 400 million years old.)Ask students which came first, herbaceousplants or trees (plants with a woody stem)?(Herbaceous plants came first. Trees evolvedfrom herbaceous plants as a result ofcompetition for sunlight. The presence ofcellulose, or wood, allowed the earliest treesto grow tall and capture more sunlight.) Tellstudents that the earliest fossils of conifertrees (gymnosperms) are 250 million yearsold, and the earliest fossils of deciduous trees(angiosperms – or flower bearing trees) are100 million years old.



Ask students if they think the trees havechanged (or evolved) since then. (Yes, treeshave adapted to changing conditions andmany more species of trees are presenttoday.) Ask students if they think that forestshave changed since then. (Yes they have,dramatically.) Ask the students how forestsmay have changed. (Forests have spreadacross the landscape and can now be foundfrom coastlines to mountains, deserts to rainyclimates, and bordering each of our polar icecaps. Many new species have evolved andmany plants, animals, insects, fungi, andmicroorganisms have adapted to live inforest ecosystems.)

2. Tell students that forests change becausethey have the ability to regenerate or renewthemselves after plants, animals, and otherorganisms die. Have students work in pairsto identify forces, actions or events that theythink cause trees and other organisms to beinjured and/or die and subsequently causeforests to change. Have each pair presentan idea and list them on the board. (The listmay include the following: fire, severe winds,floods, drought, climate, animal populations[herbivory], insects, disease, soil erosion anddeposition, glaciers, logging, land development[urbanization], agriculture, introduction orremoval of species, air pollution and smog,water pollution, competition from otherplants, dams and wetland draining, solidwaste pollution.)

Tell students that specific actions (natural,biologic, human) that cause immediate injuryor death to plants are called disturbances.Have students identify ideas on the list thatthey think are disturbances. (Fire, wind,floods, drought, logging, insects, disease,herbivory, and soil erosion/deposition.)Label the new list “disturbances.”

3. Tell students that many environmentalconditions may not immediately damage orkill trees, but may cause stress and weakenthem over time. Have students identify ideasfrom the brainstorm that could be stresses.(Ideas should include the following: airpollution, water pollution, solid waste pollution,gradual changes in temperature or moisture,competition.) Write this list next to the list ofdisturbance and label it “stresses.”

4. Once students have the disturbances andstresses identified, ask them what causesdisturbances and stresses. Use a fewexamples from the list above to pose thefollowing questions. What causes logging?(A need for building supplies, a need forpaper, etc.) What causes severe winds?(Climate patterns.)

Place the following definitions on the board tohelp students differentiate between the causesof forest change.

• Disturbances: Cause immediate death orinjury to plants (e.g., fire, logging).

• Stresses: Cause the weakening of plantsover a relatively short time period (e.g.,water pollution, air pollution).

• Events: Social or environmental influencesthat affect disturbance patterns and causeregional changes (e.g., human migrations,technology, social policies).

• Large-scale Forces: Broad social trendsor environmental forces that shape eventsand cause widespread change on thelandscape (e.g., climate change, mountainformation, evolution, industrialization, humanpopulation growth and expansion).

Tell students that large-scale forces shapeevents which cause forest disturbances. Havethem give an example or provide one similarto the following: Nearly two million years ago,cooling global weather patterns (large-scaleenvironmental force) caused the accumulationof ice and formation of glaciers in the northernlatitudes of the planet (natural event). Theglaciers advanced into Wisconsin andremoved trees and topsoil (disturbance).

5. Once students understand the relationshipbetween the three causes, ask them if theyknow what the process of forest change is called. (Succession.) Tell the class thatsuccession is generally defined as “the processof change from one biologic community toanother in a given area over time.”

Tell the class that there are two types ofsuccession – primary and secondary. PlaceTeacher Page A1, Primary SuccessionDiagram, on the overhead projector. Tellstudents that primary succession is theestablishment of vegetation in an area thatis devoid of plant life. Have students look ateach of the stages and discuss the importantnatural processes that occur in each. Thestages are:

• Colonization• Accumulation of biomass• Establishment of plant and animal

communities• Increased soil formation

6. Once students are comfortable with the ideaof primary succession, explain that secondarysuccession occurs in areas where plant andanimal life are still present. The way in whichthe plant and animal communities change isdifferent because seed sources and plantroots remain, allowing seeds to germinateand/or grow above ground from their roots.

Tell the class that, in secondary succession,the type of change is controlled in large partby the following three factors and list them onthe board:

• The species of trees present (and theircharacteristics)

• The types and patterns of disturbance• Time

7. Ask students to identify some disturbancesthat they think would eliminate all the plantsand reproductive sources in an area (causeprimary succession). Use the list on the boardand highlight the disturbances. (These mayinclude volcanic activity, glaciers, urbandevelopment, landslides.) Discuss eachof the disturbances and how they mighteliminate plants and their reproductive sources.

Next, read each of the remaining disturbanceson the board. Have students discuss howeach of the disturbances might leave behindsome plants and reproductive sources. Tellstudents that these disturbances causesecondary succession.

8. Place Teacher Page A2, SecondarySuccession Flow Chart, on the overheadprojector. Tell the class that the flow chartshows how a specific type of forest willchange when certain disturbances arepresent. Point out that this diagramfocuses primarily on the role of fire asa force of change.

Tell the class that any of the three forestsdescribed in a bottom box is a forest thatcurrently exists on a dry site in southernWisconsin. To use the chart, they shouldbegin at a bottom box and follow an arrowto the next box. They can then use theinformation associated with the boxes todescribe how the forest changed after thedisturbance (represented by the arrow).


The flow chart provides a variety of differentscenarios, allowing for a number of different“forest histories” depending on the trees presentand the type of disturbance that occurs.

First, start at the bottom and have studentsidentify that there are three different forestswith different species of trees present in eachlisted on the flow chart. Ask the class if theythink the different trees react differently todisturbances. (Yes, each species has certainrequirements to grow and reproduce. Some aretolerant of shade, others are not. Some cansurvive fire, others cannot. Some can withstandfloods, others cannot. Trees are resistant todifferent diseases and pests. Animals utilizedifferent species of trees for food and shelter.)

Second, ask students to find the differentpoints where disturbances take place in theflow chart. Start at the bottom and discusseach disturbance and how it affected the typeof forest that was present. Discuss why theythink this happened, and be sure that studentsunderstand that the disturbance createdconditions more suitable for the reproductionand growth of the types of trees that composethe post-disturbance forest.

Third, direct students to the top two foresttypes and ask them to identify the disturbancethat separates them. (No fire or management.)Ask students what happens to the forest ifneither of these disturbances occurs. (It staysthe same.) Explain to students that as timepasses, trees get old and die, and differenttrees grow in their place. In this forest (unlikethe aspen forest), the composition stays thesame because the trees present are adaptedto the environmental conditions in the forest.Only disturbances or stresses will cause theforest composition to change.

9. Once the students have seen how the flowchart is used, ask a volunteer to choose aportion of the chart and explain how the forestchanged. Have another volunteer explain howthe forest changed using a different disturbance.

In summary, tell the class that they aregoing to use their knowledge of primary andsecondary succession to create a timelineof how Wisconsin forests have changedthroughout history.

ACTIVITY 1 – Pre-human Influences1. Ask the class to take notes for the next 10

minutes while you discuss some of the majorinfluences on Wisconsin’s forests beforehumans arrived. Ask them to record the timeperiod, large-scale forces, natural events,and forest disturbances or stresses that werecaused. Have them title their page of notes“Pre-human Influences.”

NOTE: You may wish to provide studentswith a notetaking format similar to the oneshown below.


TimePeriod

Large-scale

ForcesEvents

Disturbancesand

Stresses

2. Place Teacher Page A4, Before the Ice Ageon the overhead projector. Show the map tothe class and use Section 1 of the talkingpoints on Teacher Page A3, Pre-humanInfluences to detail how the Midwesternlandscape changed as a result of theformation of the Rocky Mountains 60 millionyears ago. Go through the talking pointsslowly so students have time to take notes.Allow a short time for questions once you’vefinished. NOTE: You may want to hand out a copy of Teacher Page A3, Pre-humanInfluences to each student for reference.

3. Place Teacher Page A5, The Ice Age on theoverhead projector and point out the mapdetails. Use Section 2 of Teacher Page A3,Pre-human Influences to explain how glaciersinfluenced Wisconsin’s forests throughout theQuaternary Period (the last 1.8 million years) –particularly in the most recent glacial advancewhich reached into Wisconsin from 26,000to 18,000 years ago. Allow students to askquestions once you have finished.

4. To finish the presentation on pre-humaninfluences, place Teacher Page A6, TheGlaciers Recede on the overhead projectorand point out the map details. Use the thirdand final section of Teacher Page A3,Pre-human Influences to present how forestsreestablished themselves after glaciersreceded from 18,000 to 10,000 years agoand how forests reacted to the disturbancesprevalent at that time.

5. After all of the presentations are done, havestudents work in small groups to form achronological list of influences, events, anddisturbances on a piece of poster paper.The list should be similar to their notes.

As a class, discuss the disturbances, howthey affected forests, and their relationshipswith the large-scale forces and events. Tellstudents that they will expand on the timelinein the next activities.

ACTIVITY 2 – Native American Influences1. Ask students if they know the names of

some of the Native American tribes thatwere present in Wisconsin as Europeansarrived. (Ojibwa [or Chippewa], Sioux, Sauk,Fox [or Musquakie], Oneida, Menominee,Dakota, Ottawa, Potawatomi, and Ho-Chunk[or Winnebago].)

Tell students that Native American tribesarrived at different times; some migrated intothe area as the glaciers receded (18,000 to10,000 years ago), and others were forcedinto the area as settlers moved west. Tellstudents that, in general, there are fourdistinct periods of Native American settlementin the state. Each of the periods is characterizedby different ways of life.

Place the following periods, dates, andlifestyles on the board:

• Paleo-Indians (12,000 to 9,000 years ago):nomadic hunters

• Archaic Period (9,000 to 3,500 years ago):hunters and gatherers

• Woodland Period (3,500 to 1,000 yearsago): settlement, agriculture, and hunting

• Mississippi Period (1,000 to 400 yearsago): large settlements, advancedagriculture, and hunting

Ask student if they see a pattern in howthe Native American populations changedthrough time. (Tribes gradually began to makepermanent or semi-permanent settlements,practice agriculture, and hunt and fish aroundthe settlements.) Tell students that as NativeAmericans began to settle in one location,farm, and manage for wildlife, their populationsbegan to grow.


2.Tell students the names of Native Americantribes that we know are from the last period,the Mississippi Period. Further explorestudents’ knowledge by asking if any of themknow in which regions of Wisconsin the tribeswere living when Europeans arrived. Theregions are as follows:

• North: Ojibwa• Northeast and Central: Menominee• Southwest: Ho-Chunk, Dakota, and

Potawatomi• Southeast: Ottawa and Potawatomi

Once students have had time to answer,place Teacher Page A7, Native AmericanSettlement on the overhead projector. Showstudents the different areas that tribesinhabited and ask students to describe thetype of landscapes that were associatedwith each area. Brief descriptions should beas follows:

• North: rolling, forested landscape with manylakes and wetlands

• Central: flat, sandy landscape with mixedforest, barrens and savannas

• Southwest: mixed forest and prairielandscape with tall ridges and steep valleys

• Southeast: rolling, prairie landscape withareas of savanna and forest

3. Once students are familiar with how the tribeswere distributed across the state, ask theclass if they think the tribes interacted withnature in different ways. (Yes, since the tribeslived in different landscapes, they had torely on different plants, animals, hunting,agriculture, and other land managementtechniques to survive.)

Tell students that the Native Americans ofeach period interacted with the environment indifferent ways, and the different tribes interactedwith nature in different ways.

4. Hand a copy of Student Pages 1A-B, NativeAmerican Land Use to each student pair. Tellthe class that the readings are from a varietyof different books written about Wisconsin’sindigenous people. Go around the room andhave students from each pair read the differentquotes. Once each quote is read, discuss theaction taken and how the disturbance mayhave affected forests.

Have the student pairs write the time period12,000 years ago to 400 years ago ontheir chronological list. Have them list anylarge-scale forces, events, and disturbancescaused by Native American tribes.

5. Once the list is formed, ask students if theythink Native American tribes had a small,moderate, big, or very big influence onWisconsin’s forests. As the discussionprogresses, provide the students with thefollowing information:

• It is obvious that the tribal people ofWisconsin used natural resources tosurvive and even used fire, agriculture,and wildlife management to manipulateecosystems.

• It is generally understood by historians,archaeologists, and living tribal spokesmen,that the Native American tribes that livedin Wisconsin had a deep respect for natureand, in living so closely with the natural world,were very conscious of their dependenceon natural resources. In spite of this, thereis some evidence that Native Americanpopulations heavily used some plantsand animals, and severely reduced theirpopulations.

• The native peoples of Wisconsin didnot have an industrial society; therefore,could not consume resources as fast asmodern societies or from as far away.They used local, natural materials forclothes, shelter, and transportation beforethe arrival of Europeans.


• In the year 1500, the total Native Americanpopulation in Wisconsin was about 60,000(715,000 in the entire northeastern U.S.).Today, there are currently 5.4 million peopleliving in Wisconsin.

NOTE: As a homework assignment, youmay wish to have your students researchthe relationships that different tribes hadwith the environment.

ACTIVITY 3 – European Settlementand Forest Conservation1. Tell students that they have looked at

Wisconsin’s history through the Ice Ageand the inhabitation by Native Americantribes. Ask students if they know who JeanNicolet was and why he is famous. (JeanNicolet was a French explorer who, in 1634,became the first European to discover theWisconsin region. Although when he landednear Green Bay, he thought he was in China!)Tell students that the discovery opened theWisconsin region to inhabitation and exploitationthat occurred as Europeans came to trap andtrade fur, cut timber, and farm.

2. Ask students what they know aboutWisconsin in the late 1800s. They maybe aware of lumberjacks, Paul Bunyan, etc.Tell students that they are about to watcha video called Forest Story that shows howhumans have influenced Wisconsin’s forestssince European settlement.

Have students take notes on the differentevents, the disturbances they produced, andthe large-scale forces that shaped them.Let them know that they do not have to writedown all the information, but hopefully, as aclass, they will be able to form a chronologicallist once the movie has finished.

3. Play the 25-minute video and leave somedim lighting on so that students can takenotes. Once the video is finished, lead ashort discussion allowing students to express

how they felt about the movie. Ask themif they learned anything about how therelationship between European settlersand forests changed over time.

Place emphasis on the fact that there are twodistinct stages of forest use after Europeansarrived in Wisconsin. The first stage wassettlement and exploitation. The secondstage was forest conservation. Placethese two headings on the board and havestudents list the events and dates that theyfeel belong under each. The list may includethe following events:

SETTLEMENT AND EXPLOITATION• Jean Nicolet “discovers” Wisconsin (1634)• First sawmill built on Fox River (1809)• First lumber mill built on Wisconsin River

(1831)• Creation of Wisconsin territory (1836)• Wisconsin statehood (1848)• Large increase in European immigrants

(1850s)• The cutover (1850-1920s)• Railroads access new forested areas (1890s)• Intense wildfires and soil erosion (1870-1920s)• Land clearing and agriculture (1890-1920)• Farms abandoned in the cutover (1920s)

FOREST CONSERVATION• Forest problems survey (1880)• State Forestry Department created (1903)• First state forester (1904)• State reforestation fund (1906)• First Wisconsin tree nursery (1911)• State given power to restore forest land

(1924)• National forests established (1925)• Forest Crop Law – tax breaks for forest

land (1927)• Property tax to pay for reforestation (1930)• County forests made from tax delinquent

lands (mid 1930s)• Civilian Conservation Corps created by

Franklin Delano Roosevelt and used toreplant forests (1933)


4. Discuss the lists with students and havethem identify the disturbance that each of theevents helped cause. (Examples: Settlementand Exploration – sawmills led to the cuttingof trees, increases of immigrants led to farmingand land clearing; Forest Conservation –national forest establishment protected largeareas of forest land cover.) You may alsowant to help them make some generalizationsabout the social and environmental forces thatcaused the change from exploitation to forestconservation.

Tell students that progress is still being madeon conserving Wisconsin forests. Write thefollowing more recent accomplishments onthe board and have students record them intheir notes:

• Wisconsin is the #1 papermaking state(1953-present)

• Many conservation laws and landmanagement plans were developed (1970to present). These include: Clean Air, CleanWater, and Endangered Species Lawspassed (1970), Strategic Plan for WisconsinForests (1983), Wisconsin’s Forestry BestManagement Practices for Water Quality(1995), Wisconsin Forest ManagementGuidelines (2003), Forest certification forstate forests (2004)

ACTIVITY 4 – Forest Timeline Creation1. Divide the class into five groups. The groups

will make a timeline of Wisconsin forestdisturbances by using the lists they havecompiled over the last few class periods.Hand each group two 8.5" X 11" sheetsof paper. Have them tape the short endstogether to form one long piece. Besure each group has a ruler, pencil,and if available, a variety of markers tohelp them differentiate disturbances.

2. Place Teacher Page A8, Forest DisturbanceTimeline on the overhead projector. Have thegroups reproduce the timeline on their longsheet of paper. Point out that there are threesections on the timeline: large-scale forces,events, and disturbances. Explain that theabbreviation “mya” stands for “million yearsago” and “tya” stands for “thousand years ago.”

Tell students that the timeline cannot be toscale because the pre-human influenceslasted millions of years, while the conservationperiod has not even lasted a century. Tellstudents to make the long time periodsrelatively larger, but to leave enough spacein each section to add the events anddisturbances. In addition, have studentsleave some space below the timeline (oneto two inches) to add more information inlater activities.

Tell students that when filling in their timeline,they should start by listing the large-scaleforces, then label the events, and finallylabel the disturbances. By doing this, studentswill see how long-term, moderate, and rapidcauses of change are interrelated.

3. As students work on their timelines, walkaround the room and be sure that they havecreated the timeline correctly and are placingthe large-scale forces, events, and disturbancesin the appropriate place and time period.

Once the timelines are complete, have a fewvolunteers showcase different parts of theirtimeline. Use examples from the timeline tohelp students identify how the large-scaleforces, events, and disturbances are related.


ACTIVITY 5 – Tree Profiles1. Hand each group a copy of either Student

Page 2A, Tree Profile Card - Red Pine OR2B, Tree Profile Card - Jack Pine OR 2C,

Tree Profile Card - Quaking Aspen OR 2D,Tree Profile Card - Black Ash OR 2E, TreeProfile Card - Sugar Maple. Be sure that eachgroup has a different species and that allstudents in a group have the same card.

Tell students there are five different tree profilesand have them identify which tree speciesprofile their group was given. Go over thedifferent sections of the cards and give studentstime to read the information. Explain to thegroups that they will use their timeline and treeprofile card to tell the story of their tree speciesthroughout Wisconsin’s history.

2. Tell the groups to cut out the tree stamps thatborder their tree profile. They need to usethe information on the timeline and profileto determine when the historical conditionsallowed their tree to expand its distributionon the Wisconsin landscape. When theydetermine the points in time where their treewas flourishing, they should tape the treestamps without “X’s” on them at those pointsin the timeline.

They must also look for points in time whentheir tree would have died and decreased itsdistribution. They should place the tree stampswith “X’s” on them at these locations on thetimeline. Once their timeline is complete, eachstudent must write a short history of their treein the Wisconsin landscape, explaining whathappened at the different points in time.

3. Hand a copy of Student Page 3, ExampleTree Profile - White Pine to each group and tellthem that they will use the tree species whitepine as an example. Give them time to readthe information. Place Teacher Page A9,Example Disturbance Timeline (White Pine)on the overhead projector. Show students thetimes at which you determined that white pine

was flourishing. Use Teacher Page A10,White Pine History to explain to students howyou determined when the conditions weregood for white pine and when they weren’t.

4. Answer student questions and have the groupsbegin developing their timeline and history.Monitor group discussions and help them stayon the right track. Use Teacher Page A11, Tree Histories as a general guideline.

Once students are finished, have groups selecta representative to present their timeline andstory. Encourage students to ask questions. Inthe discussions, emphasize the following points:

• Tree characteristics and environmentalfactors (disturbances and stresses)determine if a tree population will surviveand flourish or die and diminish.

• Different trees have different characteristicsand react differently to disturbance; treescompete with each other for survival.

• In many instances, large-scale forcesshape events which create disturbancepatterns and ultimately affect which treeswill survive and flourish and which treeswill die and diminish.

• Often, disturbances do not occur acrossthe entire landscape, leaving patches ofundisturbed forest that serve as refuge foranimals, trees, plants, and seeds that couldnot survive in the disturbed areas.

• Disturbances may affect forest compositionby eliminating some species and creatingideal conditions for others. Disturbancesmay also influence forest structure byaltering the layers in a forest or thedistribution of trees across the landscape.

• Forests are constantly changing, whetherby natural or human influences. Forestsare adapted to change, but disturbancesthat are too frequent or intense cannegatively influence the regenerationof trees and ultimately the renewal ofthe forest.


ACTIVITY 6 – Forest Maps1. After groups have created, presented, and

discussed their disturbance timelines, placethe Wisconsin Land Cover Map poster on atable in the center of the room. Point out thatthe map symbols represent land cover andland use types. Give a specific example fromthe map. You may wish to choose the locationof your school, use the map to describe themajor land use type, and have students giveexamples from in and around the area.

2. Pass out a piece of candy or other small,irregularly shaped object to a studentrepresentative from each group. Have thegroup representatives toss the object on themap one at a time and identify and describethe land cover type where it lands. Have thestudents work in their groups to answer thefollowing questions:

• What type of benefits do we currently getfrom this type of land use?

• How might the region have changed sincebefore European settlement?

• Why may it have changed?• How might the region change in the future?

3. Once all of the groups have answered thequestions, have them present their ideasto the rest of the class. Allow the class todiscuss the answers and agree or come upwith other ideas.

CONCLUSION – Current Challenges1. Ask the class if they think that Wisconsin’s

forests are continuing to change today. (Yes,Wisconsin’s forests are undergoing rapidchange due to a variety of factors.)

Place Teacher Page A12, Snapshots ofChange on the overhead projector and givestudents a few seconds to look at the pictures.Have a few volunteers describe what thepictures are showing. (A road through a forest,a canker on a tree, the logo on the side of thegypsy moth spray plane, house construction,aerial photo of a city, a forest fire.)

Ask students to identify the different causesof change portrayed in the images and writethem in their notes. Have a few volunteersidentify the causes of change and list them onthe board. (The list should include the following:fragmentation, introduced species, urbanexpansion, disease, increased consumptionand use, wildfire and fire suppression.)

2. Once the influences are listed, have studentscompare and contrast the differences theyfeel exist between disturbances now anddisturbances during European settlement.Use the following statistics and statements tohelp students make conclusions about howforests are currently changing.

• Globalization: With the invention and massproduction of trains, planes, automobiles,and ships, the interchange of people andorganisms has increased dramatically. Thishas increased due to our current capacity totrade with and travel to other nations aroundthe globe.

• Population and consumption: In 1890,1.6 billion people inhabited Earth, about2.1 million of whom were in Wisconsin.In 2004, 6.4 billion people inhabited Earth,5.4 million of whom were in Wisconsin. Percapita consumer demand in modern societyis much higher than at the turn of the century.


• Property and social trends: More peopleare competing for land to satisfy their wantsand needs. People’s need to “escape to thewoods” is putting pressure on forests. Eachyear 3,400 new parcels are divided out ofWisconsin’s forest land base.

• Climate change: The global climate iswarming. Though some debate whether thisis caused by the mass release of carbondioxide and other greenhouse gassesfrom industrialization, there is widespreadscientific consensus that Earth’s atmospheric,surface, and oceanic temperatures arerising. Global warming is causing changesin weather patterns which affect the healthof forest communities and the distributionof tree species. This becomes veryimportant to modern society, since wedepend so heavily on forest resources.

NOTE: You may wish to collect a varietyof newspaper columns, magazine articles,books, etc. that students can look at to helpthem understand that the issues above arewidely discussed and prevalent throughoutmany aspects of society.

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTHave students find a variety of news reports,newspaper articles, magazine articles, books, orresearch papers that discuss a specific, currentinfluence that is causing change in Wisconsin’sforests. Have them write a short summarydescribing the influence and putting it in thecontext of Wisconsin’s disturbance history.

REFERENCESBotkin, D. (1990). Discordant Harmonies: ANew Ecology for the 21st Century. New York:Oxford Press.

Burns, R. M. & Honkala, B. H. (1990). Silvicsof North America. Washington, D.C.: United StateDepartment of Agriculture, Forest Service.

Curtis, J. T. (1959). The Vegetation of Wisconsin:An Ordination of Plant Communities. Madison:University of Wisconsin Press.

Dott, R. H. Jr. & Attig, J. W. (2004). RoadsideGeology of Wisconsin. Missoula: MountainPress Publishing, Co.

Douglas, J. M. (1954). The Indians in Wisconsin’sHistory. Milwaukee: Milwaukee Public Museum.

Helms, J. A. (1998). The Dictionary of Forestry.The Society of American Foresters.

Kimmins, J. P. (1997). Forest Ecology:A Foundation for Sustainable Management.2nd ed. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Krech, S. III. (1999). The Ecological Indian. NewYork: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc.

Lurie, N. O. (2002). Wisconsin Indians. Madison:The Wisconsin Historical Society Press.

Pyne, S. J. (1982). Fire In America: A CulturalHistory of Wildland and Rural Fire. Princeton:Princeton University Press.

Rogers, J. J. W. (1993). A History of the Earth.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Vecsey, C. & Venables, R. W. (Eds). (1980).American Indian Environments: Ecological Issuesin Native American History. Syracuse: SyracuseUniversity Press.



RECOMMENDED RESOURCES••• BOOKS •••

Discordant Harmonies: A New Ecology for the 21st Century by Daniel Botkin. (Oxford Press.1990.) Though many ecology texts now incorporate a dynamic conceptualization of ecosystems,this text is comprehensive and provides many good examples of the process of change interrestrial ecosystems.

The Vegetation of Wisconsin: An Ordination of Plant Communities by John T. Curtis. (University of Wisconsin Press. 1959.) This book is widely considered a must-have text when studyingWisconsin’s plant communities. It is quite technical in parts, but offers a host of informationon the physical, biological, and cultural history and makeup of Wisconsin’s landscape.

Roadside Geology of Wisconsin by Robert H. Dott, Jr. and John W. Attig. (Mountain PressPublishing, Co. 2004.) A great book for the amateur geologist or anyone interested in thegeologic history of the state, or even the area just outside your classroom.

The Ecological Indian by Shepard Krech III. (W. W. Norton and Company, Inc. 1999.) This is a groundbreaking book that attempts to demystify the Native American relationship with theenvironment. It presents historical information on indigenous relationships with both the forestsand grasslands of the upper Midwest and the rest of the continent.

••• POSTER •••Wisconsin Land Cover MapPage size version available for purchase from the Wisconsin State Cartographers Office:http://sco.wisc.edu/maps/state/php

PRIMARY SUCCESSION DIAGRAM


A1

STAGE 1:COLONIZATIONA small number ofplants, animals, andfungi that can survivein desolate, sunnyconditions begin tomove into the area.

STAGE 2:ACCUMULATIONOF BIOMASSPlants, animals, andother organisms liveand die in the area;organic material beginsto build up and retainmoisture.

STAGE 3:ESTABLISHMENT OFPLANT AND ANIMALCOMMUNITIESA greater variety anddensity of plants andanimals move into thearea and successfullysurvive and reproduce.

STAGE 4: INCREASEDSOIL FORMATIONWoody plants (shrubsand trees) begin todominate the area and further the processof soil formation bybreaking up surfacerocks with their rootsand adding wood fiberto the decomposingplant and animal matter.

SECONDARY SUCCESSIONFLOW CHART

(FOR DRY SITES IN CENTRAL WISCONSIN)


A2

White Pine,Red Maple, and

White Oak Forest

TRE

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LAN

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NO FIRE

NO FIRE

NO FIRE

Mixed Oak Forest Jack Pine Forest

White Oak Forest

White Pine,Red Maple, and

White Oak Forest

FIRE

NO FIRE ORMANAGEMENT

Red Pine andWhite Pine Forest

Aspen Forest



FIRE OR CLEARCUTMANAGEMENT

FIRE FIRE

PRE-HUMAN INFLUENCES(TALKING POINTS)


A3

SECTION 1 – BEFORE THE ICE AGE(65 MYA TO 1.8 MYA)(Teacher Page A4, Before the Ice Age)The Wisconsin landscape has been through sucha wide variety of changes that even the most open-minded of us would be surprised. Sincethe formation of the Earth 4.6 billion years ago,Wisconsin:• has been covered with mountains similar to the

Alps (1.85 bya)• was the center of a giant magma uprising; a vast

volcanic event that nearly split the North Americancontinent in two (1.1 bya)

• and was covered by a vast ocean (450 mya)

The forests and animals that live here have beenconstantly changing. In the last geologic age from65 mya to present, a few major geologic events onthe continent have caused change in Wisconsin’sforests. The formation of the Rocky Mountains inthe western U.S. 60 mya caused a major change inclimate patterns across the continent. The weatherpatterns that brought rain from west to east weredisrupted and a drought settled over much of theMidwestern landscape. Forests gave way to thegrasslands of the Great Plains and the prairies ofthe Midwest.

As the regional weather patterns settled, much ofthe southern and western part of Wisconsin didnot receive enough rainfall to support temperateforests. Grasslands, savannas, and barrenscovered these areas.

NOTE: Not much is known about the plants andanimals that lived in Wisconsin at this time becausethe geologic record from this age is characterizedby large-scale erosion and no fossil record remains.

SECTION 2 – THE ICE AGE(1.8 MYA TO 12,000 YEARS AGO)(Teacher Page A5, The Ice Age)For nearly two million years, glaciers have repeatedlyadvanced onto and receded from the Great Lakeslandscape. The Ice Age, as it is known, wascharacterized by periods of global cooling whereglaciers advanced toward the equator from the Northand South Poles and intermittent warm periodswhere glaciers receded back toward the poles.

In North America, the last glacial cycle in The IceAge was called the Wisconsin Glaciation and lastedfrom 100,000 years ago to 10,000 years ago. Themost recent glacial advance in Wisconsin was from26,000 years ago to 18,000 years ago. Glaciallobes advanced over much of Wisconsin, scrapingaway the forests and topsoil and depressing thelandscape under their immense weight. The glaciallobes were such a powerful erosive force that theyhelped to carve out much of what we know todayas Lake Michigan, Green Bay, and Lake Superior.

SECTION 3 – THE GLACIERS RECEDE(18,000 TO 10,000 YEARS AGO)(Teacher Page A6, The Glaciers Recede)The last glaciers were at their furthest extent 18,000years ago when the global climate began to warmagain. As the last glaciers receded, they changedthe landscape in a variety of ways; leaving graveldeposits, sand deposits, and creating rivers and lakeswith their meltwater. The soils and surface waterpatterns in Wisconsin were greatly changed by the:• extended mounds of large rocks called moraine

till that were deposited at the glacier’s edges• rolling landscapes of other glacial till (large

and medium-sized rocks) that were left asglaciers receded

• large plains of sand and gravel deposits, knownas glacial outwash, deposited by streams andrivers as the glaciers melted, many of which werepitted by large ice blocks that have turned intothe lakes we know today

• flat, sandy areas that were once the bottom oflarge reservoirs of glacial meltwater

At the end of the Ice Age, many mammal specieshad become extinct. Reasons for the widespreadextinctions include influences from both climatechange and hunting by Paleo-Indians.

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A4

THE ICE AGE(GLACIAL LOBES)


A5

THE GLACIERS RECEDE(ICE AGE DEPOSITS)


A6


A7NATIVE AMERICAN

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A8


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A10

WHITE PINE HISTORYWhite pine trees were present on theWisconsin landscape before the Ice Age,but were mostly limited to scattered areaswith both a cool, moist climate and sandysoil. As climates cooled throughout theregion, white pine expanded, but wasremoved from most of the landscape asglaciers consumed both forests and topsoil.

As the glaciers began to retreat 18,000years ago, large deposits of gravel andsand were left across the landscape. Thelarge areas of sand were a good indicationthat white pine would come to dominate thelandscape. White pine is particularly adaptedto sandy soils and can out-compete mostother tree species in this habitat. Beginningapproximately 9,000 years ago, trees beganto reestablish themselves on the landscape,and soils began to form, white pine came todominate much of Wisconsin’s post-glaciallandscape.

In the new landscape, natural fire cycles andfire management by some Native Americantribes limited white pine expansion in someareas. Before the arrival of European settlers,many forests contained an astoundingnumber of very large white pine trees.

When European settlers arrived, they beganto cut the white pine first because of theirsize, excellent lumber, and natural buoyancyin rivers. By the late 1800s, the vast majorityof white pine had been logged. In someareas, the logging was followed by intensefires, which killed many of the white pineseed sources. Erosion and land conversionalso negatively affected white pine, andit has taken some time for it to becomeestablished once again in the landscape.

As the conservation era began in Wisconsinin the early 1900s, Wisconsin’s citizens andgovernment began to protect and replantwhite pine by passing conservation laws;establishing state, county, and federalforests; creating the Civilian ConservationCorps; creating and encouraging treenurseries; and providing incentives forlandowners to plant and manage forests.

By all accounts, white pine has madean amazing comeback on the Wisconsinlandscape, but many challenges still exist.Possibly the two biggest challenges are:1) the huge deer population that consumeswhite pine seedlings and 2) introducedorganisms (including plants, insects, anddiseases) that invade white pine habitat andinjure and weaken trees.


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A12

SNAPSHOTS OF CHANGE


1ANATIVE AMERICAN

LAND USE“From the earliest times Indians had used fire, stone tools, and other implements in order to surviveand to enjoy the world. Until approximately eight thousand years ago, Indian hunters relied primarilyon the killing of large animals such as mammoth, musk-ox, and long-horned bison...These Stone Agehunters left little trace of themselves on the terrain and apparently had minimal settlement structures.”American Indian Environments (1980)

“Undeniably, some Paleo-Indians may have been deliberate or opportunistic hunters of the megafaunathat became extinct [during the Ice Age], but others were probably hunters of caribou, deer, beaver,and small animals. In the tundra, parklands, and mixed forest environments, Indians killed manycaribou and some mastodons. But in forested regions, they also exploited species like tortoises –which also disappeared – and other small animals.”The Ecological Indian (1999)

“During the Archaic period...Indians traveled in set patterns, moving from place to place to takeadvantage of food sources available seasonally. They developed utensils associated with vegetablefood production...worked with axes, adzes, gouges, and for the first time, bows and arrows. At thesame time they domesticated dogs and encouraged the growth of certain edible wild plants.”American Indian Environments (1980)

“Wildland fire, as opposed to mankind’s more domesticated variants, allowed early man to beginshaping the larger physical environment to fit his needs rather than merely to adapt by strict naturalselection to the existing landscape. Broadcast fire made man almost instantaneously capable ofwholesale modification of his environment. As a practical and intellectual problem, the discovery of fireby early man can only be compared in modern times with the discovery of the atom. With implementsof stone and bone, man could improve his chances for survival; with fire he had power.”Fire in America (1982)

“There are five main ways by which the Indians influenced the nature of the vegetation. Theseare mostly related to their methods for obtaining food. The hunting tribes could affect the plantcommunities directly through the use of fire and indirectly through their influence on populations oflarge mammals. The food-gathering activities could have been of direct importance in influencingpopulations of some of the species harvested. The agricultural tribes exerted a direct destructive effect on the vegetation of the areas uses as fields. The fifth influence was that of plant introduction,both intentional and accidental.”Vegetation of Wisconsin (1959)

“Indians developed 155 species of domesticated plants used for food, tools, clothing, medicine,and other uses, but they did not domesticate large numbers of animals. Indians possessed no draftanimals, no plows, and no use of wheels in subsistence technology.”American Indian Environments (1980)


1BNATIVE AMERICAN

LAND USE“The Menominee Indians are direct woodland descendants; the Potawatomi and the [Ojibwa] belongto branches of the woodlands. The most distinctive branch of the woodland Indians was the effigymound group, building elaborate burial mounds in the shape of animals and birds, enclosing in themartifacts of a distinctive culture...by the time the white settlers established themselves in the state,descendants of the early Indians had given up mound building. They lived in semi-permanent villages,in lodges made of bark, saplings and rushes. They practiced agriculture, growing corn, beans, squashand tobacco. They hunted and fished and made clothes of fur...”Handbook on Wisconsin Indians (1966)

“Let’s pretend that we can travel backwards in time... and visit a typical Indian family of that period.As we arrive on the scene the tribe is preparing to set up a new camp. The women are busyunpacking their household gear, including reed mats used to cover the outsides of the wigwam...While the women unpack, the men enter the woods to cut poles for the framework of the wigwamsand collect birch bark for the roofs...we can see why this particular spot has been chosen as thecampsite. A small lake and several springs are only a short distance away, but the most importantreason for camping here at this season is a large grove of sugar maple trees...March is the propertime to tap the trees for their sap.”The Indians in Wisconsin’s History (1954)

“Indians used fire to improve subsistence more than for any other end. Across the continent, theydeployed fire to improve their access to animals, to improve or eliminate forage for the animals theydepended on for food, and to drive and encircle animals.”The Ecological Indian (1999)

“Many foodstuffs available for annual gathering or domestication, such as acorns, berries, and beans,appeared along the burned edges of forests and grasslands. So did game birds, some of which, likethe turkey, could be domesticated. The importance of this relationship of early man to a grasslandenvironment is that grasslands are maintained by fire. Through the manipulation of fire, man couldadapt the area to his needs; he could readily accommodate himself to and disperse himself acrossareas; and he could greatly expand the natural distribution of grasslands as a vegetation cover type.”Fire in America (1982)

“No conclusive proof exists that any Indian ever introduced any species into Wisconsin, butcircumstantial evidence both here and elsewhere strongly supports the contention that such actionsdid take place. One interesting example is the Kentucky coffeetree. The large, hard seeds of thisspecies were used in a sort of dice game by various tribes. As a result, they were carried about whenthe tribe moved its headquarters. At present, the species has a very local distribution in Wisconsin,with each locality at or near the site of an Indian village.”Vegetation of Wisconsin (1959)

“Some indigenous people lived in scattered communities relatively small in size. Other lived in denselysettled circumstances...But were population size and density great enough anywhere to constitutesignificant pressure on the environment? Given the relatively low impact technology of these pre-industrialpeople, it may be that except in a few notable cases, their few numbers trod so lightly as to leavebounty for European eyes almost everywhere.”The Ecological Indian (1999)


2A

TREE PROFILE CARD - RED PINE

RED PINE(Pinus resinosa)

AVERAGE AGE OF MATURITY: 50 years old

MAXIMUM AGE: 300 years old

MAXIMUM HEIGHT: 150 feet

REPRODUCTION AND GROWTH REQUIREMENTSRed pines become established by seed, usually following a fire.Fire is the only natural agent capable of providing most of theconditions they require. Surface fires can provide a satisfactoryseedbed, kill back some competing tree species, reduce insectpopulations, and produce an open overstory. Very intense fireskill both red pine trees and seeds, and hurt red pine reproduction.

RESPONSE TO DISTURBANCE• Reproduces after fire, but intense fires kill trees and seeds• Intolerant to shade and needs sunlight to reproduce and grow• Very susceptible to flooding and high water tables• Extreme winter temperatures, ice, and wind damage kill mature

and seedling trees

RED PINE IN WISCONSINIn the absence of fire or other events that clear stands of trees,red pine forests change into white pine and mixed hardwoodforests. Red pines were heavily cut during European settlement.The remaining red pine forests disappeared as human populationssuppressed wildfires, but red pine became a popular tree forwood production so red pine plantations were planted acrossthe landscape. Prescribed fires and plantation managementcurrently keep the red pine widespread in Wisconsin.


2B

TREE PROFILE CARD - JACK PINE

JACK PINE(Pinus banksiana)




REPRODUCTION AND GROWTH REQUIREMENTSJack pine forests typically originate after forest fires. Theyreproduce by seed and often do so prolifically in response tohigh temperatures (usually associated with forest fires). Theyare usually found on dry, sandy soils and cannot compete withother trees on more moist, nutrient-rich sites. Fires kill jack pinetrees but seedlings usually germinate immediately afterward,leading to the even-aged, homogenous jack pine forest standscommon in Wisconsin.

RESPONSE TO DISTURBANCE• Increased reproduction after fires and high temperatures• Intolerant to shade• Seeds need sunlight to germinate and grow• Susceptible to flooding and high water tables• Extreme winter temperatures kill mature trees and seedlings

JACK PINE IN WISCONSINLarge deposition of sand by glaciers and the gradual lowering ofwater tables after the glaciers receded produced an abundanceof habitat suitable for jack pine in Wisconsin. Fire helpedmaintain jack pine in the landscape and, unlike red and whitepine, European settlers did not cut jack pine for timber. Ashuman populations began to suppress fires, jack pine forestsbegan to disappear.


2C

TREE PROFILE CARD - QUAKING ASPEN

QUAKING ASPEN(Populus tremuloides)




REPRODUCTION AND GROWTH REQUIREMENTSQuaking aspen is the most widely distributed tree in NorthAmerica. It grows on many soil types and is quick to grow indisturbed sites where there is bare soil. This fast-growing tree isshort-lived, and stands are gradually replaced by slower-growingspecies. Aspen reproduces by seeds or root sprouts. It requiresfull sunlight and little competition from other plants. Fire andland clearing provide near ideal conditions for aspen growth.

RESPONSE TO DISTURBANCE• Reproduces and grows rapidly after fires or land clearing• Very intolerant to shade• Sensitive to drought• Susceptible to a wide variety of native and exotic pests

QUAKING ASPEN IN WISCONSINThroughout Wisconsin’s history, aspen has acted as a pioneerspecies colonizing disturbed areas and beginning the transitionfrom bare ground and small plants to forested landscapes.Aspen’s range was most likely reduced before the Ice Age asdrier climates began to prevail over the Midwest. After glaciation,it colonized areas but was again reduced as it was replaced byother shade-tolerant trees. Some areas of aspen were maintainedby natural and human-induced fire before human settlement,but the large-scale cutting of trees for lumber by European settlerscaused a large increase in aspen across the state. Today theacreage of aspen forest is decreasing as forests mature.


2D

TREE PROFILE CARD - BLACK ASH

BLACK ASH(Fraxinus nigra)




REPRODUCTION AND GROWTH REQUIREMENTSBlack ash is a slow-growing, northern tree that is typically foundin bogs, along streams, or in seasonally flooded areas. It isadapted to wet conditions for reproduction and growth, anddoes not compete well with other trees on drier sites.

RESPONSE TO DISTURBANCE• Reproduces and grows in wet soil conditions• Reproduces and grows in open conditions caused by fire or

other disturbances• Susceptible to drought• Eaten heavily by deer

BLACK ASH IN WISCONSINThe presence of black ash on the Wisconsin landscape haschanged as the topography, and ultimately, the groundwaterand surface water conditions change. As glaciers receded andwater tables were high, black ash was widespread in marshyand seasonally wet areas. As water tables lowered, black ashwas restricted to fewer areas but remained widespread. Thecutover during European settlement had little effect on blackash since mostly large coniferous and upland deciduous treeswere cut, but as the landscape was settled and farmed, wetlandswere drained for their nutrient-rich peat. Wetlands have beendisappearing at a fast rate for the last century and, becauseblack ash produces a very valuable wood, logging pressure hasbeen high.


2E

TREE PROFILE CARD - SUGAR MAPLE

SUGAR MAPLE(Acer saccharum)




REPRODUCTION AND GROWTH REQUIREMENTSSugar maple is found in regions with cool, moist climates. It cangrow on a wide variety of soils, but is dominant on nutrient-richsoils. Sugar maple does not readily reproduce in open, sunnyconditions and requires shaded, moist areas. It is known asa late successional species that comes to dominate older,long-established forests.

RESPONSE TO DISTURBANCE• Very shade-tolerant• Reproduces in moist, shady forested areas• Very susceptible to both fires and floods• Eaten heavily by deer

SUGAR MAPLE IN WISCONSINAfter the glaciers receded, pioneer plants and trees addedorganic matter to the sandy soils, creating rich soils andforested conditions ideal for sugar maple. Sugar maple beganto establish itself as the climax species in many older forests.Fires, wind, disease, drought, and flooding created a patchworkof younger forests, interspersed with undisturbed forestsdominated by sugar maple. With the arrival of railroads,hardwood trees such as sugar maple that do not float, couldbe effectively logged. Most large trees were removed from thelandscape. The widespread logging and fires created conditionsunsuitable for sugar maple reproduction and growth, and ithas taken the better part of the last century to reestablishitself. Currently sugar maple is expanding its dominance onthe landscape as more lands are managed for mature timber.


3

EXAMPLE TREE PROFILE - WHITE PINE

EASTERN WHITE PINE(Pinus strobus)




REPRODUCTION AND GROWTH REQUIREMENTSWhite pine grows in cool, moist climates on nearly all soilswithin its range, but generally competes best on sandy soils.Sandy soils permit fair growth of white pine, but many hardwoodshave a hard time establishing in them. On these sites, whitepine regenerates naturally, competes easily, and dominates theolder forest canopy.

RESPONSE TO DISTURBANCE• Reproduces in both sunny and shady conditions• Low tolerance of fire when young and will not establish itself

in areas with short fire cycles• Susceptible to many native and exotic insects• Eaten heavily by deer

WHITE PINE IN WISCONSINThe glacial retreat provided white pine with the sandy soilconditions necessary to effectively establish itself without thecompetition from other tree species. Natural fire rotations limitedwhite pine expansion in some areas, but before the arrival ofEuropean settlers, many forests contained an astoundingnumber of very large white pine trees. By the late 1800s, mostof those vast stands had been logged. The intense fires killedmany of the white pine seed sources, and it has taken sometime for it to become reestablished in the landscape. During theconservation era, white pine was widely planted and its growthencouraged, but deer populations have limited its expansion.

a history of succession

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