Skip to main content
Natural Inquirer - Homepage

Free Science Materials for K-12 Students

  • Bookmarks
  • Cart0
  • Account
  • Find Outdoors
  • USDA
  • USDA Forest Service logo.
Natural Inquirer - Homepage
  • About
    • About Natural Inquirer
    • Team
    • Partners
    • Press & Past Events
    • Contact Us
  • Resources
    • View All Resources
    • Grade Levels
      • PreK - 2nd Grade
      • Upper Elementary
      • Middle School
      • High School
      • All Grade Levels
    • Resource Types
      • Articles
      • Activities
      • Collector Cards
      • Coloring Books
      • Glossary
      • Lesson Plans
      • Scientists & Collaborators
      • Spotlights
      • Virtual Learning Adventures
      • All Types
    • Resource Topics
      • Wilderness
      • Wildlife
      • Water
      • Climate
      • Social Science
      • Fire
      • Agriculture
      • Recreation
      • Carbon
      • Insects
      • All Topics
    • Special Collections
      • Artemis Moon Trees
      • Experimental Forests & Ranges
      • Project Learning Tree Connections
      • Globe Connections
      • Smokey Bear
      • Spanish Editions
      • Woodsy Owl
      • World's Forests
      • All Special Collections
  • Order Materials
    • View All Products
    • Journals & Monographs
    • Readers
    • Collector Card Packs
    • Coloring Books
  • Educators
    • For Educators
      • Note to Educators
      • Educator Blog
      • Educator Newsletter
    • Classroom Ready Resources
      • Lesson Plans
      • Activities
      • Learning Modules
      • GLOBE Connections
      • Project Learning Tree
    • Get Involved
      • Volunteer Your Classroom
  • Virtual Learning Adventures
  • Bookmarks
  • Cart
  • Account
  • About
    • About Natural Inquirer
    • Team
    • Partners
    • Press & Past Events
    • Contact
  • Resources
        • View All Resources
        • By Grade
          • PreK - 2nd
          • Upper Elementary
          • Middle School
          • High School
        • By Type
          • Articles
          • Activities
          • Collector Cards
          • Coloring Books
          • Glossary
          • Lesson Plans
          • Learning Modules
          • Journals
          • Monographs
          • Readers
          • Scientists & Collaborators
          • Spotlights
          • Virtual Learning Adventures
          • All Types
        • By Topic
          • Agriculture
          • Carbon
          • Climate
          • Fire
          • Insects
          • Recreation
          • Social Science
          • Water
          • Wilderness
          • Wildlife
          • All Topics
        • Special Collections
          • Artemis Moon Trees
          • Experimental Forests and Ranges
          • GLOBE Connections
          • Project Learning Tree Connections
          • Smokey Bear
          • Spanish Editions
          • Woodsy Owl
          • World's Forests
          • All Special Collections
  • Order Materials
        • Download all resources - FREE!

          **Due to recent government funding changes, we currently are only able to process bulk orders.** We hope that we will be able to resolve this issue in the near future. In the meantime, please feel free to download our resources and explore the website for many great lesson plans and activities. Thank you!

          View All Products
        • Journals & Monographs

          Journals focus on a group of related articles, while monographs focus on one research article.

          Journals & Monographs
        • Collector Cards

          Learn about possible career opportunities in science!

          View All Card Packs
        • Readers

          For a PreK-2nd grade audience, each Reader focuses on one Forest Service scientist and their research.

          View All Readers
        • Coloring Books

          Learn more about science through our coloring books!

          View All Coloring Books
  • Educators
        • Overview
          • Educator Guide
        • Classroom Ready Resources
          • Learning Modules
          • Lesson Plans
          • Explore All
        • Order Materials
          • View All Free Products
          • Contact Us
        • For Educators
          • Educator Blog
          • Educator Newsletter
          • Project Learning Tree
        • Get Involved
          • Volunteer Your Classroom
  • Virtual Learning Adventures

Breadcrumb

  • Home
  • Resources
  • Are We Having Fungi Yet? Helping Young Trees Grow
Bookmark
Please login to bookmark Close

Please login to bookmark


Lost your password?

No account yet? Register

Are We Having Fungi Yet? Helping Young Trees Grow

  • Article
  • Middle School
  • 1 Classroom Period
  • Agriculture
  • Wilderness
  • Competition
  • Fungi
  • Mycorrhiza
  • Native organisms
  • Soil
Illustration of mushroom wearing a party hat.
SHARE
  • Copy Link
  • Facebook
  • X (Twitter)
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • Google Classroom

In the Western United States, shallow rocky soils and a dry climate often make it hard for new trees to grow in areas that have been harvested of older trees. Sometimes areas that have been harvested grow back quickly with other types of plants. These plants compete with young trees for moisture and nutrients. The scientists in this study wanted to test a different way of reducing the competition for soil nutrients and moisture.

Are We Having Fungi Yet? Helping Young Trees Grow

Part Of

Rocky Mountain - Vol. 2 No. 1

Explore Full Journal
SHARE
  • Copy Link
  • Facebook
  • X (Twitter)
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • Google Classroom
Download PDF
  • In this FACTivity, you will compare and contrast sterilized potting soil with soil samples taken from the woods, a garden, or a yard or field. As an extension activity, you...

    FACTivity – Are We Having Fungi Yet?

    • Activity
    • Middle School
    • 1 Classroom Period
    • 1 Month +
    • 1 Week+
    • Compare and Contrast
    • Experiment
    • Hands-on
    • Observation
    • Outdoor Activity
    • Soil
    • Soil Sample
    In this FACTivity, you will compare and contrast sterilized potting soil with soil samples taken from the woods, a garden, or a yard or field. As an extension activity, you...
    • Explore Activity
    • Download FACTivity (PDF)
    • Explore Activity
    • Download FACTivity (PDF)

    Part Of

    Are We Having Fungi Yet? Helping Young Trees Grow

  • Test your knowledge about native organisms, fungicide, and timber.

    Word Search – Are We Having Fungi Yet?

    • Activity
    • Middle School
    • Less than 30 minutes
    • Agriculture
    • Wilderness
    • Competition
    • Fungi
    • Native organisms
    • Soil
    • Vocabulary
    Test your knowledge about native organisms, fungicide, and timber.
    • Explore Activity
    • Download Word Search (PDF)
    • Answer Key (PDF)
    • Explore Activity
    • Download Word Search (PDF)
    • Answer Key (PDF)

    Part Of

    Are We Having Fungi Yet? Helping Young Trees Grow

Glossary

View All Glossary
  • fumigation

    (fyü mǝ gā shǝn): The process of applying smoke, vapor, or gas to something especially for the purpose of disinfecting or of destroying pests.

  • fungicide

    (fǝn jǝ sīd): A substance that destroys fungi or inhibits their growth.

  • harvest

    (här vǝst): To gather in a crop.

  • hypothesize

    (hī pä thǝ sīz): To make an assumption or idea that is proposed for the sake of argument so that it can be tested to see if it might be true.

  • mutually beneficial

    (myü chǝ wǝ lē ben ǝ fish ǝl): Producing good results, advantages, or benefits for both of two people, groups, or organisms.

  • native

    (nā tiv): Living or growing naturally in a particular region.

  • nursery

    (nǝr s(ǝ) rē): A place where plants (like trees or shrubs) are grown for transplanting, for use as stocks in grafting, or for sale.

  • nutrient

    (nü trē ǝnt): A substance or ingredient that promotes growth, provides energy, and maintains life.

  • seedling

    (sēd liŋ): A young plant grown from a seed.

  • timber

    (tim bǝr): Trees that are still growing or their wood.

  • Dr. Debbie Page-Dumroese walking through a green forest.

    Debbie Page-Dumroese

    Soil Scientist

    I like being a scientist because I love learning about how different soils grow unique forest plants and fungi, and I like working on ways to continue harvesting timber without...
    View Profile

Jump To

  • Education Standards
  • Educator Guide
  • Education Files

Standards addressed in this Article:

Social Studies Standards

Social Studies Standards are educational guidelines outlining the essential knowledge, skills, and concepts students should learn in subjects such as history, geography, civics, and economics, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of societal structures, historical events, and global perspectives.
  • People, Places, and Environments
  • Science, Technology, and Society
  • Time, Continuity, and Change

Note To Educators

The Forest Service's Mission

The Forest Service’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. For more than 100 years, our motto has been “caring for the land and serving people.” The Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), recognizes its responsibility to be engaged in efforts to connect youth to nature and to promote the development of science-based conservation education programs and materials nationwide.

USDA and Forest Service Logos

What Is the Natural Inquirer?

Natural Inquirer is a science education resource journal to be used by students in grade 6 and up. Natural Inquirer contains articles describing environmental and natural resource research conducted by Forest Service scientists and their cooperators. These scientific journal articles have been reformatted to meet the needs of middle school students. The articles are easy to understand, are aesthetically pleasing to the eye, contain glossaries, and include hands-on activities. The goal of Natural Inquirer is to stimulate critical reading and thinking about scientific inquiry and investigation while teaching about ecology, the natural environment, and natural resources.

Natural Inquirer bee sitting at a desk with paper and pencil

  • Meet the Scientists

    Introduces students to the scientists who did the research. This section may be used in a discussion about careers in science.

  • What Kinds of Scientist Did This Research?

    Introduces students to the scientific disciplines of the scientists who conducted the research.

  • Thinking About Science

    Introduces something new about the scientific process, such as a scientific habit of mind or procedures used in scientific studies.

  • Thinking About the Environment

    Introduces the environmental topic being addressed in the research.

  • Introduction

    Introduces the problem or question that the research addresses.

  • Method

    Describes the method the scientists used to collect and analyze their data.

  • Findings & Discussion

    Describes the results of the analysis. Addresses the findings and places them into the context of the original problem or question.

  • Reflection Section

    Presents questions aimed at stimulating critical thinking about what has been read or predicting what might be presented in the next section. These questions are placed at the end of each of the main article sections.

  • Number Crunches

    Presents an easy math problem related to the research.

  • Glossary

    Defines potentially new scientific or other terms to students. The first occurrence of a glossary word is bold in the text.

  • Citation

    Gives the original article citation with an internet link to the original article.

  • FACTivity

    Presents a hands-on activity that emphasizes something presented in the article.


Science Education Standards

You will find a listing of education standards which are addressed by each article at the back of each publication and on our website.


We Welcome Feedback

  • Contact

    Jessica Nickelsen
    Director, Natural Inquirer program

  • Email

    Contact us here.

Education Files

Back to Top
  • Natural Inquirer - Homepage
  • Find Outdoors
  • USDA
  • USDA Forest Service logo.

The Natural Inquirer program produces a variety of science education materials for PreK through grade 12. Natural Inquirer products are produced by the USDA Forest Service, FIND Outdoors, and other cooperators and partners.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.
* denotes mandatory fields
Loading
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • X, formerly Twitter
  • YouTube
  • About Natural Inquirer
  • Team
  • Partners
  • Press & Past Events
  • Contact Us
  • Accessibility Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Shipping Policy
© 2025 - Natural Inquirer | Website Credit