Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Dutch
English
French
German
Italian
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Don’t Judge a Soil by Its Color: Exploring Forest Soil Following a Wildfire
When a wildfire burns across a forest, logs and stumps on the ground may completely burn up. When this happens the soil beneath and near the logs and stumps is intensely heated. These soils, not surprisingly, are called “red soils” by soil scientists. The scientists in this study wanted to answer two questions: (1) What are the differences, if any, between the growth of nonnative invasive species and the growth of native species in red and black soils following a wildfire? (2) What happens to mycorrhizal fungi following a wildfire?
Don’t Judge a Soil by Its Color: Exploring Forest Soil Following a Wildfire
-
In this FACTivity, you will play a game based on Sudoku. The question you will answer in this FACTivity is: What are some of the things that make up soil?...FACTivity – Don’t Judge a Soil by Its Color
In this FACTivity, you will play a game based on Sudoku. The question you will answer in this FACTivity is: What are some of the things that make up soil?...
Glossary
View All Glossaryacademic
(a kə de mik): Of or relating to school or college.
invasive
(in vā siv): Tending to spread especially in a quick or aggressive manner, such as a nonnative species growing and dispersing easily, usually to the detriment of native species and ecosystems.
microorganism
(mī krō ȯr gə ni zəm): An organism or life form of microscopic size.
microscopic
(mī krə skä pik): Able to be seen only through a microscope; very small.
mycology
(mī kä lə jē): (1) A branch of biology dealing with fungi; (2) fungal life.
mycorrhizal
(mī kə rī zəl): Characteristic of the joining of a fungus and the root of a plant in which the fungus grows around or through the root providing nutrients and water to it and receiving food from it.
native
(nā tiv): Living or growing naturally in a particular region.
nonnative
(nän nā tiv): Not naturally occurring in an area.
randomly
(ran dǝm lē): So that each possibility has a definite and especially an equal probability of occurring.
sample
(sam pəl): A small subset group, representative of the entire group.
species
(spē sēz or spē shēz): A category of living things that ranks below a genus, is made up of related individuals able to produce fertile offspring, and is identified by a two-part scientific name.
-
Jane E. Smith
Botanist
My most awe-inspiring moment as a scientist came when walking deep into an old-growth forest just a few weeks after a severe wildfire had killed all of the trees. The...View Profile -
Cassie Hebel
Soil Scientist
My favorite science experience is studying mycology and learning to identify all types of mushrooms. It is fun to look inside the wonderful kingdom of fungi. From the smallest underground...View Profile
Standards addressed in this Article:
Social Studies Standards
- 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.
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.
-
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
Lessons
-
In small groups (or individually), students will read a Natural Inquirer or Investi-gator article and write a letter to the scientist, asking for clarification on at least four questions. This...Lesson Plan – Letter to a Scientist
In small groups (or individually), students will read a Natural Inquirer or Investi-gator article and write a letter to the scientist, asking for clarification on at least four questions. This...Part Of
Wildland Fire 2 - Vol. 13 No. 1
-
The purpose of this lesson plan is to give students a chance to reflect on their reading and create poems to express what they have learned. The lesson plan is...Lesson Plan – Forest Poems
The purpose of this lesson plan is to give students a chance to reflect on their reading and create poems to express what they have learned. The lesson plan is...Part Of
Wildland Fire 2 - Vol. 13 No. 1
Education Files
Project Learning Tree
If you are a trained Project Learning Tree educator, you may use “Nature’s Recyclers” and “Nothing Succeeds Like Succession” as additional resources.