Let Nature Take Its Course: Helping the Environment Take Care of Itself
Until the early 1950s, people mined copper, gold, and silver in the Beartooth Mountains in Montana. During mining operations, the soil near the surface was removed before the minerals were taken. This left an area that could not support any plants or animals and encouraged erosion of the mine spoil into nearby streams. The scientists in this study wanted to find a way to help reestablish the alpine meadow ecosystem to its pre-mining condition.
Note: In earlier Natural Inquirer articles like this one, the Discussion section is called "Implications."
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In this FACTivity, you will compare two different kinds of soil. Materials: Two shallow cardboard boxes (about 16″ long) Two different soil samples that fit inside the cardboard boxes, one...FACTivity – Let Nature Take Its Course
In this FACTivity, you will compare two different kinds of soil. Materials: Two shallow cardboard boxes (about 16″ long) Two different soil samples that fit inside the cardboard boxes, one... -
After reading “Let Nature Take Its Course,” try to complete this word search using glossary terms from the article.Word Search – Let Nature Take Its Course
After reading “Let Nature Take Its Course,” try to complete this word search using glossary terms from the article.
Glossary
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Ray Brown
I like being a scientist because it allows me to follow my passion of learning how nature works and how we interact with nature. I became interested in natural resources...View Profile
Standards addressed in this Article:
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ESS2.A-M2
The planet’s systems interact over scales that range from microscopic to global in size, and they operate over fractions of a second to billions of years. These interactions have shaped Earth’s history and will determine its future.
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ESS2.C-M5
Water’s movements—both on the land and underground—cause weathering and erosion, which change the land’s surface features and create underground formations.
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ESS3.A-M1
Humans depend on Earth’s land, ocean, atmosphere, and biosphere for many different resources. Minerals, fresh water, and biosphere resources are limited, and many are not renewable or replaceable over human lifetimes. These resources are distributed unevenly around the planet as a result of past geologic processes.
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ESS3.C-M1
Human activities have significantly altered the biosphere, sometimes damaging or destroying natural habitats and causing the extinction of other species. But changes to Earth’s environments can have different impacts (negative and positive) for different living things.
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ESS3.C-M2
Typically as human populations and per capita consumption of natural resources increase, so do the negative impacts on Earth unless the activities and technologies involved are engineered otherwise.
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ETS1.A-M1
The more precisely a design task’s criteria and constraints can be defined, the more likely it is that the designed solution will be successful. Specification of constraints includes consideration of scientific principles and other relevant knowledge that is likely to limit possible solutions.
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ETS1.B-M1
A solution needs to be tested, and then modified on the basis of the test results, in order to improve it.
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ETS1.B-M2
There are systematic processes for evaluating solutions with respect to how well they meet criteria and constraints of a problem.
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ETS1.B-M3
Sometimes parts of different solutions can be combined to create a solution that is better than any of its predecessors.
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ETS1.B-M4
Models of all kinds are important for testing solutions.
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ETS1.C-M1
Although one design may not perform the best across all tests, identifying the characteristics of the design that performed the best in each test can provide useful information for the redesign process—that is, some of the characteristics may be incorporated into the new design.
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ETS1.C-M2
The iterative process of testing the most promising solutions and modifying what is proposed on the basis of the test results leads to greater refinement and ultimately to an optimal solution.
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LS2.A-M1
Organisms, and populations of organisms, are dependent on their environmental interactions both with other living things and with nonliving factors.
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LS2.A-M2
In any ecosystem, organisms and populations with similar requirements for food, water, oxygen, or other resources may compete with each other for limited resources, access to which consequently constrains their growth and reproduction.
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LS2.A-M3
Growth of organisms and population increases are limited by access to resources.
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LS2.B-M1
Food webs are models that demonstrate how matter and energy are transferred between producers, consumers, and decomposers as the three groups interact within an ecosystem. Transfers of matter into and out of the physical environment occur at every level. Decomposers recycle nutrients from dead plant or animal matter back to the soil in terrestrial environments or to the water in aquatic environments. The atoms that make up the organisms in an ecosystem are cycled repeatedly between the living and nonliving parts of the ecosystem.
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LS2.C-M1
Ecosystems are dynamic in nature; their characteristics can vary over time. Disruptions to any physical or biological component of an ecosystem can lead to shifts in all its populations.
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LS2.C-M2
Biodiversity describes the variety of species found in Earth’s terrestrial and oceanic ecosystems. The completeness or integrity of an ecosystem’s biodiversity is often used as a measure of its health.
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LS4.D-M1
Changes in biodiversity can influence humans’ resources, such as food, energy, and medicines, as well as ecosystem services that humans rely on—for example, water purification and recycling.
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Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts.
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By the end of grade 8, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
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Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; provide an accurate summary of the text distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
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Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks.
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Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 6-8 texts and topics.
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Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to an understanding of the topic.
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Analyze the author's purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text.
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Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table).
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Distinguish among facts, reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in a text.
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Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic.
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People, Places, and Environments
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Production, Distribution, and Consumption
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Science, Technology, and Society
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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.
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Meet the Scientists
Introduces students to the scientists who did the research. This section may be used in a discussion about careers in science.
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What Kinds of Scientist Did This Research?
Introduces students to the scientific disciplines of the scientists who conducted the research.
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Thinking About Science
Introduces something new about the scientific process, such as a scientific habit of mind or procedures used in scientific studies.
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Thinking About the Environment
Introduces the environmental topic being addressed in the research.
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Introduction
Introduces the problem or question that the research addresses.
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Method
Describes the method the scientists used to collect and analyze their data.
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Findings & Discussion
Describes the results of the analysis. Addresses the findings and places them into the context of the original problem or question.
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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.
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Number Crunches
Presents an easy math problem related to the research.
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Glossary
Defines potentially new scientific or other terms to students. The first occurrence of a glossary word is bold in the text.
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Citation
Gives the original article citation with an internet link to the original article.
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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
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Contact
Jessica Nickelsen
Director, Natural Inquirer program -
Email
Lessons
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In this lesson plan, students will complete a guided reading of a Natural Inquirer article and then will evaluate the impacts of the scientists’ research on their own behaviors. This...Lesson Plan – Guided Reading and Implications
In this lesson plan, students will complete a guided reading of a Natural Inquirer article and then will evaluate the impacts of the scientists’ research on their own behaviors. This... -
Ask students to compare and contrast two articles using a Venn diagram. This lesson plan can be used with any Natural Inquirer article.Lesson Plan – Venn Diagram
Ask students to compare and contrast two articles using a Venn diagram. This lesson plan can be used with any Natural Inquirer article. -
In this lesson plan, students will complete a guided reading activity while reading their chosen article. As they read, they will complete a double-entry graphic organizer where they will note...Lesson Plan – Haikus
In this lesson plan, students will complete a guided reading activity while reading their chosen article. As they read, they will complete a double-entry graphic organizer where they will note...
Education Files
In this FACTivity, you will compare two different kinds of soil by examining soil samples.
Materials:
- Two cardboard boxes (approximately 16 inches square and 10 inches deep)
- Shovel
- Samples of soil from two locations (dig up sections that are about 15 inches square to fit the boxes)
- Two 16-ounce jars with lids (like a mayonnaise jar)
- Water (enough to fill the jar)
- Tape and permanent markers (to label the jars)
- Ruler
Prepare your boxes so that they are open on the top. Dig up two different kinds of soil, along with the plants growing in the soil. Try to dig into the soil at least 3 inches. One kind of soil should be from your schoolyard or an area where grass is growing. The other should be from a wooded area that has some plants growing in the soil, but this area should not have grass.
Next, dig a piece out of each soil block, enough to fill half of a 16-ounce jar (with lid). Do not include the green plants. Put one type of soil in each jar. Fill the jars with water. Close the lids and shake the jars. Label the jars “Soil from wooded area” and “Soil from grassy area.” Set the jars aside.
Now, observe the soil and plants in each box. Count the number of different kinds of plants in each box. Can you find any insects? Count the number of insects you find in each box. What other observations can you make about each sample of soil? Make a chart for each box (see an example below).
You may use this chart or use it as the basis for your own observation chart.
After 30 minutes, examine the jars. Organic material will be a very dark layer floating on or near the top of the water. Without disturbing the jars, measure the amount of organic matter in each jar using a ruler.
- Which box of soil is more diverse?
- Which soil has more organic matter? Why?
- You have learned in this article that soil with more organic material will be more diverse than soil with less organic matter. Is that true of the soil samples you have observed?
Extension Activity
Select two or more areas of soil to study outdoors. You may also bring in soil samples from home; the amount of organic matter can be measured in soil from many different areas.