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Some Things Will Always Change: Land Use in a Dry Tropical Forest

  • Article
  • Middle School
  • 1 Classroom Period
  • Wilderness
  • Wildlife
  • Biomes
  • Climate
  • Conservation
  • Dry Forest
  • Invasive
  • Land Use
  • Longitudinal Research
  • Native organisms
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Guanica Forest is a tropical dry forest in the southwest corner of Puerto Rico. In 1981, the United Nations recognized it for being one of the best examples of a dry tropical forest. The scientists in this study wanted to know how Guanica Forest and the land around it has changed over the years.

Some Things Will Always Change: Land Use in a Dry Tropical Forest

Part Of

Tropical Forest - Vol. 3 No. 1

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  • Test your knowledge on adaptation, climate, and native organisms.

    Word Search – Some Things Will Always Change

    • Activity
    • Middle School
    • Less than 30 minutes
    • Wilderness
    • Wildlife
    • Adapt
    • Biome
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    • Vocabulary
    Test your knowledge on adaptation, climate, and native organisms.
    Explore Activity Download Word Search (PDF) Answer Key (PDF)
    Explore Activity Download Word Search (PDF) Answer Key (PDF)

    Part Of

    Some Things Will Always Change: Land Use in a Dry Tropical Forest

  • In this FACTivity, you will answer the question: Should an area of land outside of the Guanica Forest boundary be closed to land development? Materials: Computer or paper and writing...

    FACTivity – Some Things Will Always Change

    • Activity
    • Middle School
    • 1 Classroom Period
    • Agriculture
    • Engineering and Forest Products
    • Wilderness
    • Conservation
    • Debate
    • Land Development
    • Tropical Dry Forest
    In this FACTivity, you will answer the question: Should an area of land outside of the Guanica Forest boundary be closed to land development? Materials: Computer or paper and writing...
    Explore Activity Download FACTivity (PDF)
    Explore Activity Download FACTivity (PDF)

    Part Of

    Some Things Will Always Change: Land Use in a Dry Tropical Forest

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Glossary

View All Glossary
  • adapt

    (ǝ dapt): To change so as to fit a new or specific use or situation.

  • barren

    (ber ǝn): Producing little or no vegetation.

  • biome

    (bī ōm): A major ecological community type (such as tropical rainforest, grassland, or desert).

  • climate

    (klī mǝt): The average weather conditions of a particular place or region over a period of years.

  • complexity

    (kǝm plek sǝ tē): Something that is complex, or hard to separate, analyze, or solve.

  • densely

    (dens lē): Closely or crowded together.

  • diverse

    (dī vǝrs): Differing from one another.

  • former

    (fȯr mǝr): Of, relating to, or occurring in the past.

  • habitat

    (ha bә tat): The place or environment where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives and grows.

  • latitude

    (la tǝ tüd): Distance north or south from the equator measured in degrees.

  • native

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

  • A photo of Dr. Ariel Lugo and a group of people hiking along a river.

    Ariel Lugo

    Tropical Ecologist

    “My favorite science experience is trying to understand the functioning of natural ecosystems in collaboration with bright people, including high school students.” “[Another] favorite science experience is interacting with other...
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  • 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.

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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.

  • What Kinds of Scientist Did This Research?

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

  • Thinking About the Environment

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  • Number Crunches

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  • Glossary

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  • 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.


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