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  • The Plot Thickens – How Native Trees Responded to the Removal of an Unwanted Tree Species in Forest Study Plots
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The Plot Thickens – How Native Trees Responded to the Removal of an Unwanted Tree Species in Forest Study Plots

  • Article
  • Middle School
  • 1 Classroom Period
  • Wilderness
  • Biomass
  • Invasive Species
  • Nonnative Species
  • Tamaligi Tree
The Plot Thickens - How Native Trees Responded to the Removal of an Unwanted Tree Species in Forest Study Plots. The background is an image of a Tamaligi Forest.
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The scientists in this study were interested in two questions: (1) How are tamaligi trees impacting the native forests in the National Park of American Samoa? and (2) How are native forests responding to the removal of tamaligi trees?

The Plot Thickens – How Native Trees Responded to the Removal of an Unwanted Tree Species in Forest Study Plots

Part Of

Pacific Islands - Vol. 1 No. 21

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  • American Samoa and Hawai’i are both a part of the United States. In this FACTIVITY, you will create a map showing the location of American Samoa in relation to Hawai’i....

    FACTivity – The Plot Thickens

    • Activity
    • Middle School
    • 1 Classroom Period
    • Graphic Organizer
    • Latitude
    • Longitude
    • Map Activity
    American Samoa and Hawai’i are both a part of the United States. In this FACTIVITY, you will create a map showing the location of American Samoa in relation to Hawai’i....
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    • Download FACTivity (PDF)
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    The Plot Thickens - How Native Trees Responded to the Removal of an Unwanted Tree Species in Forest Study Plots

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Glossary

View All Glossary
  • biodiversity

    (bī ō dǝ vǝr sǝ tē ): Biological variety in an environment as indicated by numbers of different species of plants and animals.

  • degrade

    (di grād): To make the quality of something worse.

  • germinate

    (jər mə nāt): To cause to sprout or develop.

  • 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.

  • irreplaceable

    (ir i plā sə bəl): Not replaceable.

  • microorganism

    (mī krō ȯr gə ni zəm): An organism or life form of microscopic size.

  • native

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

  • nonnative

    (nän nā tiv): Not naturally occurring in an area.

  • organic

    (ȯr ga nik): Of, relating to, or obtained from living things.

  • quadrat

    (kwä drət): A usually rectangular plot used for ecological or population studies.

  • seedling

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

  • symbiotic

    (sim bē ä tik): Characterized by or being a close, cooperative, or interdependent relationship between two dissimilar organisms.

  • vascular

    (va skyə lər): Of, relating to, or affecting a channel for the movement of a body fluid (such as blood of an animal or sap of a plant) or a system of such channels.

  • Headshot of Dr. R. Flint Hughes. The background is a green wooded area.

    R. Flint Hughes

    Ecology

    My favorite science experience was working with local villagers in the rain forests of southern Mexico. I was working to understand how deforestation and land use were changing those forests...
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  • Photo of Amanda Uowolo kneeling in a tall grassy area.

    Amanda Uowolo

    Forest Ecologist

    My favorite science experience occurred while collecting data on species diversity, density, and size in a forest in the Republic of Palau. We had our noses to the ground looking...
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  • Education Standards
  • Educator Guide
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  • Project Learning Tree

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.
  • Culture
  • Global Connections
  • 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?

    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.


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Education Files

Project Learning Tree

If you are a Project Learning Tree educator, you may use “Tropical Treehouse” and “Dynamic Duos” as additional resources.

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  • Additional Resources

Related Resources from the Natural Inquirer

  • In this research, the scientists wanted to describe and summarize the forests managed for conservation in the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands and compare...

    Tropical Four-est Inventory – Using Measurement to Understand the Condition of Forests in Micronesia

    • Article
    • Middle School
    • 1 Classroom Period
    • Wilderness
    • Endemic Species
    • Invasive Species
    • Sample
    • Satellites
    In this research, the scientists wanted to describe and summarize the forests managed for conservation in the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands and compare...
    • Explore Article
    • Download Article (PDF)
    • Explore Article
    • Download Article (PDF)

    Part Of

    Pacific Islands - Vol. 1 No. 21


Additional Resources

  • Forest Service: Invasive species

    Invasive species have two main characteristics: they are non-native (exotic/alien) to the ecosystem that they occupy, and their existence in that ecosystem causes or is likely to cause harm to the economy, environment, or human health.

    Visit Resource
  • National Park Service: Invasive Species, National Parks, and You

    No matter how you choose to enjoy the national parks—hiking the trails or relaxing by a campfire, climbing peaks or diving the depths of the ocean—it’s likely one of your favorite pastimes is affected by an invasive species.

    Visit Resource
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): How Does GPS Work?

    GPS is a system of 30+ navigation satellites circling Earth. We know where they are because they constantly send out signals. A GPS receiver in your phone listens for these signals. Once the receiver calculates its distance from four or more GPS satellites, it can figure out where you are.

    Visit Resource
  • Britannica: Nitrogen fixation

    Nitrogen fixation, any natural or industrial process that causes free nitrogen (N2), which is a relatively inert gas plentiful in air, to combine chemically with other elements to form more-reactive nitrogen compounds such as ammonia, nitrates, or nitrites.

    Visit Resource
  • Latitude and Longitude Finder

    Latitude and Longitude are the units that represent the coordinates at geographic coordinate system. To make a search, use the name of a place, city, state, or address, or click the location on the map to find lat long coordinates.

    Visit Resource
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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.

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