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- Northern Tree Habitats - Geophysical Institute
Interior Alaskan forests have only six native tree species: white spruce, black spruce, quaking aspen, balsam poplar, larch (tamarack) and paper birch Northern Canadian forests have all of those, plus jack pine, balsam fir and lodgepole pine Since northern Canada and interior Alaska share the same grueling climate and extremes of daylength, why are the Canadian tree species absent from
- Cottonwood and Balsam Poplar | Geophysical Institute
The Klukwan giant holds the national record for black cottonwood diameter Its nearest rival, a tree near Salem, Oregon, does hold the national height record The Klukwan giant belies the belief that trees tend to get smaller the farther north one goes Both balsam poplar and cottonwood have value for fuel wood, pulp and lumber
- The majesty and mystery of Alaska yellow cedar | Geophysical Institute
A tree near one of our campsites had a crack at its base through which we could pass the folded saw Yet the tree was still alive, with just one rope of cambium — the outer bark that transports water and nutrients — snaking up the trunk A few of its blue-green feathery leaves flagged from the top of what otherwise looked like a snag
- Tree Rings and History | Geophysical Institute
A tree's age can be easily determined by counting its growth rings, as any Boy or Girl Scout knows Annually, the tree adds new layers of wood which thicken during the growing season and thin during the winter These annual growth rings are easily discernible (and countable) in cross-sections of the tree's trunk In good growing years, when sunlight and rainfall are plentiful, the growth rings
- More on Why Tree Trunks Spiral | Geophysical Institute
I eventually found a tree with a spiral lightning mark and it followed the spiral grain exactly One tree, of course, proves nothing "But why should the tree spiral? More speculation here: Foliage tends to be thicker on the south side of the tree because of better sunlight
- Trees as Earthquake Fault Indicators | Geophysical Institute
Then using tree ring dating methods, it may be possible to date earthquakes occurring before historical records were kept The ability to identify and date very large earthquakes occurring within the past thousand years is important in establishing earthquake risk and for predicting future earthquakes
- New way to spot beetle-killed spruce can help forest, wildfire managers . . .
A new machine-learning system developed at the University of Alaska Fairbanks can automatically produce detailed maps from satellite data to show locations of likely beetle-killed spruce trees in Alaska, even in forests of low and moderate infestation where identification is otherwise difficult
- The secret life of red squirrels | Geophysical Institute
Stan Boutin has climbed more than 5,000 spruce trees in the last 30 years He has often returned to the forest floor knowing if a ball of twigs and moss within the tree contained newborn red squirrel pups Over the years, those squirrels have taught Boutin and his colleagues many things, including an apparent ability to predict the future
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