students have contributed over 4,000 hours to monitoring projects

PONDEROSA PINE SEEDLING SURVIVAL STUDIES

Barranca, Aspen, and Mountain Elementary Schools, Los Alamos

Latest data on trees planted in April, 2001 along the Quemazon and Mitchell Trails and in April, 2002 near Rendija Canyon

Since the Cerro Grande Fire, volunteers have planted more than 20,000 ponderosa pine seedlings in the burned area near Los Alamos. Not all the seedlings survive, especially under drought conditions. What factors can influence survival? To find the answer, Los Alamos area students conduct survival studies by collecting field data and compiling it in the classroom. It is real science that produces real results that are important to the community.

Using standard sampling methods from the USDA Forest Service, students established permanent one-tenth-acre plots with a GPS receiver. They sampled the live and dead seedlings within in plot. Different results from different environments produced interesting results.