Measures Taken by Oak and Maple Trees to Mitigate Drought in Temperate Forests

Nanette Raczka, Christopher Hughes*, Edward Brzostek
Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506

Presentation Category: Biological Sciences (Poster presentation)

Student’s Major: Biology

Drought is an omnipresent threat for trees, forever looming and striking randomly. It is important to understand how droughts affect these trees so that measures can be taken to preserve them. Trees are a crucial method of climate change mitigation by being a major source of air purification. In order to better understand this a plastic canopy was created using some wooden frames and plastic that could be adjusted to simulate different levels of drought. The growth of the trees was measured with metal rings and root growth and counts were observed via plastic tubes going three feet underground near the tree. Leaf litter was collected and weighed to ascertain if the drought adversely affected the level of leaf litter. Roots were collected from these sites, they were dried, weighed, and run through a scanner to ascertain their diameter, the number of tips, and the crossings of the roots. A similar process was done with the leaf litter. The samples were separated into four groups. Maple and Oak trees were measured with a Treatment and Control collected from Tom’s Run Preserve in Morgantown, West Virginia. Over the course of three years from 2016-2019 and from May to November. This information is extremely important to understanding these tree’s ability to mitigate the effects of drought within their population. This can be learned from and extrapolated in order to better create plans to assist trees. It is important to make an effort to preserve trees and the habitats they create.

Funding: Federal Work Study

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: WVU's Research Apprenticeship Program (RAP) & accompanying HONR 297-level course