White Oak Tree Observation Report

Introduction:

The Quercus alba, commonly called the White Oak is one of importance in Eastern United States for its timber. It ranges from (60 to 150 feet) tall. The bark is cracked and scaly with a pale-gray color. The leaves are bright green, shaped long and narrow with a glossy layer. We proposed that at what rate (Early, Middle, Late) do the leaves fall on East Carolina’s Campus for the White Oak Tree? Does the rate change in the regions of California and New York? The White Oak has a broad tolerance for thermal and moisture conditions. Depending on the climate is what factors the rate of the leaves falling.

Methods and Materials:

For this project the group wants to find out around what time of year do all the leaves on a white oak tree

Then the group agreed upon was a white oak tree which is very common on the East Carolina University campus. Then the group found five different white oaks on campus to observe and continue to collect data over time. The materials the group will need are the five trees, paper and writing utensils, and a device to tell us the temperate and the date for that day. First, the group will go out to and start observing at the observing spot. Then, the group will observe how much the tree and surrounding area had changed from day to day. Then after, for a couple of minutes the group will record all the things that the group observed and noticed. Since, the group has begun to observe the trees in early autumn the group unfortuately have not seen too many changes. Then, the group will record how many leaves had fallen off the tree and observe the ground to see the approximate amount leaves

There are multiple factors that can affect the amount of leaves fall during a certain period of time. In the “Impact of plant architecture versus leaf quality on attack by leaf-tying caterpillars on five oak species” article, the group found out that in White Oak there is natural leaf tie, which correlates with nitrogen availability in White Oak. Also, White Oka has the capacity to grow in areas such as, ridges, valleys, wet or dry climates, and even in moderately acid and alkaline soils. Because White Oka has the capacity to grow in different climate regions, White Oka would still maintain the color range of White Oak will transition from green to red and to brown color, during October till winter season. Based on this information, the group predicted that the color range and the average amount of leaf fall would correlate moderately positively. Based on the regions (California and New York) should also correlate with the data found from East Carolina University. Another thing is that the group would predict is that the data from New York’s White Oak and the data from East Carolina University White Oak should be more closely related compared with California’s White Oak tree. The reason the group says this is because New York and North Carolina are on the same coast, therefore, they share similar characteristic. However, New York and North Carolina have different