Forest - Wildfire: Southeast - STEM Challenge

FOREST FIRE REGENERATION ACTIVITY

The ability of a forest to regenerate after a natural disturbance such as a fire is essential to guarantee its future survival. This activity will demonstrate how heat opens pine cones which allows for their seeds to be released and forest regeneration can occur.

Materials:

• Pinecones

• Aluminum Foil

• Baking Sheet

• Bowls (2)

• Soil

• Oven/toaster oven

Safety Considerations

Oven (adult assistance is required when using the oven to prevent burns)

THE EXPERIMENT

1. Outside, collect a variety of pine cones. This can be in your neighbourhood, at a local park or in a forested area!

2. With permission or assistance from an adult, preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.

3. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spread the pine cones across in a single layer. Place the pine cones in the oven for 30 minutes or until the cones are fully opened and the sap has melted.

4. Take the cones out of the oven with oven mitts and carefully remove the scales from the cone.

5. Remove the tree’s seeds from the cone scales by pinching the innermost black part of the seed and pulling back to remove

6. Place a number of seeds in two bowls or pots of moist soil. This will give you a better chance of success at having one of your seeds sprout. These bowls will need to be placed in the fridge for a month to simulate a winter season. Hint: mark this day on your calendar or in your agenda so you remember when you put them in the fridge!

7. After one month, remove your bowls from the fridge and bring them out. Place one bowl near a window (or in full sun) and the second bowl in a shady area (this can be indoors, or outside depending on the season). This will mimic both conditions of a forest - one with a dark canopy and one with fully available sun after a forest fire.

8. Make observations and record your results as your experiment progresses. Is there a difference in the growth rate of each condition? Which one appears to be more successful? Why?(think back to the video, how do forest fires alter growing conditions in a forest)?