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FOREST
QUIZ
Article #48, June 2001
By Bill Cook
Forests are something we all live with, but many of us don’t know much about. The recently released “Michigan Forests Forever” CD-ROM is a classroom tool that addresses issues about forests and forest management.
Have fun with this ten question quiz from the CD!
Question One: How much of Michigan is covered with forest?
a. About half
b. About 3/4
c. About 90 percent
d. I don’t know
Question Two: Forests are always changing. We call that process:
a. Biodiversity
b. Harvest
c. Habitat
d. Succession
Question Three: Shade from trees can cool the surrounding area by how much?
a. 2.5 degrees
b. 10 degrees
c. 16 degrees
d. I don’t know
Question Four: Who has the most state-owned forest?
a. Wisconsin
b. Michigan
c. California
d. Alaska
Question Five: What percentage of Michigan was forested 10,000 years ago?
a. Almost all
of Michigan
b. About the same as now
c. There were no forests
d. I don’t know
Question Six: How many different products in the USA contain wood?
a. 150
b. About 2,500
c. Over 5,000
d. I don’t know
Question Seven: Well managed forests provide:
a. Soil protection
and high water quality
b. Wildlife habitat and recreation
c. Sawlogs and pulpwood
d. All of the above
Question Eight: What is the primary job of a forester?
a. Cut trees
from the forest
b. Fight wildfires and save forest trees
c. Balance the various benefits and products from the forest
d. I don’t know
Question Nine: The most common tree in Michigan is:
a.
White pine
b. Sugar maple
c. Paper birch
d. I don’t know
Question Ten: How many vertebrate wildlife species live in Michigan?
a. About 575
b. About 200
c. Under 100
d. Over 600
Answer One - a. About half of Michigan is forested.
Fifty-three percent of Michigan, or 19.3 million acres, is forested. Most of Michigan was covered with forests when European and early American settlers began moving into the Northwest Territory. Agriculture and cities are the two main causes of deforestation in Michigan.
Answer Two - d. Succession.
Succession is the orderly, often predictable, change in vegetation over time. Succession is a key concept in forest ecology and forest management. We should always keep in mind the impact of succession on a particular piece of forest.
Answer Three - b. 10 degrees.
We might think of shade only in human terms, but there are significant ecological impacts of cooler and moister microclimates for many species of plants and animals.
Answer Four - d. Alaska.
At about 3.5 million acres, Michigan has the second largest amount of state-owned "timberland" in the USA. "Timberland" is different than "forest" in that harvesting is allowed and minimum growth rates are defined. In terms of all ownerships, Michigan has the fifth largest area of timberland in the USA.
Answer Five - c. There were no forests because glaciers covered the land.
Since glaciation, Michigan has undergone various periods of warm, dry conditions and cool, wet conditions. Forest composition has changed and adapted many times and will continue to do so.
Answer Six - c. Over 5,000 different products contain wood or materials from wood.
Some products are easy to associate with wood, such as lumber and paper. Other items, such as toothpaste, cosmetics, clothing, and foods are less obvious. Wood is the only renewable raw material, a big advantage over other natural resources.
Answer Seven - d. All of the above are results of well-managed forests.
Forest management addresses more than just timber. Across the landscape, the goal is to balance all demands of society on forests.
Answer Eight - c. Balance the various benefits and products from the forest is the primary focus of a forester.
Foresters are not the only natural resource professionals involved with forestry. The forestry profession focuses on trees and forest ecology, but also addresses disciplines associated with forests because a forest is more than trees.
Answer Nine - b. Sugar Maple is the most common tree in Michigan.
Sugar maple can reproduce in the shade of most forest canopies. The increasing abundance of sugar maple suggests that our forests are growing older and moving towards the later end of forest succession.
Answer Ten - a. About 575 vertebrate species live in Michigan.
Over 575 species of vertebrates have been recorded, which include birds, fish, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles. Most of these species are at least partially dependent upon forests, even fish because forests are critical for water quality.
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Trailer
Bill Cook is an MSU
Extension forester providing educational programming for the entire Upper Peninsula.
His office is located at the MSU Upper Peninsula Tree Improvement Center near
Escanaba. The Center is the headquarters for three MSU Forestry properties in
the U.P., with a combined area of about 8,000 acres. He can be reached at cookwi@msu.edu
or 906-786-1575.
Prepared by Bill
Cook, Forester/Biologist, Michigan State University Extension, 6005 J Road,
Escanaba, MI 49829
906-786-1575 (voice), 906-786-9370 (fax), e-mail: cookwi@msu.edu
Use
/ reprinting
of these articles is encouraged. Please notify Bill Cook.
By-line should read "Bill Cook, MSU Extension" Please use the article
trailer whenever possible.
Michigan State University is an affirmative action equal opportunity institution. The U.S. Department of Agriculture prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital status or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)
This website is maintained by Bill Cook, Michigan State University Extension
Forest in the Upper Peninsula. Comments, questions,
and suggestions are gratefully accepted.
Last
update of this page was
22 September, 2005
This site is hosted by School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science at Michigan Technological University.
