Tag: tree leaves (Page 1 of 2)

Tree Leaf Science Activities

Did you do the tree leaf age experiment last spring to see how long tree leaves stay on the tree? Now would be a good time to check your trees. Let us know what you found out so far. Some of the leaves we marked on our orange tree last spring are still on the tree.

If you live where trees are deciduous, you might want to study the next step:  what happens to leaves when they fall off the tree?

First, think about and make a list of what you think might happen. Do you think some might be eaten, or that they will all blow away?

 

Scientists study the decomposition, or breakdown of leaves, by putting leaves in nylon mesh bags and letting them sit on the ground for long periods of time. The researchers come back every few weeks and pick up a few bags to take back to the laboratory. They open the leaf bags up and see what is happening. They look at things like how much weight the leaves lost, what kinds of critters have been eating the leaves, and how the leaves have lost chemicals (nutrients) over time.

You can make your own leaf bags (also called litter bags).

Gather:

  • Heavy duty screen door nylon mesh (1 x 2 mm mesh size is best) or the nylon mesh bags that fruits or onions come in from the grocery store.
  • Equipment, such as scissors, for cutting screen mesh
  • Equipment for closing the screen bag: glue gun or sewing needle and thread (soldiering irons can be used by adults).
  • Place you can safely leave leaf bags under trees and be able to retrieve them over time

If you are using the pre-made nylon bags from the grocery store, you can skip this step. If you are using screen door mesh, cut out strips 10 inches (25 cm) wide and cut into 8 inches (20 cm) sections and fold in half. Use the glue gun, needle and thread or soldiering iron to seal two sides. Leave one end open so you can put the leaves in.

Once you have the leaf bags made, go outside and fill them with leaves. Try to use freshly fallen leaves and collect only the leaves from under the trees where you will be leaving your bags. If the leaves are too dry, you can wet them with a bit of water to get them into the bags without crumbling. The grocery store bags will have larger openings, so you might want to use bigger leaves.

Close the bags with hot melt glue, or by sewing or tying them shut. Place the leaf bags outside in a place where you can safely retrieve them. You might consider marking the bags with sticks in the ground or tying the bags to brightly colored tent pegs shoved into the ground.

Now you have to be patient. Check the bags roughly every month and see how they are faring. Leave them under the trees until next year and then be sure to collect them. Open the bags into a tray or pan and sort through the contents. What do you think you might find?

Other fun activities for fall leaf drop season are to put the leaves back on the tree and exploring fall color.

Do you know what kind of tree this is?

We’d love to hear what you find in your leaf bags.

Weekend Science Fun: Tree Leaf Age

This week’s topic is, well, timely.

A few years ago my son asked how long tree leaves live. Having grown up in an area with four seasons, I always thought leaves lived from spring to autumn, when they fell off. Here in Arizona, however, we have trees that are green year around and I had no idea how long the leaves of a lemon tree, for example, might live. Then I began to wonder if trees and shrubs grow new leaves throughout the spring and summer, or whether they have short burst where all the leaves come out and that’s it.

If you’d like to find out how long the leaves live on your trees or shrubs, choose some freshly emerged leaves and mark them with acrylic marker. You can tell the young leaves because they are a lighter, brighter green color and are toward the tip of the branch.

If you don’t have a marker, you could also mark the leaves with tags or ties, anything that won’t wear or fall off or interfere with normal leaf development and photosynthesis. Record how many leaves you tag, when you tag them, and roughly where they are in the tree.

Check your leaves periodically. You might want to mark more leaves each time if you see new ones. This is a long-term project, so be patient.

We marked some of the new leaves on our lemon tree a few years ago. Our marked leaves remained on the tree through one entire year. The tree dropped a lot of leaves a couple of times, but our marked ones held on. Unfortunately, our marked leaves were lost before the experiment was finished when someone — who didn’t know about our experiment — trimmed the tree. We are going to try again this year.

Let us know what kind of tree or shrub you choose and how long the leaves last. Let me know if you think we should do a contest for the oldest leaf.

How long do you think the oldest leaf would be?

lemon tree

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