Tilia

Introduction: Microclimate is the difference in climate that occurs on a very small scale. Microclimate can be created because of altitude, aspect, vegetation, color of the ground, and boulders and burrows. Aspect is created in the presence of topographic features like hills, mountains, and valleys. In the Northern Hemisphere, the north-facing slopes are cooler because they receive less sun than the south-facing slopes. Since they receive less sun, they are also moister due to decreased evaporation rates. Different amounts of sun and moisture due to microclimate would seem to support different types of vegetation in biomes like forests (Molles, 2016). The composition of the forest would allow the direct observation of the influence of microclimate on tree distribution. Comparing the distribution of large and small trees can give an indication of what the composition of the forest may look like in the future. Site Description: The forest composition lab was carried out in Newton Hills State Park. The park is one of the largest forests in the area. The park is mostly trees along with intermittent prairie, the Big Sioux River is off to the east, and a smaller creek runs through the hills of the park. Trees of the forest include: prickly ash, red pine, hackberry, basswood, ironwood, American elm, red elm, bur oak, and green ash. The understory is composed of smooth sumac, wood nettle, stinging nettle, Virginia waterleaf, and sweet cicely. Materials: 2 tape measures( 1 large…

1991). A. saccharum is also widely dispersed in the Eastern United States from Minnesota all the way down to northeastern Texas and eastward to Georgia and through the Appalachian Mountains into New England. The most similar varieties to A. saccharum in North America are A. barbatum (Florida maple), A. leucoderme (chalk maple), and A. nigrum (black maple) which often hybridize with sugar maple. A. platanoides (Norway maple) is a European species that also looks very similar to sugar maple, but…