Birch Tree Research Paper

Air pollution is a global environmental issue where solid particles and gases, such as car emissions and chemicals from factories, affect the quality of the air (Daly, Zannetti 2). This causes damage to all species living in an affected area. Excess nitrogen, which can be created from air pollution, can then cause eutrophication and acidification effects on ecosystems, such as increase in bark pH and the change of ammonium and nitrate in precipitation (APIS). These adjustments mainly affect species that are customized to low nitrogen availability, like lichens mosses, and thus they are in danger of extinction. However, lichens are considered highly valued ecological indicators because of their sensitivity to a wide range of environmental stressors like air quality and climate change (Jovan 4). By identifying lichens that are sensitive, or tolerant, to the increase of nitrogen pollutants in an urbanized area, one can determine the air quality and to what extent pollution has impacted the ecosystem in said area (APIS). This investigation will …show more content…
Five birch trees were selected, however all of their girth lengths were not around the same size. Birch tree number 1 and number 3 have only 3 centimeters separating their girth lengths and birch tree number 2 and 5 are both around 120 centimeters wide (table 1). Birch tree number 4 is the most odd one out of the five as its girth length is only 108 centimeters. The wide range between the density of the trees creates a lack of accuracy and the end results might not be the same as they could be if all the trees had a more consistent girth length. The5010areas on the trees were then located and lichen were observed and identified. The direction of the area was pointed at, the east, south and west, did not provide a wide range of different lichen, hence the whole tree has had access to