Minnesota’s basswood trees provide an interesting opportunity to learn about the many uses of trees in the northern part of the state. The use of the inner bark is one way and it is not a well-known use. Many of you are likely familiar with the use of the basswood for carving. Among all of the trees in this region (northern Minnesota), basswood ranks at the top of the list for many carvers.
Read MoreWhat will happen if we can stabilize carbon emissions? What will happen if we bring in new industries or develop new products? What if carbon sequestration and carbon offsets are the products themselves? The ForCAST tool attempts to provide forestry professionals and land managers with an opportunity to evaluate how a changing climate and changing markets might affect Minnesota’s forests and the ecosystem services that they provide at an area or regional level.
Read MoreForest inventory plays a crucial role in good forest management. For example, in the last MFA Newsletter, readers learned that knowing your fire fuel load means having good forest inventory. Brian Huberty’s article explained how these datasets can provide critical information to help wildland firefighters and provides foundational information for land managers and planners working at the site-to-landscape scale. Minnesota’s legislature agrees with the importance of forest inventory data and has provided substantial funding to enhance forest inventory in Minnesota.
Read MoreAs we cast our gaze on the rapidly changing scenery from the comfort of our bay windows and back porches, a quick glimpse of color catches the eye. Against the greyed hues and golden contrast of late fall, a brief flash of bright green leaps out amongst the bare trees. Seeming out of place, one might be wise to investigate this patch of green.
Read MoreTrees have given our ancestors the building blocks for self-reliance, and those same trees are here to help us today. From fiber and medicine, to food and drinking water, many tree species have something to offer us through all four seasons. Get to know these fifteen common genera through this gallery of useful survival trees (and a few bonus woody plants).
Read MoreBlack locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) is a fast growing tree in the legume family that can reach up to 75 feet in height. It has deeply furrowed bark with fl at-topped ridges, and seedlings and root sprouts have long thorns and grow rapidly.
Read MoreWhen you think of “creatures,” you might not consider some of the world’s natural demolition crew: fungi, slime molds and soil bacteria. Although they are relatively small and most of their work is completed out of sight, the impact of their work is gigantic. Th rough recycling of organic matter, they guarantee the continuation of life in all of the Earth’s ecosystems.
Read MoreThe snow flea (Hypogastruna nivicola) is a springtail species that is active in winter and easily seen against white snow. A primitive insect, the snow flea is very small, about 1/10 inch long, and dark blue-gray in color. They have a somewhat plump body and small compound eyes comprised of only eight facets in each. Snow fleas are wingless and are classified as hexapods, which is a subtype of the arthropod family. Like insects, snow fleas have six legs, but researchers say they are more closely related to crustaceans.
Read MoreThe eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides) is a cottonwood poplar native to North America, growing throughout the eastern, central and southwestern United States as well as the southern Canadian prairies, the southernmost part of eastern Canada and northeastern Mexico. It is one of the fastest growing trees in North America.
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