Camilla Cook — Tree Inventory Update #8

Back from my little hiatus of blog posting, I finished Blocks 13, 15, 16, 17, and part of 18 over the span of September 7th and 12th! In total, there were 19 trees surveyed, with one new species: Quercus palustris (Pin Oak). There is not much to report other than some crown dieback and trunk scars – several Sweetgum trees had trunk scars ranging in severity next to a house that was being renovated on Block 15. Further, the two Q. palustris on Block 13 (Hamilton Street) show signs of “iron chlorosis,” which is when the leaves are yellow-green (should be a darker green color — image below to confirm). According to the Forestry Extension of Utah State University, the yellowing of plant leaves with a network of dark green veins is a primary symptom of iron deficiency. As there is a lack of chlorophyll, which is the green pigment responsible for photosynthesis, the reduction of it can reduce plant growth. The cause of iron chlorosis, or interveinal chlorosis, is most likely attributable to the soils being alkaline (having a pH greater than 7.0) where the high soil pH causes chemical reactions that make the iron solid within the soil and unavailable to plant roots. By noticing the yellowing of the Pin Oak leaves, this makes me wonder if other trees with yellow leaves throughout South Homewood are experiencing the same iron deficiency issues.

In addition, I had my “first” run in with Poison Oak – it was on one of the Pin Oak’s I was surveying. As I was measuring the DBH of the tree, a resident across the street noticed me and yelled to not to touch the tree – there was poison oak surrounding the trunk. As I was naively unaware of this, the nice man asked me if I wanted some soap and water to wash my hands and arms in case they got any residue on them from leaves or stems and brought out a container of soap with some napkins to me! These small interactions I have with residents throughout Homewood make my work that much happier and brighter.

Other than my tree inventory, I have begun preliminary statistics on my data to organize my statistical methods and by the time I have completed my dataset, I can plug it right in.

Literature: https://forestry.usu.edu/trees-cities-towns/tree-care/causes-iron-chlorosis

Below are some pictures:

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