2000: Pollen Records of the Past and Present

Education Project

A Research Project Guide will be developed to involve junior and senior high school students in school-based studies to examine the relationship between vegetation and climate. Both teachers and students will be able to use the Guide. Specifically, it will provide lessons to develop students' skills and understanding to contribute to a modern New York State pollen record, identify short and long-term changes in vegetation found in the pollen record and describe the interconnectedness of their local ecology and climate. By design the learning activities will deal with the topics of Ecology and Climate, and how they related. Following the learning activities, a research opportunity is presented to students. This Guide section provides interested students with a research project methodology for participating in the GISS-ICP Pollen Team Project. It explains how to collect pollen for their geographic area, construct a pollen record, conduct pollen analysis and report research in the context of vegetation and climate for the eastern United States.

Objectives

Understand the major concept that the growth of plants types is related to climate:

• Examine the growth of different plant types in a variety of biomes
• Learn plant physiology
• Identify plant pollen types
• Describe how humans and nature interact with and influence plant life
• Develop a conceptual understanding of how biodiversity may be impacted by climate change

Understand the major concept that pollen is one of the best proxies for past climates:

• Gain a historical perspective on ways in which climate is measured
• Explain how pollen records describe climate

Understand the major concept that predicting the impacts of climate change on vegetation depends on our knowledge of how climate has changed in the past in relation to plant life:

• Identify past climate change in the New York region in relation to changes in plant life

Tasks

Prepare the following lessons for the skill and knowledge-building portion of the Pollen Research Project Guide:

Introduction to New York's Natural History from the Past to the Present

• Timeline Introductory Activity -- Case Studies investigation Packets are prepared with a range of information on New York's history, including: animal and plant life, geology, and human activities. Students construct a timeline of their findings.
• Classroom Herbarium Activity -- Students begin to collect, identify and organize a classroom herbarium for future reference and observation.

How are plants shaped by climate?

• Internet Activity -- Identify, describe and compare biomes of the world through mapping based on internet clues. Students will create a color-coded map of the major world biomes. They can work as a class in teams to create one map. The idea of biodiversity and the importance of biodiversity can be introduced here.
• Investigating Regional Plants and Climate -- Identification of three major tree types in your area, location of boundaries of this eco-region on a map, and research of climate indicators of this region such as precipitation, average temperature ranges
• Algonquin Peak Activity -- Students piece together a map of the vegetation vs. altitude of Algonquin Peak, second largest Peak in the Adirondacks, at the base of Heart Lake. Students are given a vertical picture of climate change. Groups of students are given packets based on altitude featuring pictures of major plants found there. As a group they are asked to place the plants on a large mountain outline in the fron of the room in the correct order based on clues found in their packets. Students will observe how the forest changes from Hardwood Forests to Paper Birch to Spruce and Balsam, and finally, to Alpine Scrub as one follows the trail up the peak. A discussion of how an early twentieth century burn has also defined the vegetation on the Peak leads to conclusions on the human impact on plant life in the region.
• Plant Morphology Activity -- Students observe three main plant morphologies through analysis of three case studies of ecosystems in the Northeastern United States. Hydrophytes are defined by the investigation of a Coastal Wetlands. Mesophytes are defined through analysis of a Temperate Deciduous Forest. Xerophytes are defined through analysis of an Alpine Scrub in the Adirondacks.

How can climate change influence the Earth's ecology?

• Mastodon Case Study -- Case study on the time period when the Mastodons lived as the basis for a classroom discussion on the impacts of climate change on plant and animal life.
• Dirt Investigations -- Macro and Micro fossil studies using dirt and dissection microscopes reveal physical evidence of an ancient past ( including pollen?)
• Graphing Heart Lake Pollen Samples -- Students graph top five pollen types found at Heart Lake, at the base of Algonquin Peak over the past 10,000 years. They are asked to compare this to the Algonquin Peak activity and discuss similarities and differences observed at any given point of time. Can we see evidence of our past in the living present?
• Analysis of Sediment Cores taken along the Atlantic Coast of North America -- Present day and Ice Age pollen count simulation of Eight lakes leads to comparison and discussion of climate change in North America that is evidenced by pollen in lake sediments. This ties back to Mastodon Case study and introduces the concept of climate change due to latitude.

How is climate regulated on Earth?

• Variables that define Earth's Climate Activity -- Students will construct a model of the Earth's climate after brainstorming what they think influences the Earth's Climate. They will further define those variables they believe may influence plant and animal life referring to their previous investigation of the Earth's Biomes, Plant Morphology and Biodiversity.
• Transpiration and the Water Cycle -- Students will study the water cycle in a tropical rainforest as an example of how plant-life can influence climate. Students should discuss other ways plants and animals can influence climate. (references to other research at GISS? i.e., Greenhouse gases such as CO₂?) Older students can participate in a transpiration lab measuring the rates of transpiration of various tree types.
• Abiotic Factors Define Biomes Activity -- Students take a closer look at how precipitation and temperature can define a biome or ecosystem. They work in teams as a class to create temperature and precipitation maps of the world and compare them to the map they have created of world biomes in a previous exercise.

How can Climate be measured?

• Pollen Collection and Identification -- Pollen as an indicator of climate. Students collect pollen on a slide, identify and count pollen. They analyze their results in context of what they have learned about the New York region. Discuss the strengths and limitations of different measurement techniques.

Assessment Activities

Present students with several climate scenarios where they must apply the understandings they gained to problems that ask them to identify the evidence of change, explain the mechanisms that contribute to producing it, define the types of potential impacts, and justify a prediction for future climate. Set up a rubric to evaluate the skills and concepts students have learned. This should represent the pre-requisite skills and background needed to participate in the Pollen Team Research Project.

Develop a research plan for involving students throughout New York region in constructing a modern pollen signature for their school and contributing this record to the GISS-based team's Manhattan pollen record. Include: Scientist letter inviting students to participate (science questions to address), project background on past results and significance, measurement protocols, analysis methods and reporting format

The main science question for the research project is: What is the pollen signature for your area? Related questions should deal with:

• What plant types are most abundant? What are the top five percentages for the area?
• How do your findings relate to the Manhattan pollen signature?
• When did your blooming season begin and how does this compare with findings from other areas?
• What is the annual and seasonal variability of plant types and how does this relate to the climate?

Product

The Pollen Research Project Guide