Stream Order

Stream Order CharacteristicsFirst Order• Very small• Cold, clear, clean • Can jump across them • Start from springs,

groundwater• Forested, rocky, steep• Brook trout (PA State fish),

only native inland trout, prefer cold, very skittish

Second Order• Wider- maybe jump, can

throw• More water• Warmer water• More fish diversity• Larger fish size• Brown trout tolerate temps

(prefer low light)• Sculpins, shiners, daces,

fallfish• Can stock rainbows

PA Annual Precip.

• Pennsylvania receives an average of ______ inches of precipitation each year. Where does that water go?

• The total must equal _____.• Evaporation & transpiration ____ inches• Run off ____ inches• Percolation ____ inches• Total _____ inches

41 inches

41 inches

41 inches

20

6

15

Land cover

• http://www.envirothonpa.org/documents/2-2_Landcovermap_11x17.pdf

Forest Cover62 Distinct tree areas!

Factors Determining Forests

• Temperature, Rainfall and Topography• Plant hardiness zones become harsher as one

progresses further north in latitude or higher in elevation

• Elevation, slope and the direction a slope faces all effect the microclimate for plants on any site

• Water and eroding soil both move down slope with gravity= deeper and moister at the base of the slope

• South facing slopes receive more direct sunlight than north facing = warmer and drier.

Northern Hardwood• 2nd most common• Beech, birch, sugar maple, Canadian hemlock,

white pine• If in south, then on northern slopes• Best area for Wild Black Cherry• Understory: moosewood, witch hazel, mountain

holly, shadbush (serviceberry)

Oak Forest

• Most of PA• Red & white oak, tulip tree, red maple, hickory• On ridges white, black, and chestnut oak• Dense mountain laurel and black huckleberry• In 1904 chesnut blight intro’d in NY, by 1910

PA forests decimated

Mixed Mesophytic Forest

• Southern PA (common in Smoky Mountains)• Tuliptree, sugar maple, beech, basswood, red

oak, cucumber tree, yellow buckeye, Ohio buckeye, white ash, black cherry

• Understory: flowering dogwood, pawpaw, umbrella tree, redbud, witch hazel

Unique Areas• Coastal Plain Forest

– Near SE Delaware River– Sweetgum, willow oak, southern red oak, sweetbay magnolia,

• Peat Moss Areas– Support tamarack, black spruce– Due to glaciation

• Serpentinite rock– South central PA– Pitch Pine, VA pine, red cedar, scrub oak, blackjack oak,

sassafras• Shale & Limestone Barrens

– Drought tolerant– Eastern red cedar, VA pine, Table mountain pine, yellow oak,

post oak, hackberry, sumac

Unique Areas

• Beech Maple Forest– Western edge of PA

• Riparian Areas– Periodic flooding– Sycamore, Silver maples, box elder, American elm,

slippery elm black willow, green ash, black ash, black walnut, red maple

• River birch in east, not west• Pumpkin ash only in Lake Erie Swamp forest

Soil Color

• Oxidation of iron and manganese– Iron- red & yellow– Manganese- black mineral – Organics- black hummus

• Aerobic soil is very consistent, while anaerobic is variable, with patterns, and paint-like designs (often rusty)

• Deeper soils are lighter, yellower, or redder

Munsell Soil Chart

• http://envirothonpa.org/documents/munsellcharts.pdf

• Three parts– Hue (color)– Value (light or dark)– Chroma (color intensity)

• Uses: Archeology, crime scenes, carpet manufacturing

Bird Calls and Songs

1.Bald Eagle2.Barn Owl3.Barred Owl4.Black-Capped Chickadee5.Blue Jay6.Canada Goose7.Cardinal8.Common Nighthawk9.Crow10.Dove11.Eastern Towhee

12.Great Blue Heron13.Great Horned Owl14.House Sparrow15.House Wren16.Kestrel17.Mallard18.Meadowlark19.Northern Flicker20.Osprey21.Pheasant22.Pileated Woodpecker

23.Red-Tailed Hawk24.Red-winged Blackbird25.Ruffed Grouse26.Robin27.Screech Owl28.Wild Turkey29.Wood Duck30.Wood Thrush31.Woodcock