Why is fog vital to coastal redwoods?
Plant ecologic Todd Dawson discusses the nutrients fog provides to redwoods.
Vocabulary: fog, rain, nutrients, photosynthesis, cellulose, organic molecules, drought
NGSS: LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems, LS2.B: Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems, ESS2.D: Weather and Climate, CC2: Cause and Effect: Mechanism and Explanation, and SEP7: Engaging in Argument from Evidence. Can be used to build towards MS-LS2–3, MS-LS2–4, MS-LS2–5, MS-ESS2–4, HS-LS2–1, and HS-LS1–3.
CCSS: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.1, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.1, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.1, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9–10.1, and CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11–12.1.
One of the iconic species of the northern California coastline is the redwood tree. The majestic trees are dependent upon another feature emblematic of the area — fog. Plant ecologist Todd Dawson describes how redwoods utilize this seasonal water source and how drought and climate change are impacting these old-growth forests.
Print this segment transcript.
Questions for Students
- Explain why the fog is vital to coastal redwoods.
- Create a diagram showing why the fog bank moves onto shore.
- The fog on the California coast contains nutrients, like nitrogen. How did those nutrients come to be in the fog?
- How is cellulose used to track the type and amount of water redwood trees intake?
- Explain why the California drought is affecting redwoods in the southern part of the coastal range differently from the northern coastal range.
Activity Suggestion
- Have students design and conduct an experiment to test the effect of different nutrients and/or minerals on plant growth or seed germination (like in this activity). Have teams make recommendations for combinations of nutrients that might mimic the fog that waters the redwoods on the California coast. Have students then use their experimental results to reflect on the information they learned about redwoods in the interview.
Suggested Media
- Look more into drought concerns in California in the video below on California snowpack.
- Check out this article on the redwoods and the fog.
