Trees: Concepts + Keywords

Concepts Related to Trees

If your class is interested in studying trees and you choose to facilitate a simple machine investigation, consider using any 3 or 4 concepts listed below. Choosing a limited number of concepts based on children's interests helps to narrow down the research required by teachers. It also helps teachers shape the investigation by diving deeper into the chosen content instead of feeling pressure to cover all concepts related to the topic. Choosing what's most relevant to the children in your class helps everyone get the most out of the investigation. 
Tree Anatomy
Ecosystems + Biodiversity
​Animal Habitats
Fruit + Nut Trees
Animals + Trees
How People use Trees
Seasonal Changes
Types of Trees
Tree Life Cycle
Conservation + Community

Key Words

  • Afforestation: Afforestation is when people plant new trees in places where there weren't any trees before, like empty fields or cities, to make the environment healthier and provide homes for animals.
  • Arboriculture: The cultivation and management of trees, including planting, pruning, and care.
  • Biodiversity: The variety and abundance of living organisms in a particular habitat or ecosystem, including trees and other plants, animals, and microorganisms.
  • Botany: The scientific study of plants, including trees, their structure, physiology, genetics, ecology, and evolution.
  • Branches: The parts of a tree that grow out from its trunk and hold its leaves or needles.
  • Canopy: The upper layer of branches and foliage formed by the crowns of trees in a forest or woodland.
  • Carbon Cycle: The carbon cycle is the natural process by which carbon moves between the Earth's atmosphere, land, oceans, and living organisms. It's like a big recycling system for carbon! Carbon is constantly being exchanged between the atmosphere, where it exists mostly as carbon dioxide, and living things, rocks, soil, and oceans. This cycle helps regulate the Earth's climate and is essential for life on our planet.​
  • Carbon Dioxide (CO2): A gas that animals, including humans, breathe out and that trees and other plants use during photosynthesis.
  • Carbon sequestration: The process by which trees and other plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in their biomass and soil, helping to mitigate climate change.
  • Climate Change: Climate change is when the Earth's weather patterns, like temperature and storms, are getting more extreme over a long time because of things people do, like burning fossil fuels.
  • Coniferous: Referring to trees that bear cones and have needle-like or scale-like leaves, usually remaining green throughout the year, also known as evergreen trees.
  • Conservation: Conservation means taking care of nature and using its resources wisely so that they will always be available for us and for future generations. It's like being good stewards of the environment, making sure we don't waste things and that animals and plants have safe places to live.
  • Deciduous: Referring to trees that shed their leaves annually in response to seasonal changes, typically in the fall.
  • Decomposition: Decomposition is the natural process where organic material, like leaves, plants, or animals, breaks down into simpler substances over time. It's like nature's recycling program, where things that were once alive are broken down by bacteria, fungi, and other organisms, returning nutrients back to the soil for new plants to grow.
  • Deforestation: The clearing or removal of forests or trees from a particular area, often for agricultural, industrial, or urban development purposes.
  • Dendrology: The scientific study of trees and woody plants, including their classification, identification, and distribution.
  • Ecology: The scientific study of the relationships between organisms and their environment, including the interactions between trees, other plants, animals, and abiotic factors.
  • Ecosystem services: The benefits that trees and other ecosystems provide to humans and other organisms, including clean air and water, climate regulation, and cultural and recreational opportunities.
  • Endangered: When animals or plants are endangered, it means there are very few left, and they might disappear forever if we don't protect them.
  • Evergreen: A type of tree that keeps its leaves or needles all year round, such as pine trees.
  • Forest: A large area of land covered with trees.
  • Forest Degradation: Forest degradation is when forests become less healthy because of things like pollution, cutting down trees, or climate change, which can make it harder for animals and plants to live there.
  • Forestry: The science and practice of managing forests and tree resources for ecological, economic, and social benefits.
  • Fruit: The sweet or juicy part of some trees that animals and humans can eat, like apples or oranges.
  • Germination: When a seed starts to grow into a new plant. It's like a tiny magic trick happening underground, where the seed wakes up and sends out its first roots and shoots. From there, it begins its journey to become a big, strong plant!"
  • Growth rings: Rings of wood formed in the trunk of a tree each year, representing one year of growth. They can be used to determine the age of a tree and provide information about past environmental conditions.
  • Gymnosperms: A type of plant that produces seeds without flowers or fruit. Instead of having seeds enclosed in fruits like apples or oranges, gymnosperms have seeds that are exposed on the surface of cones or in other structures. Examples of gymnosperms include pine trees, spruce trees, and cedar trees.
  • Habitat: The natural environment or surroundings in which a particular species of tree or other organism lives and thrives.
  • Leaves: The green, flat parts of a tree that grow from its branches and help it make food.
  • Nutrients: The vitamins and minerals that trees get from the soil to help them grow healthy and strong.
  • Oxygen: The gas that trees and other plants produce during photosynthesis, which animals, including humans, need to breathe.
  • Photosynthesis: The process by which green plants, including trees, use sunlight to synthesize food (sugars) from carbon dioxide and water, releasing oxygen as a byproduct.
  • Reforestation: Reforestation is when people plant new trees in places where forests were cut down, to help make the environment better and give animals and plants a new home.
  • Root system: The underground part of a tree that anchors it to the soil and absorbs water and nutrients from the ground.
  • Roots: The parts of a tree that grow under the ground and help it get water and nutrients from the soil.
  • Sapling: A sapling is a young tree that has grown beyond the seedling stage but is still small and not fully mature. It's like a teenager tree, taller than a seedling but not yet as big and sturdy as a fully grown tree.
  • Seed: A small, hard part of a tree that can grow into a new tree when it falls to the ground and gets planted in the soil.
  • Seedling: A seedling is a young plant that grows from a seed. It's like a baby plant just starting its life journey. Seedlings usually have delicate stems and small leaves as they begin to grow.
  • Shade: The cool, dark area under a tree's branches where you can hide from the sun on a hot day.
  • Sustainability: Sustainability means doing things in a way that helps us now without causing problems for the future, like using resources wisely and making sure we don't harm the environment too much.
  • Tree: A tall plant with a trunk and branches that grows leaves or needles.
  • Tree anatomy: The structure and organization of tissues and organs within a tree, including roots, stems, leaves, and reproductive structures such as flowers and fruits.
  • Tree conservation: Efforts to protect and preserve trees and their habitats from threats such as deforestation, habitat loss, and climate change.
  • Tree diseases: Infectious or non-infectious conditions that affect the health and vitality of trees, causing symptoms such as wilting, discoloration, and dieback.
  • Tree identification: The process of recognizing and distinguishing different species of trees based on their physical characteristics, such as leaves, bark, and branching patterns.
  • Tree morphology: The study of the physical characteristics of trees, including their shape, size, arrangement, and venation patterns.
  • Tree physiology: The study of the internal functions and processes of trees, such as water transport, nutrient uptake, and metabolic activities.
  • Tree planting: The act of deliberately introducing and establishing trees in a particular area for various purposes, such as reforestation, landscaping, and erosion control.
  • Tree species: A group of trees with similar characteristics that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring.
  • Trunk: The thick, strong stem of a tree that holds it up and supports its branches.
  • Urban forestry: The management and conservation of trees and forests in urban and suburban areas to enhance environmental quality, human health, and quality of life.
  • Wildlife: Animals and insects that live in or near trees and forests.
  • Wood: The hard material that comes from trees and is used to make things like furniture and houses.
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