Dendrology course takes advantage of diverse Michigan forestry
Appreciating nature on campus can be hard as the weather transitions each day to chilling winter temperatures.
Fortunately for nature buffs, Central Michigan University students can take a class examining the countryside each fall semester with biology professor Joanne Dannenhoffer’s unique 500 level course.
Michigan’s ecology hosts a diverse population of research subjects; the surrounding counties in particular are home to forestry that students would otherwise have to travel great distances to interact with in Dannenhoffer’s class.
Mount Pleasant rests in an area that demonstrates a mixture of southern and northern Michigan vegetation. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources explains the region as containing a variety of mixed forest types that reflect the large-scale ecosystem conditions that interact throughout the State and Great Lakes region.
For example, Dannenhoffer said there is a segment of vegetation in the northern part of the county that looks like life found in the upper peninsula.
“There are native trees and interesting specimens that I want to show the students, but it’s hard for students to see them if we have to travel all over the town or campus,” Dannenhoffer said.
While over 100 species of trees grow in the state, students won’t be seeing some of the more exotic species. That’s OK; Dannenhoffer said palm trees are part of a botanical family not classified as trees, in the classic sense anyway.
Dendrology students put their skills to work outside of the classroom as well. A majority of the early sessions visit many of the local ponds in Mount Pleasant.
Ecosystems such as Chipp-A-Waters park, Mill Pond and Deerfield, in addition to two all-day field trips, introduce students to botanical learning modules used to organize plants by their specific groups or families. This allows students to identify almost any tree found in the field, regardless of how far away the sample’s natural habitat is.
This is a skill that Dannenhoffer said has helped some of her graduate students separate themselves from the pack when looking for jobs.
Allendale senior Bryan Reatini’s research on a unique ecosystem on Drummond Island will pay dividends in his post-graduate work. Reatini is dedicating his senior project to determining if an abnormally growing species of the Quaking Aspen tree is genetically similar to populations on another part of the island.
He said research for undergrads in the department of biology isn’t terribly uncommon, but students need to find the opportunities for themselves.
“The department has been very helpful,” Reatini said. “I’ve learned so many basic skills as well as more advanced ones. Hopefully by the end of this, if the results are interesting enough, I could potentially write a paper to be published in a journal.”
In previous years, graduate students surveyed and mapped every single wood plant in the Fabiano Botanical Garden outside of their class. The students identified invasive species and helped remove them from the garden.
The last time Facilities Management planted trees on campus, they asked Dannenhoffer to make a list of what she would like to see. She suggested American chestnuts and certain missing species that she thought would be beneficial, and Facilities Management complied.
Later, Dannenhoffer’s dendrology students resurveyed the plants as a whole class and spent one lab identifying and removing the exotics.
“It’s really interesting how students respond to that service learning,” Dannenhoffer said. “Doing something that means something for another organization but also for the environment.”
