Mad Science

Cool Articles

Mad Gallery

Crazy Activities

GF Research

Tree Guide

Challenge a Scientist

Scientist's Answers




FACTOID!!
Did you know that there are a group of frogs in South America known as 'poison-dart frogs'? There are different types of frogs within the group but most of them are brightly coloured and have black spots. They are dangerous to touch because they have poison on their skin. Native people in the area used to rub the poison onto their arrows before hunting.


Fog-trapping redwoods found crucial to forest health


Fog-trapping redwoods found crucial to forest health
Researchers used to think that trees' absorption of water robs the rest of their habitat of water rather than restoring water to it. However, plant ecologist Dr. Todd Dawson has published a study that shows that giant redwood trees' mechanism of collecting water from fog provides large amounts of water to both the trees and the ground around them. The redwoods catch fog water in their needles and branches. The water then drips from the branches and runs down the trunk, providing water for the tree and also to the ground surrounding it. This water can be crucial to the survival of other plants growing around the tree and also to the animals that live in the forest. This study shows the importance of the redwood population to the health of the rest of the species in the area.

The Globe and Mail

More Forests and Trees
Global Forest Science membership