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 Agriculture Education 

NI Articles 

Below you will find a list of all the Natural Inquirer materials that include information and research about agriculture topics. These can be useful to any agriculture education teacher looking for additional resources. The articles have been separated into 7 agriculture topics: Forestry, Wildlife, Plant Science, Entomology, Soil Science, Aquaculture, and Agriculture Literacy. At the end of this page, you will also find some of our Scientist Cards that are related to agriculture topics and the included articles. 

For more information about the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) visit www.usda.gov and to learn more about agroforestry visit the National Agroforestry Center website. 

Thank you to Sarah McCord for helping us gather these materials during her internship in 2022. 

 

Forestry

SPLAT! - Natural Inquirer Time Warp monograph series

  • Protecting pine trees in the Western United States from beetle attack

Batter Up! - Natural Inquirer Time Warp monograph series

  • Investigating what type of wood makes the best baseball bat

Moving on Up - an article from the Climate Change Edition

  • The possible impact of climate change on Eastern United States forest habitat

The GLAS is Half Full - an article from the Climate Change edition

  • Can the information gathered by satellites be as useful as information gathered in person to determine the age and biomass of tropical forests?

The World's Forest (1st edition) - Natural Inquirer Journal 

  • Presents the results of a worldwide effort to understand forests, organized by the United Nations FAO 

 

The World's Forest (2nd edition) - Natural Inquirer Journal 

  • Learn about the World's Forest by walking through the Global Forest Resource Assesment - a report put out by the United Nations FAO every 5 years 

The World's Forest (3rd edition) - Natural Inquirer Journal 

  •  Walk through the 2015 Global Forest Resource Assesment 

 


Wildlife

The Trees Have Gone Batty! - an article from the Tropical journal

  • How bat scat helped restore a tropical forest 

Cave Conundrum - an article from the Caves and Karst journal

  • Investigating if white-nose syndrome is responsible for all declining bat populations 

Turn That Radio Down! - an article from the Olympic Winter Games Journal

  • What kind of habitats do Flammulated owls prefer to raise their young?

The Great Horned Owl - an article from the Student Scientist Journal

  • Is the Oxbow a good habitat for the great horned owl?

Who Gives a Hoot? - an article from the Wildland Fire Journal

  • Determining the value of the Northern Spotted Owl habitat 

On The Fence - Natural Inquirer Time Warp monograph series

  • Which barriers protect quaking aspen from ungulates?

Goldifinch and the Three Scales - an article from the Olympic Winter Games journal 

  • Exploring the habitat of songbirds 

Born To Be Wild - An article from the Facts to the Future journal 

  • What are the trends in different wildlife populations?

Snake, Rattle, and Roll - an article from the Wildland Fire 2 journal

  • How do fire restoration activities affect snake populations?
 

As the Frog Hops - an article from the Wilderness Benefits journal 

  •  What routes do frogs travel in mountain environments/habitats?
 

Prairie Dog Days - an article from the Animals and Ecosystems of the Southwestern United States Investi-gator (4th-5th grade)

  •  How fleas transmit the plague and its effect on Gunnison's Prairie Dog
 

Wild Ways - an article from the Animals and Ecosystems of the Southwestern United States Investi-gator (4th-5th grade)

  • How climate change may affect certain wildlife 
 

There's Snow Place Like Home - an article from the Climate Change Investi-gator (4th-5th grade) 

  • Tracking the range of wolverines over time 
 Amphibious Assault - an article from the Climate Change Investi-gator (4th-5th grade)
  • How is climate change affecting breeding patterns of amphibians?

 

Plant Science

Invasion of the Song Snatcher! - an article from the Citizen Science journal

  • The impact of invasive spotted knapweed on chipping sparrow song diversity 

Hurry Up and Wait - an article from the Invasive Species journal 

  • What is the relationship between different amounts of sunlight and the germination and growth of oriental bittersweet?

Moving Spore-adically - an article from the Invasive Species journal

  • The spread of Sudden Oak Death in California forests 

Cream of the Crop - a Natural Inquirer monograph 

  • Assessing the environmental benefits of prairie strips 

 

Entomology

The Emerald Ash Borer: Invading Ash Trees - an article from the Student Scientist journal 

  • What kind of impact does the Emerald Ash Borer have on the Oxbow?

The Emerald Ash Borer: An Ash Tree's Worst Enemy - an article from the Student Scientist journal 

  •  How are soil properties in the Oxbow related to the ash trees infested by the Emerald Ash Borer?

Worming Their Way In - A Natural Inquirer monograph

  • Are there more native or non-native earthworms in the northern forests of Georgia? 

And Then There Were Nun - an article from the Invasive Species journal 

  • Trees that could be endangered by a nun moth invasion

Shoot! Foiled Again!- an article from the Invasive Species journal 

  • Using chemicals to discourage pine shoot beetles 

Tag, You're It! - an article in the Invasive Species journal 

  • Using harmonic radar to track the flight of beetles 

Wood Roaches for Dinner Again? - an article from the Fall 98 journal

  • The baby red-cockaded woodpecker's diet

Beetles Are Supercool! - A Natural Inquirer monograph 

  • Understanding the lifestyle of mountain pine beetles 
   

 

Soil Science

Snowed In? - an article from the Northern Research Station Investi-gator (4th-5th grade)

  • What would happen to the microbes in soil if there are more freezing and thawing cycles? 

Food for the Soil - A Natural Inquirer monograph

  • Learn about soils and the amount of salmon-derived nutrients (SDN) in Southeast Alaska

Don't Judge a Soil by Its Color - an article from the Wildland Fire 2 journal

  • Examining the growth of invasive and native species in different soils following a wildfire

Fill Those Potholes - an article from the Ecosystem Services journal 

  • Identifying ecosystem services of small wetlands on the American prairie 

Leaf Me Alone! - an article from the Tropical journal

  • Understanding the movement of nutrients between trees and the soil

Quit Yer Horsin' Around! - an article from the Rocky Mountain journal

  • The effects of trampling on vegetation in Montana

What's the Nonpoint? - an article from the Freshwater journal

  •  Assessing nonpoint source water quality threats to watersheds nationwide 

 

Aquaculture

Go With the Flow! - an article from the Rocky Mountain journal

  • Are mountain stream channels shaped by flood and drought?

Big Fish in a Small Pool - an article from the Olympic Winter Games journal

  • Habitat preferences of cutthroat trout 

Do What You Water - an article from the Facts to the Future journal

  • Measuring how much fresh water humans will use from the year 2000 to the year 2040

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish - No Fish? - an article from Facts to the Future journal

  • The current situation and possible future of aquatic animals in the United States

 


Agriculture Literacy

Wide Open Spaces - an article from the Natural IQ journal

  • Climate change impacts on rural areas of the United States 

It's a Small World - an article from the Climate Change journal

  • How oceans and climates can affect wildland fires thousands of miles away

 


Scientists Cards

The Natural Inquirer has over 100 cards available to pair with these agriculture articles and topics. Each card features a Forest Service scientist and their research. The card sets include soil scientists, water scientists, plant & forest scientists, insect scientists, wildlife scientists, and many more! To order or download free copies of these cards you can visit our Scientist Card page. All of these cards are also available in a poster version that can be downloaded by following this link. These cards and posters are perfect for introducing students to many different types of careers.  

 

Richard Straight, Lead Agroforester, Technology Transfer

Richard Straight, Lead Agroforester, Technology Transfer
Click here to download the front of this card.

Richard Straight, Lead Agroforester, Technology Transfer

Click here to download the back of this card.
  • M.S., Iowa State University
  • USDA Forest Service Scientist
  • I am forester who has specialized in agroforestry.  My primary responsibilties are to promote agroforestry to the natural resource management community and provide them with educational materials and training.

Dr. Sybill K. Amelon, Wildlife Ecologist


Click here to download the front of this card.

Click here to download the back of this card.
  • Ph.D., Missouri-Columbia
  • USDA Forest Service Scientist
  • A wildlife ecologist studies native animal species at multiple levels of biological organization, from genetics of wildlife populations to interactions of wildlife ecosystem processes.

 

Mr. Gary Bentrup, Research Landscape Planner
 


Click here to download the front of this card.

Click here to download the back of this card.
  • Master of Landscape Architecture, Utah State University
     
  • USDA Forest Service Scientist
  • I study agroforestry.  Agroforestry is the use of trees to provide multiple benefits to society.
     

Dr. Grizelle Gonzalez, Soil Ecologist


Click here to download the front of this card.

Click here to download the back of this card.
  • Ph.D., University of Colorado at Boulder
  • USDA Forest Service Scientist
  • A soil ecologist studies how living and nonliving factors (and their interactions) affect the functioning of the soil environment.