Tree Science in Action - Morton Arboretum Collection Nets - December 2020
We were out on a walk in the Morton Arboretum when we noticed a basket far off the path. We wandered over to see what was doing with it and saw this tag that had the title: Tree Science in Action! And included a reference to a soil scientist at the Morton Arboretum: Dr. Meghan Midgley . Here's a closeup (albeit blurry) of the tag: It reads: Tree Science in Action! We're collecting leaf litter to study the effects of trees on soil. DO NOT DISTURB Questions? Contact Dr. Meghan Midgley, Soil Ecologist The baskets appear to be collecting material as it falls from the trees. This one was in/near the Spruce Plot on the main loop . What is Dr. Midgley working on? From her bio : As the Soil Ecologist at The Morton Arboretum, Meghan Midgley studies plant-soil interactions in a changing world. Specifically, she aims to understand how interactions among plants, microbes, and soil mediate ecosystem-specific responses to environmental changes. Her research encompasses two overarch