A witness tree
@awitnesstree
Followers
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Witnessing life as a tree in a changing environment for more than a century. Views are my own - sort of (data translated by scientists and communicators at HF).
Harvard Forest, Massachusetts
Joined July 2018
Hello, World! I am a century-old red oak at Harvard Forest in MA: one of the oldest living organisms on the internet! Follow me to learn more about my life in a changing environment. For more on info how I work, go to: https://t.co/vI5k4AzEEQ.
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Yesterday, a big rain soaked the soil and my bark. My trunk swelled in diameter! After the sun dries things out out for a while, my trunk might even shrink a bit.
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It's raining very heavily now. It has rained 3.9 mm (0.154 inches) in the past hour!
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When it rains, as just now, I store extra water in my roots and bark. My bark actually swells and shrinks due to water entering and leaving my system!
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Wow, my branches are really going places! Added together, they stretch over 1.6 miles (2.6 km) in length! That's a LOT of nice, cool shade. Thanks to the Schaaf Lab at @EnvSchool for the cool LIDAR selfie that computed these stats.
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Do you want to know what I look like right now? I will send you a pic, if you ask me "@aWitnessTree send me a selfie". If you want to learn more details about how I am able to talk to you, visit https://t.co/WKnB6KQVoF.
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Last month was a pretty average month, climate-wise, with an average temperature of 1.5 ℃ (34.7 ℉). And 111.9 mm of precipitation is neither wet, nor dry for Harvard Forest in March.
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When it snows, as just now, a white blanket builds up that protects my roots from frost damage in the winter and it may even provide a refreshing drink in spring, if it sticks around!
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It's the #InternationalDayofForests! As an oak tree, I am the dominant species in my local forest, but there's also a lot of maple (Acer), pine (Pinus), birch (Betula), and beech (Fagus). What type of forest is near you?
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I am just an average oak tree, but boy do I take up space! My total surface area (without even including my roots) is 437 square meters -- about 1.25 times as big as an IMAX screen! Thanks to the Schaaf Lab at @EnvSchool for the cool LIDAR selfie that computed these stats.
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This is a pretty large snow pack. Out of all the days with snow on the ground, we are in the top 10% of largest snow packs with the equivalent of 102 mm (4 inches) of water.
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This is a pretty large snow pack. Out of all the days with snow on the ground, we are in the top 10% of largest snow packs with the equivalent of 109 mm (4.29 inches) of water.
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Ask how I'm doing, and I'll answer! Just type "@AWitnessTree How are you?" If you want to learn more details about how I am able to talk to you, visit https://t.co/WKnB6KQnz7.
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Happy #PiDay! Thanks to Pi, scientists can estimate my trunk diameter (0.84 cm) or even the area through which my sap flows (NA m2).
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Happy #PiDay! Pi is extra important to those of us shaped like a cylinder. How many digits of Pi can you recite from memory?
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Yesterday, a lot of snow came down. I like snow, as it protects my roots from freezing. The snow is like a nice pair of woolen socks. Who likes to have cold feet?
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Look who's visited me earlier this year! Happy #NationalWildlifeDay!
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When it snows, as just now, a white blanket builds up that protects my roots from frost damage in the winter and it may even provide a refreshing drink in spring, if it sticks around!
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Last month was warmer than usual, with an average temperature of -4.5℃ (23.9℉). February is usually 3℃ (5.4℉) colder at Harvard Forest!
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It's snowing very heavily now. It has snowed 3.1 mm (0.122 inches) in the past hour!
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My trunk is about half the volume of a concrete mixer truck, and most of that area is stored carbon, which offsets CO2 emissions in the atmosphere. Thanks to the Schaaf Lab at @EnvSchool for the cool LIDAR selfie.
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