Got Nature? Blog

Join Rod Williams, Purdue FNR Professor of Wildlife Science, Jason Hoverman, Purdue FNR Professor of Invertebrate Ecology, and Michael Lannoo, Indiana University School of Medicine – Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology, to learn interesting facts about frogs and toads, their natural history, research about the threats they face, and what can you do to help these species.

If you have any questions regarding wildlife, trees, forest management, wood products, natural resource planning or other natural resource topics, feel free to contact us by using our Ask an Expert web page.

Resources
Mythbusters, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources
Frogs and Toads of Indiana, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Appreciating Reptiles and Amphibians in Nature, The Education Store
Forestry Management for Reptiles and Amphibians: A Technical Guide for the Midwest, The Education Store
The Nature of Teaching, Unit 3: Reptiles, Amphibians, and the Scientific Method, The Education Store
Ecotoxicology and Environmental Health, The Education Store
Disease Ecology, The Education Store
Okoboji Wetlands: A Lesson in Natural History, 1996, University of Iowa Press
Status and Conservation of Midwestern Amphibians, 1998
Amphibian Declines, 2005, University of California Press
Malformed Frogs: The Collapse of Aquatic Ecosystems, 2008
Leopold’s Shack and Rickett’s Lab: The Emergence of Environmentalism, 2010
The Iowa Lakeside Laboratory: A Century of Discovering the Nature of Nature, 2012
North American Amphibians: Distribution and Diversity, 2014
This Land is Your Land: The Story of Field Biology in America, 2018, The University of Chicago Press
The Call of the Crawfish Frog, 2020
AmphibiaWeb
Indiana Herp atlas
Amphibian Ecology and Conservation
Handbook of Larval Amphibians of the United States and Canada, Cornell Press

Rod Williams, Professor of Wildlife Science
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

Jason Hoverman, Professor of Vertebrate Ecology
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

It’s time to meet another native Indiana tree. This time Purdue Extension forester Lenny Farlee brings you the Umbrella Magnolia. This small tree is easily identified by the clusters of long simple leaves at the end of the twigs, which form an umbrella shape.

If you have any questions regarding wildlife, trees, forest management, wood products, natural resource planning or other natural resource topics, feel free to contact us by using our Ask an Expert web page.

Resources
Indiana’s Native Magnolias, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Umbrella Magnolia, Native Trees of Indiana River Walk, Purdue Fort Wayne
Umbrella Magnolia, Purdue Arboretum Explorer
ID That Tree, Playlist, Purdue Extension-FNR YouTube Channel
A Woodland Management Moment, Playlist, Purdue Extension-FNR YouTube Channel
Shrubs and Woody Vines of Indiana and the Midwest, Purdue University Press
Native Trees of the Midwest, Purdue University Press
Investing in Indiana Woodlands, The Education Store
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store

Lenny Farlee, Sustaining Hardwood Extension Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resource

Purdue Landscape Report: PART 1 – The Importance of “Physical” Soil Testing
In my 40 years of teaching and consulting, one of the biggest and most frustrating problems I continually encounter is when so called “landscape professionals” and homeowners continue to apply annual soil fertilizers, lime, and other soil amendments without ever conducting a professional soils test.

Before planting long-lived trees, shrubs, flowering perennials and lawns, it is absolutely essential to have your soil tested for its physical, chemical, and biological properties. To have a beautiful landscape, an awesome lawn, or a very productive vegetable garden, we need to do soil tests because the health and vigor of everything we grow is directly dependent on the soil we are growing our plant’s roots in.

Figure 2: It is important to recognize the amount of sand, silt and clay in your landscape soils.

Figure1: A soil probe can be useful for soil testing and checking for moisture in the soil.

As an analogy, when you go to a family doctor or physician, why will they usually require a professional blood test from you?  They want to “show you the numbers” of your cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides, sodium, potassium, and a whole array of other very important blood tests. Again, if they prescribe you to take medications, but they are not helping and can actually hinder your health, lawsuits can definitely occur. I tell my students, before anything is applied on a client’s property, “show me the numbers”!

Although many intelligent homeowners and landscapers may have initially done a chemical soil test, many have never done a soil texture, soil compaction, and/or soil drainage test on their property or their clients. Why do we need to do these “physical” soil tests?  Think about it. For root growth, its not just about nutrient deficiencies, toxicities, or soil acidity problems, its about life giving oxygen in the root zone. Without oxygen, the entire ecosystem below ground will suffer. This is why I recommend you to determine your soil texture, (sand, silt, and clay %’s). Professional soils labs can determine your soil’s texture and that is very important, not only for knowing how much and when to water, but to determine what kind of fertilizers will work best for your soil. Many sandy soils are nutrient deficient because they have little negatively charged organic matter or clay to hold onto the positively charged nutrient fertilizers (cations). Excess rain and watering will leach many of the quick-release fertilizers, especially nitrate and potassium out of the root zone. This is why I recommend slow-release fertilizers on most soils so your plant’s roots will have available nutrients for a much longer time.

For full article >>>

Resources
Soil Sampling Guidelines, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Soil Testing for Lawns, The Education Store
Consumer Horticulture: Collecting Soil Samples for Testing, The Education Store
Certified Soil Testing Laboratories, Purdue Extension – Master Gardener Program
Example soil test form

On this winter edition of ID That Tree, Purdue Extension forester Lenny Farlee uses black walnut and eastern cottonwood twigs to show you tips on how to identify native Indiana trees with alternative leaf arrangement without help from the leaves.

If you have any questions regarding wildlife, trees, forest management, wood products, natural resource planning or other natural resource topics, feel free to contact us by using our Ask an Expert web page.

Resources
Black Walnut, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Facts About Black Walnut, The Education Store
Indiana Walnut Council, Industry Representatives include 45 states and 3 foreign countries
Cottonwood, The Education Store
Eastern Cottonwood, Native Trees of Indiana Riverwalk
FNR Hardwood – Eastern Cottonwood, The Purdue Arboretum Explorer
ID That Tree, Playlist
A Woodland Management Moment, Playlist, Purdue Extension-FNR YouTube Channel
Investing in Indiana Woodlands, The Education Store
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store

Lenny Farlee, Sustaining Hardwood Extension Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resource

In this episode of ID That Tree, Purdue Extension forester Lenny Farlee continues to talk about the oak groups, this time focusing on the black oak species. Deep sinuses on the leaves and shinier coat, a dark blocky bark and acorns with loose shingle-like plates on the cap are some key identifiers to separate it from the red oak and others.

If you have any questions regarding wildlife, trees, forest management, wood products, natural resource planning or other natural resource topics, feel free to contact us by using our Ask an Expert web page.

Resources
Black Oak, Native Trees of Indiana Riverwalk, Purdue Fort Wayne
Black Oak, The Purdue Arboretum Explorer
ID That Tree, Playlist
A Woodland Management Moment, Playlist, Purdue Extension-FNR YouTube Channel
Investing in Indiana Woodlands, The Education Store
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store

Lenny Farlee, Sustaining Hardwood Extension Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resource

Purdue Extension wildlife specialist Jarred Brooke was honored by the College of Agriculture PK-12 Council on Thursday with the Staff Excellence Award for his work with PK-12 audiences to expand their interest in and preparation for careers in natural resource sciences.

Resources:
Nature of Teaching, Purdue Agriculture
Natural of Teaching YouTube Channel
Indiana 4-H Youth Development, Purdue Extension
4-H Academy, Purdue Extension
College of Agriculture PK-12 Council Outreach and Engagement Awards, Purdue Agriculture
National Wildlife Habitat Education Program (WHEP), Teaching Youth Valuable Skills

Jarred Brooke, Wildlife Extension Specialist
Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

The goal of extension work is to provide practical solutions to local – and global – issues from agricultural production, environmental issues, natural resource conservation, land use and more.

Purdue Extension wildlife specialist Jarred Brooke’s work with prescribed fire is doing just that, as it is now being used to educate a new audience about various techniques of the habitat management method, the Wounaan indigenous community of Panama among others, thanks to the United States Forest Service.

Naomi Mills, a smokejumper squad leader for the Missoula Smokejumpers and fire specialist for USFS International Programs in the Latin America region, is utilizing Brooke’s Wildlife Habitat Hint series on prescribed fire techniques to illustrate various ignition techniques and methods as part of her virtual fire management training sessions.

For full article >>>

Resources
Wildlife Habitat Hint: Prescribed Fire Techniques – Backing Fire, Video, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources YouTube channel
Wildlife Habitat Hint: Prescribed Fire Techniques – Flanking Fire, Purdue Extension – FNR Video
Wildlife Habitat Hint: Prescribed Fire Techniques – Strip Head Fire, Purdue Extension – FNR Video
Wildlife Habitat Hints: Prescribed Fire Techniques – Ring Fire, Purdue Extension – FNR Video
Wildlife Habitat Hints: Prescribed Fire Techniques – Point Source Fire, Purdue Extension – FNR Video
Wildlife Habitat Hint: Late Growing Season Prescribed Fire, Purdue Extension – FNR Video
FNR Ask The Expert: Prescribed Fire with Jarred Brooke and Mike Saunders, Purdue Extension – FNR Video
Renovating Native Warm-Season Grass Stands for Wildlife: A Land Manager’s Guide, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Prescribed fire: 6 things to consider before you ignite, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources
Indiana Prescribed Fire Council

Jarred Brooke, Wildlife Extension Specialist
Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resource

Each year, the Indiana DNR conducts its Turkey Brood Survey to determine wild turkey productivity. The DNR relies on Hoosier outdoor enthusiasts from across the state to report the number of hens and poults they see from July 1^st to August 31^st. This helps them calculate a Productive Index (number of poults per hen; figure 1) for counties across the state. Does this sound like something you are interested in? Here are four simple steps to be involved!

1. Register for the turkey brood reporting system.
2. Spend time outdoors from July 1^st to August 31^st.
3. Count the number of hens and poults you see while spending time outdoors (figure 2).
4. Report the number of hens and poults on the DNR’s online portal.

DNR biologists can’t collect brood observations across the state alone. In order to reach the goal of 3,000 observations this year, they need our help! If you’re interested in sharing your turkey brood observations with DNR, visit on.IN.gov/turkeybrood and register after June 10. Record observations any time from July 1 to August 31. Recording observations takes less than 5 minutes.

The DNR appreciates your help to document turkey broods around the state. Sharing observations is easy and critical to the management of wild turkey.

Figure 1. Wild turkey brood production from 1993 to 2019. Image is from the 2019 Wild Turkey Summer Brood Production Index.

Figure 2. Example of how to count and record turkey broods for the turkey brood survey. Image is from the Introduction to Documenting Turkey Brood Publication from the Indiana DNR.

As you enjoy the outdoors, whether it is for recreation or managing your property, we thank you in advance for helping with wildlife conservation.

Resources
Wild Turkey Hunting, Biology and Management, Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)
Wild Turkey, Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)
Truths and Myths about Wild Turkey, Purdue Extension
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store

Jarred Brooke, Extension Wildlife Specialist
Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

Indiana Department of Natural Resources

Figure 2: A young spruce tree under the effects of transplant and root stress.

Figure 1: A spruce tree suffering from root damage and water stress.

Figure 4: Phomopsis dieback with excessive needle loss on branch tips.

Figure 3: Dieback symptoms in a mature tree associated with Phomopsis infection.

The disease begins in the lower canopy and moves upward, but in some cases it progresses quickly, causing dieback through a large portion of the tree. Besides needle death and drop, there are virtually no other external symptoms to indicate where the original infection took place. Occasionally you may find resin building on the outside of a canker. Cutting into the thin bark will show the brown discolored tissue where the canker is developing. Cankers are often located in between two areas of healthy tissue. This can lead to older needle loss similar to needlecast diseases, but leaving terminal buds alive. However, once the pathogen spreads and girdles the branch, the rest of the branch will begin to die out to the tip.

For full article >>>

Resources
Borers of Pines and Other Needle Bearing Evergreens in Landscapes, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Ask an Expert Question: Blue Spruce dying, what can I do?, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources
Why Spruce Trees Lose Their Needles, Purdue Extension
Diseases Common in Blue Spruce, Purdue Extension

John Bonkowski, Plant Disease Diagnostician
Purdue Department of Botany and Plant Pathology

In this edition of ID That Tree, Purdue Extension forester Lenny Farlee gives tips on how to identify two species – honey locust and bur oak – from just the markings and scarring on leafless twigs.

If you have any questions regarding wildlife, trees, forest management, wood products, natural resource planning or other natural resource topics, feel free to contact us by using our Ask an Expert web page.

Resources
Honey Locust, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Bur Oak, The Purdue Arboretum Explorer
Bur Oak, Native Trees of Indiana Riverwalk, Purdue Fort Wayne
ID That Tree, Playlist, Purdue Extension-FNR YouTube Channel
A Woodland Management Moment, Purdue Extension – FNR Playlist
Investing in Indiana Woodlands, The Education Store
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store

Lenny Farlee, Sustaining Hardwood Extension Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resource