Forestry B/C

[sofan]

Goodness, that's harsh. Well, you've come to the right place.
Trees are really interesting, and it's fairly simple to get to know them. You need to have the Audubon National Guide to Trees (Western or Eastern, depending on where you live and what region you're doing). You have to have time to study though; you should, unless your homework takes seven hours to do, which is ridiculous. You can go here to find all sorts of resources (I find the PowerPoint very useful). The Audubon Guide is extremely important. I recommend tabbing it or something, so you can find trees very easily. You will most likely be presented with specimens that you have to identify using the guide (you may be presented with leaves, flowers, bark, fruit, etc.). If you dedicate yourself, the event is pretty simple, though.

thx

[chia]

Gah... I'm new to Sci Olympiad... How do you guys study for forestry? And does anyone have a more localized tree list for California (Sacramento Invitational)?

Tree lists aren't specific to different invitationals/competitions, though there are a few states (IL is one) which has a reduced version of the nationals list for all invitational and regional competitions. Based on the state websites, though, California doesn't seem to be one of them (someone correct me if I'm wrong...), so your invitational will be using the national list found on soinc.org. It might pay off to spend a little bit more time on the western half of the list, know the California state tree, etc.
Also check out the link in caseyotis' post for more resources.

So basically just like go over the tree list over and over?

Yep, but don't forget to also study the characteristics of trees in general (you might want to find an honors/ap biology book and look through its plant section - they usually have really good diagrams), and the characteristics which make each tree unique besides leaf shape and bark (use by humans, role in ecosystem - eg. which animals live in it or eat its seeds/leaves? - etc.).

ID studying/memorization strategy: somehow flashcards just don't work for me, but for Ornithology and now Forestry I've made a powerpoint file with every single one of my trees (my partner and I split up the list half and half) to study from, and that's worked really well for me.

[jma]

Yup. But it should be quite easy to learn family characteristics because there are only a few families. And, you should try out different tecniques to see which work best for you.

[caseyotis]

Yup. But it should be quite easy to learn family characteristics because there are only a few families. And, you should try out different tecniques to see which work best for you.

On my New York list, there are about 30 families, some with very similar characteristics. It's learnable, but requires dedication.

[TheBookworm]

You need to have the Audubon National Guide to Trees (Western or Eastern, depending on where you live and what region you're doing). The Audubon Guide is extremely important. I recommend tabbing it or something, so you can find trees very easily. You will most likely be presented with specimens that you have to identify using the guide (you may be presented with leaves, flowers, bark, fruit, etc.). If you dedicate yourself, the event is pretty simple, though.

Well, I don't know about you guys, but I personally can't see what's the big hype with the Audubon field guides. I had one in fossils when I was in sixth and seventh grade, and they are just horrible. I don't like the information they provide, and splitting the pictures and information might work for some, but not for me. Everyone who is new to this event: just keep in mind that the Audubon field guides aren't required and they may not be the best for you. There are also Sibley field guides (which I love), National Wildlife Federation field guides, and many others. Think about what you want in a field guide before you buy one. But if you've tried the Audubon field guides as well as others and you like the Audubon ones the best, then that's great, especially since the page numbers are already in the national tree list.

[caseyotis]

You need to have the Audubon National Guide to Trees (Western or Eastern, depending on where you live and what region you're doing). The Audubon Guide is extremely important. I recommend tabbing it or something, so you can find trees very easily. You will most likely be presented with specimens that you have to identify using the guide (you may be presented with leaves, flowers, bark, fruit, etc.). If you dedicate yourself, the event is pretty simple, though.

Well, I don't know about you guys, but I personally can't see what's the big hype with the Audubon field guides. I had one in fossils when I was in sixth and seventh grade, and they are just horrible. I don't like the information they provide, and splitting the pictures and information might work for some, but not for others. Everyone who is new to this event: just keep in mind that the Audubon field guides aren't required and they may not be the best for you. There are also Sibley field guides (which I love), National Wildlife Federation field guides, and many others. Think about what you want in a field guide before you buy one.

Actually, the Sibley helped me only for studying but not during the actual event. In my region, the whole event was modeled after the Audubon Guide. There was a picture of the specimen, then a question that could be found on the information section of the Audubon Guide. I brought my tabbed Sibley Guide as well, and I didn't even open it. That's only good if you are given a species name and you need to list characteristics about that species/family. That didn't come up in my regionals event.

[TheBookworm]

In my region, the whole event was modeled after the Audubon Guide. There was a picture of the specimen, then a question that could be found on the information section of the Audubon Guide. I brought my tabbed Sibley Guide as well, and I didn't even open it. That's only good if you are given a species name and you need to list characteristics about that species/family. That didn't come up in my regionals event.

Well, that's no good...They can't model the test on a field guide; that defeats the whole purpose of the event. But I guess it is what it is...

[caseyotis]

In my region, the whole event was modeled after the Audubon Guide. There was a picture of the specimen, then a question that could be found on the information section of the Audubon Guide. I brought my tabbed Sibley Guide as well, and I didn't even open it. That's only good if you are given a species name and you need to list characteristics about that species/family. That didn't come up in my regionals event.

Well, that's no good...They can't model the test on a field guide; that defeats the whole purpose of the event. But I guess it is what it is...

I know it is. I was actually quite disappointed. But they did specifically note the Audubon Guide in my event outline. *shrug*

[SimplyNeedLogic]

I feel like Sibley's and Audubon books are the most popular guides to bring to competition, is there a reason why? Or is it just personal preference? I like NWF because the book's organized by leaf types (simple leaves, etc.( so it's easier to ID.

[caseyotis]

Those three are just the most popular. I'm getting the NWF guide in the mail ssoon, hopefully it will be good. And the Audubon guide is organized by leaf type for the picture plates, then by family for the info plates. For me, Audubon is for personal preference.