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Science Launch G5 / Week 08 / Friday
5/6
Week 08 · Food Webs

Friday

Nurse logs and healthy soil
// Matter moves among plants, animals and decomposers
⏱ about 15 min

Friday: Nurse logs and healthy soil

Back in the forest, Raven points at a fallen log. Tiny tree seedlings are growing right out of its top.

"A log that grows trees?" Rocket says. "That is my kind of invention."

Raven smiles. "Rangers call it a nurse log," she says. "What do you notice about the wood?"

"Soft and crumbly," Rocket says. "The fungi have been busy."

Nova circles the seedlings. "The old tree is becoming food for the new ones," she says.

Recyclers in the forest

In forests, many fungi break down and recycle fallen wood and other dead plant material.

This creates healthy soil. It frees up nutrients for microbes, insects and growing plants.

Fallen logs called nurse logs can hold new seedlings as the old wood breaks down.

A healthy ecosystem has many kinds of living things. Each one meets its needs in a balanced web of life.

StatementTrue or false?
Fungi help make healthy soil.?
A nurse log can hold new seedlings.?
Decomposers make nutrients disappear.?
A healthy ecosystem has many kinds of living things.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEDecomposers recycle nutrients so new plants can use them, which keeps the whole web healthy.
Living things that break down dead material are called ____.
Many food chains connected together make a food ____.
EXPLAIN IT
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
How does an old fallen tree help the forest?

Old life feeds new life

A nurse log is a fallen tree that helps new trees grow.

Fungi break down its wood and free nutrients.

Seedlings sprout on top and use those nutrients to grow.

FOREST THINKING
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
What do fungi free up when they break down wood?
What does a healthy ecosystem have?
A NURSE LOG'S STORY
  • ?Seeds land on the log and sprout.
  • ?Seedlings grow using the nutrients.
  • ?Nutrients are freed.
  • ?An old tree falls.
  • ?Fungi start breaking down the wood.
WHY THIS EXERCISEThe old tree becomes food for new ones.
A fallen log that holds new seedlings is a ____ log.
Fungi help create healthy ____.
Try it
With a grown-up, look for an old log, stump or pile of leaves outdoors.
Do not touch mushrooms. Look for signs of breaking down.
Wash your hands when you get home.
StatementTrue or false?
Fungi break down fallen wood.?
Nurse logs stop new plants from growing.?
Freed nutrients help microbes, insects and plants.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEFungi recycle wood into nutrients that feed new life.
What do rangers call a fallen log with seedlings growing on it? Type one word.
WHY THIS EXERCISEA nurse log holds new seedlings.

You followed matter all the way around. Tomorrow is Launch Lab with your family.

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