I manage a project that is focused on better understanding how trees deal with nitrogen limitation.
As part of the project we are recruiting community science volunteers to collect leaves from red maple trees now (in August) and again at leaf fall in the autumn. Back in our lab at Boston University we will analyze the leaves to see how much nitrogen is in green vs. fallen leaves. The difference between the two results in an estimate of the amount of nitrogen the tree conserves before shedding its leaves.
We are hoping for a high level of participation in the Eastern United States since red maple is native to that region.
We’d accept both wild and cultivated/planted red maple trees. In our data sheets there is a space to note where the tree is located (e.g., forest, wetland, lawn tree, street tree); we’ll use that information in our data analysis to control for systematic differences between different growing conditions.
