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TREE BIOLOGY POP QUIZ
1.  When a cut is made on a tree branch that looks like this, it is called a non-selective heading cut:

How will the branch grow in response the next year?
Growth forced below cut like this:
  Fast thick growth from cut upward like this:
  Similar growth from cut upward like this:
 Nothing grows next year:
2.  When a branch is cut as shown in the picture below, it is called a thinning cut:

How will the branch probably grow next year?
  More growth from tips like this:
  Regrowth in the same place like this:
  Nothing grows next year:
  Fast thick growth from cut upward like this:
3. The id of a person who specializes in trees is a/an:
  Arborist
  Entomologist
  Cambologist
  Entymologist
4.  When Tina was eight years old she used a nail to hang a Lemonade Stand sign on a young sapling tree.  She took down the sign but forgot the nail.

Now Tina is fifty years old and the tree is fifty-eight.  Which picture shows where the nail is now?
  Up high like this:
  Same height still sticking out of bark:
  Same trunk height buried inside trunk:
  None of the above
5.  Alice is building her dream home in the middle of a wooded lot.  She wants it to feel like she is living in a forest.  She doesn't want to harm the trees by cutting too many of the roots during construction.  Which of the following pictures best represents where a tree's roots grow?
  Deep and narrow:
  Deep and wide:
  Shallow and wide:
  Into the neighbor's sewer.
6. Pruning can be beneficial to trees because it can:
 correct structural defects and remove dead branches.
  ensure blooming by forcing new growth.
  control size.
  None of the above
7.  Alex needs to cut off a lower limb of a tree because it is in the way of people walking down the sidewal. Which picture shows the best place to make the cut?
  Stub cut:
  Flush cut:
  Collar cut:
  No cut needed - let 'em duck!
8. Trees in the woods naturally lose their lower limbs when they are shaded out by the whole forest canopy.  Trees are well adapted to losing their lower limbs.

Trees planted in cities often need their lower limbs removed to make way for foot or vehicular traffic. But it is important to prune them slowly over time, cutting off only two limbs in a year and starting only after the tree has become established.

If you prune too many limbs at once the tree will be damaged because:
  it will stunt the tree's growth.
  lower limbs feed the lower trunk making it strong.
  lower limbs control root growth early in the tree's life.
  lower limbs prevent the tree from falling over.
9. Avoid pruning your tree at which of the following times?
  June (sunny but not hot)
  April (leaves are emerging) and October (tree is losing its leaves)
  January (sap is down; the tree is dormant)
10.  The most actively growing, most living part of a tree is:
  the heartwood, deep inside the core of the trunk:
  the leaves:
  a sheath of cells just below the bark (cambium):
  the roots (not pictured)
11. Which of the following are myths?
  Adding peat moss to the planting hole when planting a new tree will make it grow faster and give it a better chance at survival.
  After pruning off a tree limb, it is a good practice to seal the cut with pruning paint or wound dressing.
  When planting a new tree, it is a good idea to cut back the top growth to compensate for root loss (caused when the tree was dug in the nursery).
  All of the above are False!
You're doing great - more'n halfway to the finish,
just 10 more questions...
12.  The root collar is a vulnerable part of a tree.  Never cover it up with soil, mulch or have it sit in water.  Bashing the collar with lawn mowers cars and such can cause the base to rot out.

Which of the images below show the root collar?
 
 
 
  None of the above because there's no tie with the collar.  :-)
13. Girdling a tree can kill it.  Girdling means:
  cutting a ring around the tree through the bark, or leaving something tied around the trunk.
  covering up the leafy crown of the tree so that it can't photosynthesize.
  burying the root collar with dirt or other material so that the roots suffocate.
  The opposite of bra-ing.  ;-)
14. Which of the pictures below best represent the natural shape of a tree?
 3 and 5 only
 1, 2, 3 and 5 only
 ALL of the pictures
 This kind of question annoys me!
15. City trees live only a fraction of the years that the same species live in the forest.  Which are the most common causes of premature urban tree death?
  Planting two to four inches too deep and/or lack of water the first summer.
  compaction (squeezing out air pockets) of the soil by foot or car traffic.
  tree topping (bad pruning) and/or repeated use of weedwhackers
  All of the above

16. Sometimes it is necessary to stake a tree the first year it is in the ground to keep it from blowing over, but not always.  Staking should be done sparingly.  Why?
 A)  People forget to unstake the tree, and in a couple of years it is girdled by the ties.
 B)  When the trunk is free to sway in the wind, the tree grows a stronger, better tapered trunk.
 C)  People forget to remove the stakes and they interfere with root development.
  Both A and B

Nearly done - just 5 questions to go...

17. Trees are good habitat.  Which of the following are common visitors to trees?
  All except D
  All except D & G
  All are common visitors
 What?  Another annoying question?
18. After suffering construction damage (cut roots, soil compaction of fill dirt), how long will it take for the trees to die or fall over (as an average)?
  3 months - 6 months
  1 year - 3 years
  4 years - 7 years
  5 years - 12 years
19. You should call a Certified Arborist to check your tree if you see which of the following:
  Any of the situations pictured
 C or B
  Any except A
  Any except D
"
20. An average deciduous tree will gain most of its eventual height in about how many years?
  25
  100
  250
21. The three nicest things you can do for trees are:
  weed, water, mulch
  fertilize, insect control, prune regularly
  regular exercise, low fat diet, learning to express anger in a constructive way.

The Tree Biology Pop Quiz was made possible by a grant from The Washington State Department of Natural Resources.  This version was produced with the help of Tina Cohen, Certified Arborist.