Introduction
This minute-and-a-half piece seeks to alleviate the unfortunate lack of educational music in the world. The acoustic warmth of cello, guitar, and ukulele are complemented by airy synthesizer flourishes, and set to a forest backdrop to arrive at a sound representative of woodland. Spoken word accompaniment provides facts about two species of aspen found in Ohio: bigtooth and quaking aspen.
All music and vocals were written, performed, and recorded by Ethan Ross.
Transcript
The aspen trees of Ohio can be divided into two species: bigtooth and quaking aspen. Bigtooth aspen are widely distributed throughout the state. Quaking aspen are mostly limited to Northern Ohio, but are the most common tree in North America. The inner bark of quaking aspen are a preferred food source for beavers. Aspen do not readily burn. However, fire management every 100-150 years has been recommended by the US Department of Agriculture and the US Forest Service in the maintenance of aspen. Aspen roots are known for great lateral extension and tenacity. Because of this, aspen are known as an early successional species, dominating sites following disturbances like forest fires. These facts demonstrate why aspen are an aesthetically pleasant tree integral to the ecology of Ohio.
Literature Cited
Carey, Jennifer H. (1994) Populus grandidentata. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/popgra/all.html [13 June 2019]
Denny, Guy L. (No date provided) Ohio’s Trees. Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Available: https://forestry.ohiodnr.gov/portals/forestry/pdfs/ohiotreesbooklet.pdf [13 June 2019]