Educator Guide: Earth May Be Hiding Thousands of Tree Species

Plants
Ecosystems
Environment

March 12, 2022

an aerial view of a forest — Earth may be home to around 73,000 different kinds of trees, new research suggests. Many undetected tree species are probably hiding out in the Amazon (shown) and other biodiversity hot spots in South America, researchers say.

Ricardo Lima/Moment/Getty Images Plus

About this guide

In this guide, students will learn about scientists’ efforts to estimate how many tree species Earth has, analyze a related data visualization and discuss the implications the research has for conservation.

This Guide Includes:

Exercise type:Comprehension
Topic:Plants
Category:Data Analysis
Category:Literacy Practices

Counting Earth’s tree species

Students will answer questions about the online Science News article “Earth may have 9,200 more tree species than previously thought,” which describes researchers’ efforts to estimate the number of tree species on Earth. A version of the article, “Earth may be hiding thousands of tree species,” appears in the March 12, 2022 issue of Science News

Exercise type:Discussion
Topic:Ecosystems
Category:Data Analysis

Mapping biodiversity

Students will look at data from a primary research article to explore how tree biodiversity differs across continents and biomes.