Morton Arboretum continues crucial research during wintertime

Ever wonder what's going on at the Morton Arboretum while the trees and plants sleep the winter away?

In a word, plenty. More than 900 volunteers and 242 staff members are busy with numerous behind-the-scenes projects at the Lisle museum.

In the arboretum's research building - seldom seen by visitors - staffers and volunteers perform minute tasks to discover what fertilizers best help plants' root systems, resolve the problem of soil compaction and preserve ancient dried plants. Oh, and discover why oak trees are so promiscuous.

Here's a look at where things happen and why they're important.

Root of the problem

Senior Scientist Gary Watson directs work in the root lab, where the smallest parts of tree roots are studied to find how different fertilizers are affecting root growth in ash trees. He and others do this by collecting 33-inch-deep soil samples around the trees and washing the small tree roots from the other material in the soil. Watson says it's very labor-intensive work, but he has volunteers to help.

Volunteers such as Hellevi Miller of Naperville spend hours sorting the washed samples to separate tree roots from all the other unwanted material. She says it is "tedious," but she likes it because she finds the work very relaxing.

After the ash roots are isolated, research assistant Melissa Custic of Chicago scans them into a computer for analysis. A specialized program measures the dimensions of the roots so the length and branching can be tracked.

What's the point? The purpose of their research is to find out which fertilizers produce the most branching and smallest roots. That means a larger root surface area so more nutrients are absorbed into the tree.

Washington's seeds

On the third floor is the herbarium, which is the arboretum's research and reference collection of 165,000 specimens of dried plants from around the world.

Herbarium Assistant Jason Sturner of Geneva prepares pressed and dried plant specimens to be archived in carefully labeled folders. He says the specimens could last hundreds of years because they have been thoroughly dried out in special dryers.

The oldest in the collection is from the Whalefish Islands off the coast of Greenland during Admiral William Parry's third arctic expedition in 1824. Perhaps the most famous, though, is of a "hybrid buckeye" grown from a seed collected by George Washington in 1787 in Pennsylvania.

Sturner currently is working on an exhibit for the education department to show students how to identify plants.

Next to the herbarium, Kathryn Franke, a volunteer from Warrenville, takes the specimens Sturner has dried and arranged, and carefully glues them to archival paper with neutral ph adhesive.

What's the point? The collection is available to plant taxonomists, botanists, gardeners, teachers, artists, students and anyone else fascinated by the history of plants. In addition to stopping by to study the collection in person, anyone can examine many digitized specimens online at vplants.org.

Tree sex

Next is the cytology lab under the direction of Andrew Hipp, Morton Arboretum's herbarium curator and plant systematist. Cytology, he says, is the study of cells. Right now, he is counting chromosomes of cells in mitosis.

Mitosis, basically, is plant sex. With his microscope, he is attacking the "problem," as he puts it, of where all the different plant species come from and how they survive over time.

He's studying why, even though there is gene flow between different species of oak trees, distinct species of oaks remain.

"Oaks will do it with anybody." he says. "You've got a black oak, a red oak and a hills oak. All they want to do is mate with one another. And yet, they're separate species. Why? Nobody knows yet why there are separate oak species.

"Doesn't that worry you?" he says with a laugh. "Don't you lie awake at night thinking about this?"

What's the point? By studying the genetic makeup of wild plants, Hipp provides information that land managers such as forest preserve districts, villages or arborists-for-hire can use to protect them so they can respond to rapid climate change and preserve their evolutionary potential.

Dirt's a dirty word

Moving along to the soil lab, Bryant Scharenbroch, the soil lab's director, says they study soils "for soil's sake."

He's directing several research projects using samples collected during the growing season. One involves analysis of soil extracts on a liquid ion chromatograph to discover what chemicals are in the soil.

Volunteers such as Vince Brand of Glen Ellyn take the water out of soil samples and extract the chemical elements in the water to analyze with an ion chromatograph. Brand, a chemist by training, is one of the first volunteers in the soils lab. After retiring, he decided to volunteer in part because, "in order to keep my wife and myself sane, I would have to get out of the house,"

What's the point? The data will be published in scientific journals to help remedy the problem of soil compaction in urban areas using organic treatments such as mulch, compost or slow-release organic fertilizers. In developed areas, soil gets compressed by road or building construction, which interferes with root growth and passage of water and other nutrients through the soil.

All of the wintertime work at the research building contributes to the arboretum's overall mission. The scientific research, says Senior Scientist Gary Watson, helps improve "the care and management of trees, and to develop woody plants adapted to local environmental conditions through a better understanding of genetic traits and ecological conditions that contribute to the success of urban trees and natural communities."

<p class="factboxheadblack">Interested in volunteering?</p> <p class="News">More than 900 volunteers do the work of 23 full-timers, says Gina Tedesco, public relations manager. New volunteers are always welcome, especially for the Children's Garden. </p> <p class="News">Because the arboretum receives no direct tax support, it is very grateful for the work of the volunteers, Tedesco says. They work in the research areas; help on the grounds, in the library and in the children's garden; and help with activities including hikes, crafts and crowd control during special events. </p> <p class="News">If such work appeals to you, contact Sally Kenaston at <a href="mailto:skenaston@mortonarb.org">skenaston@mortonarb.org</a> or (630)719-2443.</p>