Critical Thinking

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Our Critical Thinking essays are designed with two objectives in mind:

to encourage a higher level of thinking and expression; and,
to investigate a problem and/or to resolve an issue using the Internet.

There are times when Internet sites may occasionally be unavailable, or may be reorganized. It is good practice to try the site at a different time before you assume it no longer exists. Early morning and late night are good times to access the Internet if you are having trouble downloading images. Also, certain sites are graphically intense, and may take awhile to view on your screen.

The rule of no realm is mine, but all worthy things
that are in peril as the world now stands, those are my care.
And for my part, I shall not wholly fail in my task
if anything passes through this night that can still
grow fair or bear fruit and flower again in days to come.
For I too am a steward. Did you not know?
--J.R.R. Tolkein

This activity contains 2 questions.

According to the World Resources Institute's report Last frontier forests: Ecosystems and economies on the edge, frontier forests are "large, ecologically intact, and relatively undisturbed natural forests" (Source) Using the report answer the following questions: Why do frontier forest matter? Compare and contrast regional threats to frontier forests.

To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

This photo from Oregon shows an area that was logged and burned 12 years previously. A thick stand of shrubby mountain mahogany has developed where a 150 year-old Douglas fir (the conifer trees visible at the top of the ridge) forest once stood

Describe a plausible scenario for the secondary successional process on this site. Keep in mind that the climate of the area favors evergreen needleleaf trees, such as fir and pine.

Do you see any evidence that succession is proceeding beyond the shrub stage? If so, what? What effect do you think a second fire would have on the successional process at this site? What would happen if the site continued to burn every 10–20 years?

To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

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