VOCABULARY
acorn - a nut-like fruit from the oak tree that contains a single seed.
acorn cap - a scaly or knobby cap that attaches an acorn to a branch.
biodiversity - the variety and amount of life forms present and interacting in an ecosystem.
canopy - the upper portion of a tree made of the twigs, branches and leaves.
chaparral - a type of plant community made up of low evergreen trees or shrubs with small, tough leaves, often forming thickets.
crown - the topmost branches of a tree.
community - a group of different species that live and interact together in the same area.
dripline - the outer edge of the area formed by a tree's canopy.
ecosystem - a community of animals and plants interacting with each other and with their environment.
habitat - the space where an animal or plant lives and that provides its food, water and shelter.
hypothesis - a scientific guess or possible explanation of a condition that can be tested by a carefully designed investigation.
oak community - all the species of organisms that live in a complex interrelationship with oak trees.
oak woodland - an open, oak-tree dominated type of habitat with over 10-30 percent of the area covered by trees.
sapling - the intermediate stage of tree development between seedling and mature tree.
seedling - young tree made up of a small stem and single set of leaves that has recently emerged from its seed.