Doug Burns of the United States Geological Survey based in Albany gave a lecture on “Calcium Depletion from Soils: Implications for the Health of the Sugar Maple.” Burns earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in geology from Hope College and a Masters Degree in environmental science at the University of Virginia before receiving a Ph.D. from SUNY ESF (Environmental Science and Forestry). Burns went on to work at the U.S. Geological Survey, where he has been based for 20 years.His focus of study centers around the impact of geology on a biotic system, which involves the fields of biology, chemistry and geology. Burns demonstrated the depletion of calcium in sugar maples and its effect on the health of the sugar maple.Calcium, a mineral present in the Earth’s crust, serves a similar nutritional role in sugar maple trees as it does for humans, helping to maintain basal area growth and improve crown vigor and the general health of the tree. However, Burns postulated that acid rain, among other causes, has contributed to and accelerated the decrease of calcium in soil particularly in the Northeast region of the United States. This depletion of calcium has, in turn, contributed to the decline in health of the sugar maple.Burns touched upon a case studycompleted in the Alleghany Plateau in Pennsylvania, which demonstrated this trend, as well as research being done currently in the Catskill Mountains in New York. What impact do these findings have on the real world? Among the effects in the ecosystems of the sugar maple, syrup and sugarmakers have begun to increase sap productions by fertilizing sugar maples with calcium and magnesium, a mineral that also serves as a macronutrient for the sugar maple.This addition of calcium improves the health of the sugar maple and increases sap production in these trees. Burns was quick to warn that this geological problem is very complex.The decline of the sugar maple is defined as mortality that cannot be attributed to a single agent.Other known causes of this decline include: insect defoliation, drought, Armillaria root disease and acid deposition.Studies conducted in the Northeast regions have indicated trends, but are not necessarily indicative of the causes of these trends. The 32 students and faculty that attended this lunch and lecture given by Burns were collectively impressed with the information introduced, asking insightful questions following the presentation. “The lecture was well given,” senior Tim Pusack, “highlighting the complexity of the decline of the sugar maple.” Burns did not offer any solutions to this geological problem, but studies will continue to be conducted and documented by the U.S. Geological Survey in the Northeast to affirm findings thus far.