Thoughts on The Rambunctious Garden

Last winter I read a book written by a young biologist named Emma Marris called "The Rambunctious Garden."  It was not about gardening in gardens, but rather a new way to look at the management on natural areas.  The first part of the book very methodically whacked away at some of the basic underpinnings of conservation work that I have held dear.  I squirmed my way through this occasionally thinking defensive thoughts. The second part talked about solutions and a new way of looking at things.

The concept that Emma most effectively whacked was that of the "baseline."  I grew up reading about the glories of the wild continent that the pioneers found.  Of immense forests of giant trees, long prairies full of bison and elk, and clear streams full of fish.  In Ohio all that was pretty much lost my the mid 1800's, and most of the nooks and crannies were "lost" by the mid 1900's.  Ever since starting with the Park District in 1985 I have labored to protect land and restore it to some fraction of its former splendor.  The land itself is a collage of land and soils highly disturbed by agricultural or other human activity, land and soils somewhat disturbed, and land and soils lightly or very lightly disturbed.  We have always tried to manage for a diversity of habitats following principles of conservation biology: bigger is better, connected is better, fire is a good tool.  In retrospect we have succeeded best by managing for structure.  That means designating where forests, grasslands, thickets, and wetlands will be protected or established.  That's a challenge right there.  The further one tries to dictate the composition of these communities the tougher it is.  If the 1800 baseline is the goal, then success is only achieved when the species that were present then have returned and the non-native interlopers have been eradicated.  I know plenty of people who will be miserable in a forest or meadow crackling with life because it does not meet this goal.  Emma points out that the goal was folly in the first place:
-  Nature was not standing still then, it had always been changing.  We just weren't there to see it.
-  People have shaken the earth up like a snow globe moving species all over the planet.  These newcomers are often more suited to do well in a heavily disturbed environment than the locals.
- "Pristine" areas that have minimal disturbance are still heavily impacted by the disturbed lands around them.
-  Climate change is further modifying the world making the baseline even more irrelevant.

All this does not mean one gives up, or that our actions are not important.  It means we should float downstream instead of fighting up through impossible rapids.  In southwest Ohio most of our protected land is what is what is now being called a "novel ecosystem."  They are mutts of native and non-native species.  There is no putting Humpty-Dumpty together again the was he was.  The new Humpty can be pretty cool though.  The bobolink sings in a field of eurasian grasses and weeds.  The Coopers Hawk nabs European house sparrows at the feeder.  The woodpeckers love Emerald Ash Borer larva.  All of them seem to be more adaptable than many biologists and land managers (like me.)  Perhaps some new principles to live by:

1. Identify those areas that continue to maintain pre-settlement biodiversity.  Prioritize action against invasive species there.  However, they will only maintain themselves as-is if the processes that maintain them remain.

2. Accept new components to habitats on heavily disturbed sites.  This might sound like surrender, it is really just being realistic.  Manage them for structure and don't worry so much about their exact composition.

3. Teach children and upcoming biologists that these new novel habitats are important and beautiful.  After all, it is most of the world that we now live in.

4. Promote native species, but don't go for an impossible baseline.

Reforestation Results to Date

It's been a while since the last post.  Here is a summary of the reforestation program that started in the fall of 2011.

The realization that Emerald Ash Borer is going to have a profound effect on the forests and natural areas of Five Rivers MetroParks drove home the fact that our forests had major regeneration issues prior to the bug's arrival.  Fragmentation of the landscape, invasive species and an overpopulation of deer have been shifting what species spread and thrive.  The winners have been the invasive shrubs, trees that spread easily on the wind or by birds, and species that deer don't like to eat.  Until the last few years the biggest winner has been white and green ash.  These successful colonizers are the dominant canopy tree invading abandoned fields and subsequently growing into young woods.  We are now in the process of losing nearly all of these trees.  The losers have been mast (nut) species that by their nature only spread a short distance and are very desired by wildlife as food as seeds or seedlings.

Efforts to date have focused on gathering seed and propagating seedlings of these mast species and planting them into fields and into woods heavily impacted by EAB.  The results have been mixed.  We have tried planting seedlings of various age classes, bare root seedlings, small container seedlings, large container seedlings, planting by volunteers, planting with tree planters, and direct sowing of seeds.  Going strictly by impressions from many field inspections, here is how things seem to be going:

It seems that the best success and least maintenance comes from the planting of large containers in the spring or fall, and machine planting in the spring.  Therefore, it seems prudent to shift to these primary methods.  Direct seeding may have merit but it is too soon to tell.

Lessons Learned

• Good site prep is key.  2 sprayings may be necessary to eliminate competition and seed bank of  competition
• Tree shelters can be very effective defense against deer, but if installed poorly can kill the tree within.
• Don't plant oaks into less than full sun.  They must have light.
• Volunteers must use proper planting technique.
• Tree shelter stakes must be driven 18" into the ground to stay lodged.
• Tree shelters should be inspected 2x per year to clear weeds and straighten if necessary.
• Bare root tree roots should not have more than momentary contact with the air or sun.
• Dipping bare roots into micorhizzal dip helps growth rate.
• Select tree planting locations before volunteers arrive.  
• The bigger the tree planted the more likely it will survive and grow.  Getting above the tall vegetation quickly is key.
• Plan ahead to ensure the tree species matches the planting site.