UWUW C. Henry Plant Basics Or

EPS C. Henry Ecological Restoration Handbook By: Chuck Henry & Elena Olsen Chapter 5 from:

UWUW C. Henry Manicured park or natural ecosystem? Manicured park –Requires continual maintenance Water Fertilizer Work Native ecosystem –Self sustaining There because they are supposed to be there Adapted to the soil and climate

UWUW C. Henry Value of native plants We are losing natural ecosystems Associated loss of special plant species Benefits: –Requires very little long-term maintenance if they are properly planted and established –Provides habitat for wildlife –Protects water quality by controlling soil erosion –Is an important genetic bank

UWUW C. Henry Why plants grow in different areas Every plant community evolves to best fit its natural environment –Climate –soil moisture –plant nutrients –ground surface A change in the environment will mean a change in the plant community

UWUW C. Henry Effect of water and nitrogen

UWUW C. Henry Ecosystems change As soils develop –Organic matter is added As woody plants decompose, the soil is not usually as nitrogen rich as when herbaceous plants decompose –New plants grow that prefer the different soils

UWUW C. Henry Ecosystems in western Washington Described by their overstory –The main and tallest type of tree growing in an environment Deciduous (lose their leaves) Coniferous (remain green) Then by their understory –The plants that grow under the trees

UWUW C. Henry General position of some common trees in the landscape PW = Pacific willow, BC = black cottonwood, SS = Sitka spruce, RA = red alder, WRC = western red cedar, WH = western hemlock, DF = Douglas fir, PSF = Pacific silver fir, MH = mountain hemlock, ES = Englemann spruce, PP = ponderosa pine.

UWUW C. Henry Succession An ecosystem changes as it matures –Pioneering species Species that come in after a disturbance Hardwoods (like red alder) –Climax forests final stage of natural forest succession Conifers (like Douglas fir, western red cedar, western hemlock)

UWUW C. Henry Douglas fir ecosystems All types of soil Low to mid elevation Understory on a dry site –include salal, Oregon grape, snowberry, trailing blackberry and bracken fern Understory on a moist site –sword fern, ocean spray, Rhododendron, red elderberry, huckleberry, salmon berry, and fireweed

UWUW C. Henry Red alder Low elevation riparian and wetlands Disturbed sites –Nitrogen fixer Understory species –sword fern, devil's club, black-cap raspberry, thimbleberry, salmonberry, and stinging nettle

UWUW C. Henry Western red cedar Moist to wet soils, such as those that occur in riparian zones, around wetlands and bogs Understory species –sword fern, salmonberry, black-cap raspberry, thimbleberry, and stinging nettle

UWUW C. Henry Ponderosa pine Dry climate, but some soil moisture East of the Cascades Sparse understory species –manzanita, Ceanothus, snowberry, Oregon grape, and fescue

UWUW C. Henry Prairie Grassy meadows Huge Garry oaks Harsh soils Understory species –Idaho fescue, many wildflowers, and bushes of manzanita, and Ceanothus