[APWG] Whole continent missing its native understory, and needs restoration

[Bill Stringer]

Craig, a major villain in the loss of native herbaceous grasses and forbs 
is the much lower burn frequency that came with the decline (kind word) in 
Native American populations starting in the 16th century.  Landscape 
burning dropped off drastically in some areas, and the vegetation rapidly 
moved to climax forest (closed canopies).  The only places we find 
significant perennial native grasses and forbs are along managed 
rights-of-way where the natural tendency to oak-hickory climax forest is 
held in check by regular mowing and/or herbicides.  Fortunately state and 
federal forest agencies are restoring something approaching historical fire 
frequency on areas of public land under their jurisdiction.

We (SC Native Plant Society) played a major role in convincing and 
expediting USFS's conversion from exotic species to native species for 
disturbed land re-vegetation in the National Forests in SC.  We facilitated 
their development of local source native grass seed supplies to use in 
their work.  USFS in SC is now almost pursuing an herbaceous natives 
restoration program in re-vegetating disturbed sites.

Of course, clear-land agriculture, exotic-based pastures and beef 
production, pine plantations and wide-spread urban sprawl add to the 
pressure on habitat for native grasses and forbs.

Bill Stringer

At 01:10 PM 1/18/2006 Wednesday, Craig Dremann wrote:
>Dear Marc and All,
>
>Thanks for your email.
>
>On the East Coast, as I stated before, when I surveyed the Washington DC
>to Dover Delaware corridor, I was shocked to see that the native
>understory of perennial grasses and perennial herbaceous plants were
>95% exterminated, probably between 1750 and 1850.
>
>No where within that corridor,  did I see even one continuous acre of
>perennial native grassland, and the only one good spot (less than an
>acre) was at the edge of the Great Falls in Maryland.  This amount of
>devistation of the native plant understory within an ecosystem is almost
>to the degree that we have out here in lower-elevation California
>(<3,000 feet), which is 99.999% gone.
>
>When any of us are out working, either on weed management activities, or
>ecological restoration, perhaps we should look around to see if native
>plant families are missing from the ecosystem---like the grass family,
>the lily family, the bean family, the mint family, the carrot family,
>etc.--- these plants were were such yummy cow-chow and sheep-chow, and
>in 2005, they should all be growing in the spots where the exotics grow
>today.
>
>Perhaps one of the problems with exotics in both the East and the West,
>is that the exotics have become "niche-fillers", moving into these
>vacancies left when whole native plant families were removed from the
>ecosystems?
>
>Sure, there's plenty of native trees and shrubs in the East but the
>forest grasses and herbaceous plants were mostly exterminated 150-200
>years ago, before the advent of the automobile.
>
>Since my Washington DC-Delaware survey, I have had an opportunity to
>survey some of the Southern States---Georgia south of Atlanta, Central
>to coastal North Carolina, central Alabama and southern Tennessee in
>2003-2005.  I generally found more relic stands of native perennial
>grasses and herbaceous perennials than in the East, including a few
>spots that were one contiguous acre or more.
>
>However, I'd say that even the Southern states that are in better shape
>than the East, that their native understories are still 85% hosed.
>
>Perhaps we need to make a State-by-State continent-wide mapping of the
>native understories for each State, and hopefully the mappers will also
>have some money in hand to purchase land whenever we find those
>extremely rare acres that contains some of the original ecosystem, like
>the pictures you can see at http://www.ecoseeds.com/wild.html ?
>
>And my original proposition still stands: That in both the East and the
>West, we have to move from exotic terrestrial plant management, to
>ecological restoration of the original native ecosystems, with special
>attention to restoring  the native understories that have been largly
>exterminated in the last 200 years, continent-wide.
>
>Sincerely,  Craig Dremann, Redwood City, CA. (650) 325-7333
>
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>Disclaimer
>Any requests, advice or opinions posted to this list reflect ONLY the 
>opinion of the individual posting the message.


William C. Stringer
Forage Agronomist &
Native Plant Enthusiast
Clemson University

Entomology, Soils and Plant Science
279 P&AS Bldg
PO Box 0315
Clemson, SC  29634

864 656 3527  Voice
864 656 3443  FAX

http://people.clemson.edu/~BSTRNGR/