Tag Archives: Resources

And they’re off! (That is, the cherry trees at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden)

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The cherries are blooming at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG), just in time for the start of Hanami this weekend. In addition to those already blooming on Washington Avenue and the parking lot, there are four blooming within the main collection covered by the BBG CherryWatch Blossom Status Map:


[TinyURL]

Related Content

My Flickr photo set from this afternoon’s visit

More Hanami at BBG, 2008-04-25
Hanami at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 2008-04-04
Introducing the BBG Hanami Flickr Group, 2009-04-03
Events and Resources: Hanami and more at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 2007-04-03

Links

Cherries, Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Hanami: Cherry Blossom Viewing at Brooklyn Botanic Garden , Flickr photo pool

Propagation of Sassafras albidum (Sassafras)

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Propagation of Sassafras albidum (Sassafras)

General characteristics

Sassafras albidum, Sassafras, is a medium-sized deciduous tree in the Lauraceae, the Laurel family. This is a family of mostly pantropical, evergreen shrubs and trees; Sassafras has the most northern distribution of the Lauraceae.

Native range and habitat

Sassafras is widespread in eastern North America, from Maine to Ontario and Michigan, south to Florida and eastern Texas. It’s most common as a successional plant in disturbed areas.

Because of its wide natural range, select a local ecotype, or acquire from a local nursery, for best adaptation to your conditions.

Asexual/vegetative propagation

Sassafras can form pure stands through suckering. Specimens propagated by apparent transplantation from the field may actually be suckers separated from a parent plant or stand. These progeny are prone to suckering from lateral roots. To minimize this, do not transplant from the wild. Plant only container-grown seedlings. [Cullina, DIRR1997, Flint]

Propagation from root cuttings is possible.

Sexual propagation

Plants are dioecious.

Flowering and Pollination

Clusters of flowers with bright yellow sepals appear in early Spring, just before the leaf buds break. Flowers are pollinated by bees and flies.

Fruit

Fruit are produced every year or two after the plant reaches maturity at about ten years of age. Fruit matures in the Fall. The fruit is an oil-rich, oval, blue-black drupe held on a red stem. Sassafras fruits are eaten by many species of birds.

Seeds may be gathered when fruits turn dark blue. Cleaned seeds may be stored for up to two years at cool temperatures. 120 Stratification – prechilling – for 120 days is required for germination. [USDA]

References

Cullina, William. Native Trees, Shrubs and Vines. 2002. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN-13: 978-0-618-09858-3
[DIRR1997] Dirr, Michael. Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs. 1997. Timber Press. ISBN-13: 978-0-88192-404-6
[DIRR1998] Dirr, Michael. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants. Revised 1998. Stipes Publishing. ISBN-13: 978-0-87563-795-2
Flint, Harrison. Landscape Plants for Eastern North America. 1983. Wiley. ISBN: 0-471-86905-8
NPIN
Sullivan, Janet (1993). “Sassafras albidum“. Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory

Links

Floridata
Missouri Botanical Garden
Plants For A Future
PLANTS, USDA
University of Connecticut
Wikipedia
Wikibooks

Sassafras albidum, Sassafras

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Sassafras albidum, Sassafras, is a medium-sized deciduous tree native to eastern North America. It’s easily identified by its leaves which vary in shape from simple (unlobed) and elliptical, asymmetrically two-lobed (left- or right-handed “mittens”), and three-lobed.

Two forms of Sassafras leaves. Photo: Patrick Coin (Flickr)

Several features of Sassafras led me to select it as the focal point for my backyard garden design planting plan. Although I’ve lived in the Northeast most of my life, it’s only in the past several years that I’ve come to really appreciate Sassafras. I now recognize it as a four-season plant.


In early Spring, before anything leafs out, the clouds of brilliant yellow flowers stand out; both male and female flowers are colorful. Summer foliage is handsome and aromatic. On female plants, the fruit is colorful and attractive, and the red stems persist after the fruit has been devoured by birds. Fall color is among the best there is; it should be part of any fall garden that has the space for it. For winter interest, the bark of older specimens develops interesting textures, while the forms of the bare branches seem to flail chaotically, expressive of wilderness.

Sassafras albidum, typical autumn coloration. Photo: dogtooth77 (Flickr)

Sassafras is in the Lauraceae, the Laurel family. This is a family of mostly pantropical, evergreen shrubs and trees; Sassafras has the most northern distribution of the Lauraceae. Many plants in this family are rich in essential oils, and thus of economic importance; Cinnamon, Bay Laurel and Avocado are also in this family. Sassafras roots were once used to flavor root beer, until concerns about the carcinogenic properties of safrole led to banning its use. Sassafras leaves are still used to make the spice gumbo filé.

All parts of Sassafras are aromatic, including its leaves. It’s an important larval host for several Lepidoptera. It’s the primary larval host for Papilio troilus, spicebush swallowtail, P. palamedes, laurel swallowtail, and Callosamia promethea, Promethea silkmoth.

Flowers are pollinated by bees and flies. Sassafras fruits are eaten by many species of birds. However, plants are dioecious, so both male and female plants are needed within pollinator range. Even if I was lucky enough to get a female plant, the closest other plants I’m aware of are in Prospect Park, a half-mile away. I’m not counting on fruit from my Sassafras, but it would be a terrific bonus.

From my observations, it’s very common in the sandy soils along the New Jersey coast. It’s most common as a successional plant in disturbed areas, where it can form pure stands through suckering. There’s been some research to indicate that Sassafras exhibits allelopathy, interfering with the germination of some other woody species, at least.

A tendency toward suckering and a reputation for difficulty in transplantation have limited its application in cultivation. However, several authors suggest that propagation methods may influence this. Specimens propagated by apparent transplantation from the field may actually be suckers being separated from a parent plant or stand. The thought is that this increases the chance for suckering later, after transplantation. Even true individuals have deep taproots, making transplantation difficult. This obstacle can be eliminated with pot-grown, seed-propagated individuals. I’m on the lookout for a retail source in the NYC area.

Taxonomy

Botanical name: Sassafras albidum
Family: Lauraceae (Laurel Family)
Common name: Sassafras
Description: Deciduous tree.
Range: Widespread in eastern North America, from Maine to Ontario and Michigan, south to Florida and eastern Texas.

Features

Flowers: Bright yellow clusters of flowers appear before leaves in early Spring. Dioecious: both male and female plants needed for fruiting.
Foliage: Multiple shapes, brilliant fall colors, one of the best for fall foliage.
Fruits: (On female plants) Oil-rich, blue-black berries on long bright red stalks.
Bark: Smooth when young, interesting, deeply furrowed, “alligator-hide bark” [Cullina] on older trees.

Culture

Height: 8m/26ft after 20 years [Flint], 30-60 feet at maturity
Width: 25-40 feet at maturity
DBH: 3 feet at maturity

Hardiness zones: 4-8
Exposure: Full sun preferred, but tolerates some shade as an understory tree.
Water: Drought-tolerant

Longevity: The Arnold Arboretum has a specimen that they acquired in 1884, over 120 years ago.

  • Because of its wide natural range, select a local ecotype, or acquire from a local nursery, for best adaptation and performance to your conditions.
  • Can be prone to suckering from lateral roots. To minimize this, do not transplant from the wild. Plant only container-grown seedlings. [Cullina, DIRR1997, Flint]
  • Not readily available commercially, but is carried by nurseries specializing in native plants.
  • Dioecious, so an individual planting may be male or female, and both are needed to produce fruit on the females.
  • Allelopathic.

Wildlife value

Birds: Oil-rich fruit on female plants are favored by migrating birds. [Cullina] Species include catbirds, flickers, pileated woodpeckers, downy woodpeckers, thrushes, vireos, and mockingbirds.
Butterflies and Moths: Primary larval host for Papilio troilus, spicebush swallowtail, P. palamedes, laurel swallowtail [Cullina, NPIN], and Callosamia promethea, Promethea silkmoth [NPIN, BONA], Cecropia species [BBG]
Pollinators: Sassafras is pollinated by bees and flies.

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References

[BONA] Butterflies and Moths of North America
Cullina, William. Native Trees, Shrubs and Vines. 2002. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN-13: 978-0-618-09858-3
[DIRR1997] Dirr, Michael. Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs. 1997. Timber Press. ISBN-13: 978-0-88192-404-6
[DIRR1998] Dirr, Michael. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants. Revised 1998. Stipes Publishing. ISBN-13: 978-0-87563-795-2
Flint, Harrison. Landscape Plants for Eastern North America. 1983. Wiley. ISBN: 0-471-86905-8
NPIN

Sullivan, Janet (1993). “Sassafras albidum“. Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory

Links

Floridata
Missouri Botanical Garden
Plants For A Future
PLANTS, USDA
University of Connecticut
Wikipedia
Wikibooks

Aphid control

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Updated 2008.06.10: Expanded section on biological controls. Added more references.

An aphid viewed through a microscope, taken the first night of my IPM class at BBG
Aphid viewed through a microscope

Why are aphids so hard to control? Here’s one answer:

Most species of aphids overwinter in the egg stage. The eggs hatch in the spring to produce a generation of females. These female aphids give birth to living young. Generally the first young aphids are wingless and when a colony becomes too crowded winged forms may be produced. The winged forms migrate to new host plants and begin colonies. Enormous populations are built up from these overlapping generations all summer long.
– Aphids Factsheet, Insect Diagnostic Laboratory, Cornell University

So, to sum up:

  • Overwintered eggs hatch females.
  • Females give birth to live young (first instar), up to 70 at once.
  • They have multiple generations during the year.
  • The population responds to overgrazing by flying to new locations. They can fly several miles on the wind.
  • They start all over again the next year.

To this I can add that, the earlier you catch and deal with them, the less effort it will be. A week can make a huge difference. But more on techniques below.

This post is actually a homework assignment for my Pest Management class at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. I had a choice of three insect pests – spider mites, aphids, and hard scale insects – to answer the question:

What makes [your pest here] so difficult to control?

I chose aphids because a neighbor wrote recently about her problem with aphids on her cilantro and an encounter with a vicious ladybug. She complained that her ladybugs always flew away. I suggested lacewings as an alternative predator, and additional plantings to attract, and keep, “beneficial” insects.

Managing Aphids

Understanding a pest’s life cycle and monitoring for it are important aspects to managing it. I’ll highlight a few categories of techniques for controlling aphids: horticultural, physical, biological, and chemical. I’ll address biological controls last, and spend most of the time on that topic.

Since eggs overwinter, horticultural practices such as removing dead plant material before aphids hatch in the spring is a first step. Clearly, this will be most effective when it’s done before the first aphids emerge. Another important horticultural strategy is to plan and plant diversity in the garden. More on this in the section about biological controls, below.

Physical controls can be effective, especially earlier in the spring when populations are still relatively small. This could include washing them off with a stream of water, removing infested parts of the plant, and, for the non-squeamish, squishing them and picking them off by hand. Some sources even suggest mulching with foil to repel aphids and other pests.

Chemical controls really are a last resort. Insecticides poison both the target and its predators. It’s generally not a good strategy to poison the things that eat the things you’re trying to control. For aphids, insecticidal soap can be used to target just the affected areas of the plant.

Biological controls

My preference is for biological controls. There are many naturally occurring predators and diseases of aphids, including:

  • lady beetles (lady “bugs” are really beetles, not bugs)
  • lacewings
  • predatory midges
  • flower fly larvae
  • pirate beetles
  • Braconid wasps
  • parasitic fungi

Given this list of natural enemies, it’s no wonder aphids have evolved a strategy of rapid, massive reproduction. One can even see the value of having some aphids in the garden, since they’re important food sources for so many other insects!

In the past, I’ve introduced both ladybugs and lacewings to my gardens. These days, I try instead to keep a balance of plants in my gardens, including plants that provide alternative food sources or refuge for insect predators. There are plenty of natural predators around, even in city gardens. There are also fungal diseases that occur naturally, but are not commercially available, which attack aphids.

Learn to recognize and conserve insects that prey on or parasitize pests. Small wasps, for example, parasitize aphids, leaving bloated gold to bronze “mummies.” Immature lady beetles and lacewings, which look like tiny alligators, also frequent gardens. Other “beneficials” include spiders, predatory mites, predatory bugs, predatory flies, and ground beetles.
– Managing Insect Pests in Vegetable Gardens, Home Gardening Resources, Cornell Univers

Biological controls are not a panacea. For example, most of the commercially available ladybugs are species not native to North America. They are commercially available because they are amenable to raising in the large numbers needed for economic viability, not necessarily because they are the best choices. These can become pests in their own right when they swarm and overwinter in homes to emerge in the Spring.

In addition, native species have become scarce, even endangered. Two years ago, New York state changed its official insect from one ladybug species to another because the original species had become extinct in the state. This reduction in population coincides with the spread of non-native species in the wild.

The New York State insect is essentially no more. Once among the most common ladybugs in the eastern United States, the nine-spotted lady beetle has not been seen since 1984. This comely reddish-orange beetle with four spots on each wing and a shared one in the middle has been displaced by a voracious cousin with seven spots, imported by the millions from Europe in the 1970s as a biological control agent.

The idea made sense at the time. Entomologists had observed that lady beetles eat aphids, so thought that a more aggressive species would be only that much more effective in controlling these common crop pests. They were, so much so it turned out, that the imported beetles monopolized the food source and apparently starved the natives out.
– Invaasion of the Species Snatchers, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Cornell University

So how can we take advantage of naturally occurring species? Plant a diverse garden, and plant for beneficial insects. For example, clovers are attractive to several kinds of insects which prey on aphids, including, wasps, pirate bugs, aphid midges, and of course, ladybugs. Buckwheat attracts lacewings, in addition to wasps and ladybugs. Plants in the Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) and Asteraceae (Compositae) support a wide range of insect species.

A heavy outbreak of aphids on Swamp Milkweed, Asclepias incarnata, in my backyard in October of last year.
Aphids on Milkweed

Related Content

Links

The Bug’s No Lady, Brooklynonmetry, June 6, 2008

Aphids Factsheet (also available as a PDF), Insect Diagnostic Laboratory, Cornell University
Managing Insect Pests in Vegetable Gardens, Home Gardening Resources, Cornell University
Sucking insects: Aphids, Integrated Pest Management, University of Connecticut
Use of Cover Crops and Green Manures to Attract Beneficial Insects, IPM, UConn

Wikipedia: Aphid
The Lost Ladybug Project
The Decline of C-9 – New York’s State Insect
Invaasion of the Species Snatchers, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Cornell University
New York’s state insect, the nine-spotted lady beetle, rediscovered in eastern U.S. after 14 elusive years, April 17, 2007

Gardening Resources, Cornell University

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Cornell University is the Land-Grant University for New York state. They operate New York state’s Colleges of Veterinary Medicine and Agricultural and Life Sciences. They also operate the state’s Cooperative Extension, including their NYC office.

Still, resources for home gardeners are hard to come by. Most of the information available through Cooperative Extensions focuses on issues and practices with economic importance. Cornell has addressed this with a Web portal for Gardening Resources.

Most, but not all, of the links on the portal home page lead to other pages on Cornell’s Gardening or their school of Horticulture. A Web portal consolidates information and arranges it by theme regardless of its location or origins. This is especially helpful when the information has been developed independently over time. For example, on the sidebar of Cornell’s Gardening Resources home page is a link to their Allstar Groundcovers section. The URL for the groundcovers section places it under Cornell’s Entomology department, not the first place I would look for information about groundcovers.

Highlights

Here are a couple more examples of information available through Cornell’s Gardening Resources portal:

Cornell University Links

Gardening Resources Portal
Department of Horticulture

Introducing the BBG Hanami Flickr Group

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Cherry Blossoms from the 2006 Hanami at BBG, one of my photos I’ve already added to BBG’s new Hanami Flickr Group
Cherry Blossoms

This Saturday is the official opening of Hanami, the Cherry Blossom Viewing Season, at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Last week, inspired by the success of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Visitors group on Flickr, BBG launched a new Flickr group, Hanami: Cherry Blossom Viewing at Brooklyn Botanic Garden:

The blossoming of the cherry trees at Brooklyn Botanic Garden is a New York City rite of spring. Hanami is the Japanese cultural tradition of viewing and cherishing each moment of the cherry blossom season.

Join Brooklyn Botanic Garden in celebrating Hanami this year by adding your cherry blossom pictures to our group!

Any Flickr member can join and add their photos. No invitation is needed. At the moment of this writing, there are already 14 members and 20 photos in the pool. We can expect to see hundreds of photos by the end of Hanami.

Earlier this week, BBG contacted me to ask for some suggestions on how to get the group started. Based on those email conversations, and discussions in the group itself, they’ve come up with the following guidelines:

Any photos you have taken of flowering cherries at BBG are welcome for submission–from any time in the blooming cycle. Hanami is the official cherry blossom viewing season here at the Garden (this year it’s from April 5 to May 11), but if you’ve got shots of early- or late-bloomers, we’d love to see them, too!

Please tag your photos with “Hanami” and “BBG” or “Brooklyn Botanic Garden.”

Related Posts

Events and Resources: Hanami and more at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, April 3, 2007

Links

Flowering Cherries at BBG is the home page for all your Hanami needs

BudBurst 2008

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This year, Project BudBurst kicks off on February 15:

Project BudBurst will officially get underway for the 2008 campaign on February 15, 2008. Due to the overwhelming interest in last year’s pilot project, we are very confident that the 2008 campaign will be a success and that the observations reported on the Project BudBurst Web site will be useful to phenologists and climate scientists.
– via BudBurst mailing list

Last year there were reports from participants in 26 states. Ohio and Illinois had the highest rate of participation followed by Utah, Colorado, and Michigan.

This year’s earlier start date is one of several enhancements over last year’s pilot program:

  • Expanded time, starting February 15th and continuing until the fall.
  • A myBudBurst member registration space to save your observation sites and plants online as you monitor phenological changes throughout the year and for future years.
  • Expanded targeted species list, including 19 calibration species from the National Phenology Network.
  • Monthly photos of the latest plants blooming.
  • Online geolocator to obtain latitude and longitude coordinates for observation sites

Project BudBurst is a national field campaign for citizen scientists designed to engage the public in the collection of important climate change data based on the timing of leafing and flowering of trees and flowers. Last year’s inaugural event drew thousands of people of all ages taking careful observations of the /phenological/ events such as the first bud burst, first leafing, first flower, and seed or fruit dispersal of a diversity of tree and flower species, including weeds and ornamentals. Your help in making observations and sharing information about Project BudBurst will help us in making this year even more successful.

Related Posts

Project BudBurst

Links

Project BudBurst
U.S. National Phenology network

Resource: DCP’s Census Fact Finder

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Map of Brooklyn Census Tract 520 returned by the DCP Census Tract Finder when searching on the Q Train Cortelyou Road Station.
Brooklyn Census Tract 520

At last night’s Workshop #2 of Imagine Flatbush 2030, they had something new: a brief slide show of orientation information, similar in content to that presented at the first workshop, plus some census data about the study area. You can see some photos of these by Frank Jump, who attended last night’s workshop and happened to be in my breakout group, on his blog, Fading Ad Blog.

I just discovered that the NYC Department of City Planning (DCP) provides online access to census data in their Census Fact Finder. The finder is tabbed to provide searches by:

  • Street address
  • Community District
  • Point of Interest (not enough “points” to be widely useful)
  • Subway station

Except for Community District, once you’ve identified a point, you can view census data by a single Census Tract, by neighboring Census tracts within a .1 to .5 miles range you specify, or by Community District.

At the top of the resulting report is a map showing the point or area you selected and the matching census tracts. A pink dot identifies the focus, the selected tracts are highlighted in blue, and all visible tracts are numbered. Associated with the map are the usual zoom and navigation tools. It also provides tools to select or exclude additional census tracts.

For example, the map at the top of this post is returned when selecting the Q Train Cortelyou Road Station as the focus of the map. The finder returned Census Tract 520, which news reports in 2005 highlighted as the most diverse Census Tract in the entire United States:

In 1970, Census Tract 520 in Ditmas Park [sic] was 92.1% white. Less than a quarter of the population was foreign-born, and most of them were Italian and Jewish. Today, the neighborhood is a miniature United Nations, with nearly two-thirds of the population coming from other countries.

Although Elmhurst and Jackson Heights have a larger percentage of foreign-born residents, the city’s demographer, Joseph Salvo, said it’s the convergence of racial and ethnic diversity that distinguishes Ditmas Park.
– In a Diverse City, Ditmas Park Takes the Cake, New York Sun, May 26, 2005

Note, however, that Census Tract 520 is not in the historic district of Ditmas Park. It comprises the eastern half of Ditmas Park West, my neighborhood neighbor to the south, plus the blocks between Newkirk and Foster Avenues.

Below the map in the report is a table showing all the census data, aggregated for the selected census tracts. The table is tabbed for the major categories of data available:

  • Demographic
  • Socio-economic
  • Age
  • Income in 1999
  • Labor
  • Education
  • Housing Characteristics
  • Housing Costs

For example, to examine the claim that this tract is the most diverse, let’s look at the demographic data:

Demographic Profile Tract(s) Brooklyn New York City
Total Population 4,399 2,465,326 8,008,278
Single Race, Nonhispanic: (by percentage)
White 19.3% 34.7% 35.0%
Black / African American 29.2% 34.4% 24.5%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.3% 0.2% 0.2%
Asian 22.4% 7.5% 9.7%
Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander 0% 0% 0.0%
Some other Race 1.3% 0.7% 0.7%
Two or More Races, Nonhispanic 7.8% 2.8% 2.8%
Hispanic Origin (of any race) 19.8% 19.8% 27.0%

The “most diverse” claim arises from the observation that the demographic category comprising the largest single group, Black / African American, only comprises 29.2% of the population. Across the city as a whole, there is diversity. Queens has the largest percentage of foreign-born residents of all five boroughs. But when you get down to the level of a few blocks, what you usually see is a predominant group.

At last night’s workshop, at each breakout group, the facilitators asked each of us to briefly identify our main concern, our main wish or goal for Flatbush in the years to come. By the time it got around to me, I’d had time to practice in my mind what I wanted to say, and wrote it down in my notebook:

Diversity Without Disparity

And I explained that I mean this “in every way I can think of.” This captures the asset of diversity we enjoy today, one which I think most of those who’ve participated in the workshops so far value as well. It also presents the challenge: how can we mitigate existing disparities, and keep the gap from widening. How can we avoid becoming the victims of our own success as a vibrant, interesting, developing community?

Related Posts

Imagine Flatbush 2030

Links

Imagine Flatbush 2030 (Sponsored by the Municipal Art Society of NY) – Workshop #2, Brooklyn College, Frank Jump, Fading Ad Blog
Over 100 People Imagining Flatbush 2030, Brooklyn Junction
In a Diverse City, Ditmas Park Takes the Cake, Daniela Gerson, The New York Sun, May 26, 2005

Resource: Center for Urban Forest Research

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Another resource I just discovered, the Center for Urban Forest Research (CUFR) is a project of the Pacific Southwest Research Station of the USDA Forest Service. Although based in California, CUFR’s research and products are applicable to most urbanized environments.

Our research demonstrates new ways in which trees add value to communities. We convert our results into real dollars and cents in order to stimulate more investment in trees. Using our research results, we create new methods and strategies for managing and caring for community forests to help managers optimize the benefits and investment value of their community forest.
– Our Research, CUFR

Most of our research falls into five major categories: Benefits and Costs, Energy Conservation, Air Quality, Water Resources, and Fire. However, we are not limited to those five categories. Additional research focuses on Urban Forest Policy and Management, Tree Stewardship, Biometrics, Infrastructure Conflicts, and Urban-Wildland Interface.

Links

Center for Urban Forest Research
Pacific Southwest Research Station
USDA Forest Service

Resource: The Sustainable Sites Initiative

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While doing some research for a post on NYC’s street trees, I just discovered the Sustainable Sites Initiative:

The Sustainable Sites Initiative is an interdisciplinary partnership between the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, the United States Botanic Garden and a diverse group of stakeholder organizations to develop guidelines and standards for landscape sustainability. The motivation behind this initiative stems from the desire to protect and enhance the ability of landscapes to provide services such as climate regulation, clean air and water, and improved quality of life. Sustainable Sites™ is a cooperative effort with the intention of supplementing existing green building and landscape guidelines as well as becoming a stand-alone tool for site sustainability.

On November 1, they released a Preliminary Report on the Standards and Guidelines for Sustainable Sites. The full report [PDF] is 107 pages and addresses several dimensions of landscape design, including hydrology (water), vegetation, soil, and materials (hardscape). They are now for which they are seeking “input on all aspects of the content.” Their goal is to release an updated version in October of 2008, completing the final report by May 2009.

This report makes three overarching recommendations for sustainable land development and management: 1) assemble a group of knowledgeable and diverse professionals to form an integrated project team, 2) prior to making decisions, conduct a complete and thorough assessment of the site, and 3) integrate land practices that replicate the functions of healthy ecological systems.

Sustainable land practices can support the functions of healthy systems and harness natural processes to provide environmental benefits. The Sustainable Sites Initiative is aimed at providing the land development and maintenance industries with the tools to move toward a more sustainable future.

The Web site provides synopses of the benefits of sustainable sites and how to implement them. The Human Well-Being section provides insight into the particular importance of living, green spaces for urban populations:

A series of studies of inner-city neighborhoods [Kuo, F.E. 2003. The role of arboriculture in a healthy social ecology. Journal of Arboriculture 29, 3:148-155] finds that green spaces with trees contribute to healthier, more supportive patterns of interrelations among residents, including greater sharing of resources.

Links

The Sustainable Sites Initiative
American Society of Landscape Architects
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
United States Botanic Garden