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Great Natives Of Mid-western Ecotype
J a n u a r y 1 , 2 00 9
GNOME N EWS THE BIG PICTURE
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Plant Profile
2
Native on the Net
2
Best Books
2
Organization Spotlight
3
Native News
3
Planting with a Purpose
3
Berry Good Bees
4
Invasives!
5
Fantastic Fauna
5
Focus on the Future
6
Did you know... •
•
Scientists are working on developing “burpless” grass for livestock to assist in reducing global methane emissions? A single dairy cow can produce between 500-700 liters of methane a day?
Green energy may soon be coming is some very interesting forms… Climate change is a reality that is having an effect on everyone’s daily lives. Whether it is increased cost of produce due to transportation or higher electrical bills, you simply cannot ignore the energy component of global climate change. With this increased awareness, so comes an increase in energy innovations. Methane is responsible for nearly as much global warming as all other non-CO2 greenhouse gases put together. Methane is 21 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than CO2. While atmospheric concentrations of CO2 have risen by about 31% since pre-industrial times, methane concentrations have more than doubled.
FIND
THE
Methane– the biogas of the future? It seems logical that this flammable fuel source would become a focus of renewable energy.
That is until now. A company is Sweden has produced the world’s first train to run exclusively on the biogas methane.
Animal agriculture is the leading source of methane producing emissions. But harnessing this fuel (as in the picture above) has not had an effective process thus far.
The process, which utilizes discarded animal parts from the slaughter process, is getting world-wide attention. It seems that the winds of change might be blowing in a new direction!
GNOME!
Nothing is better than stretching your brain a little. The role of this word game is to get you thinking a bit! Look for the word gnome within the text (no logo). I will vary the ways it is presented. It might be the first
letters of five consecutive sentences, it might be crossword style, or something more creative. Let me know if you find it and maybe I will include your name in the next GNOME News!
Congratulations to Debbie Clifford and Jennifer Hackathorn for finding the gnome in December’s newsletter. It was located in the last article in the first paragraph. Let me know if you find it!
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Ratibiba pinnata– Yellow Coneflower Our new site should make it easier to participate in “Name that Native” . Yellow Coneflower (Ratibiba pinnata) was the selection for December. Don’t forget you can vote at the new site all month!
“My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant’s point of view.” - H. Fred Ale
This plant is typically associated with mesic prairies and is a relatively common member of both restored and original remnants. Growing up to 4 feet tall, it has irregular-shaped basal leaves. It is in the aster family and has large daisy-like flowers. These have no scent, but the seed heads have a very definite anise smell when crushed.
Yellow Coneflower adds a summer feel to any bed! Seed-head potpourri is a bonus!
NATIVE
ON THE
Millions of links are out there related to native plants- 2,100,000 according to Google. In this section I will share sites that I think have a lot of merit and are useful to other native plant enthusiasts.
http://gnomenative.webs.com/
First, it is spiral-bound. I’m not sure why other publishers don’t use spiral binding for “how-to” books, but they should. It is very helpful on the workbench side of things.
I have mine interspersed with tall grasses for support.
NET Ok– I am plugging my own site. But I am hoping that this site will provide all of the components in a format that lets you get information quickly and also lets you share it with others. Name that Native and Featured Sites as well as other sections are taken from this
BEST BOOKS– WOODWORKING Enhancing your habitat can be rewarding. This book by Carrol L. Henderson is one of a series put out by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and can help you on your way There are many things about it that make it wonderful.
This plant will tolerate most light conditions and soil types with the exception of deep shade. It prefers sun. It is very easy to grow. The one thing that will affect blooms is too much water or too fertile soil. This will cause the blooms to flop.
Many kinds of insects visit the flowers, but especially bees. Other insect visitors include wasps, flies, small butterflies, and beetles. . It is larval hosts to Chlosyne nycteis (Silvery Checker-
This month’s featured site is : Great Natives Of Midwestern Ecotype
spot), Eynchlora acida (WavyLined Emerald) and Eupithecia miserulata (Common Eupithecia). Gold Finches occasionally eat the seeds, while some mammalian herbivores eat the foliage and flowering stems, particularly groundhogs and livestock.
newsletter. You can also see the featured plant profiles and books from GNOME News. The One Yard’s Story section is where you can see what I am doing with my own outdoor space. This includes plant species that I have used in my landscaping.
FOR
WILDLIFE
One other thing I really love about These projects are very kid friendly this book is that many of the too. It is a great way to get young plans use the people involved in “one board” habitat enhancephilosophy. This ment. means that you can go to the The book also instore and get just cludes requirewhat you need ments by species without much according to ineffort. It also cluded plans that reduces waste in will allow you to the amount of place your creation wood you have for optimal use. left over after the This is a must have for adding habitat enhancing components! project.
G N O M E N ew s
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O RG A N I Z AT I O N S P O T L I G H T : THE NORTHERN ILLINOIS RAPTOR CENTER “To ensure the health of raptors and the community we share through education, research, and conservation.” So states the mission of The Northern Illinois Raptor Center. Website:
http://www.tnirc.org/ This is a relatively new organization to the Midwest. So new that it doesn’t even have a home facility yet. Unlike many other nature centers, this organization is dedicated to those amazing birds of prey- raptors.
They offer various programs including sessions on falconry , owl pellet dissection, and identifying local Chicago area raptors. This organization creates ties between these apex predators and their habitat. By offering a close up look at these fascinating birds, awareness of raptors An educational center with live, flightcapable birds as educational emissaries in the wild is also increased. Being close to There is no membership availraptors is an opportunity that you able at this time, however you will never forget! may donate to the organization. You can also use a link from their site to purchase Information for public demonitems from Amazon.com. You strations and educational seswill pay the same amount, but sions can be found at their site. Amazon pays a commission to the organization.
NATIVE NEWS: G R E E N WAY S B E N E F I T P L A N T S A S W E L L A S A N I M A L S University of Florida researchers working at the world’s largest experimental landscape devoted to wildlife corridors has made a mysterious discovery– plants with no evident means of movement (including not being dispersed by birds or wind) are able to spread quickly through these greenways.
PLANTING
It has long been theorized that these corridors provide animals with a way to traverse safely between larger areas. Now plants appear to be doing the same. “Corridors surprisingly benefit pretty much everything, including species that have no obvious mechanism for getting around in
WITH A
(PART 2)
Last month this section presented the concept of using plants as a sort of “living fence” that I called bio-borders. Neighborhood corridors could provide a lot of habitat for all sorts of species while reducing maintenance costs in the process. So what to plant? To answer that question, you have to analyze the area(s) you consider for planting.
the first place,” said Doug Levey, a UF professor of zoology. The benefit of connecting larger areas with corridors seems to be validated with every new study. The fact that some of these new studies focus on native plant populations is exciting. I’m sure we haven’t heard the last on this subject.
PURPOSE: BIO-BORDERS
Here are some suggestions of native trees and shrubs by soil type. These are only a few. Wet or Moist Areas: buttonbush, native dogwoods, spicebush, witchhazel, sweet pepperbush, Virginia sweetspire, and redbud
Average Areas: serviceberry, pasture rose, arrow wood viburnum, nannyberry, American hazel, ninebark, and American plum Dry Areas: fragrant sumac, native sumacs, wolfberry, coralberry, shadbush, and Canada yew.
Bio-borders provide for people and wildlife!
“Some of nature's most exquisite handiwork is on a miniature scale, as anyone knows who has applied a magnifying glass to a snowflake.” - Rachel Carson
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B E R RY G O O D B E E S NATIVE BEES
BOOST
FRUIT PRODUCTION
Bees are big business. Did you know that the main “job” of hived honeybees (mainly of nonnative stock like European Honeybees) is not honey production? While that does account for about $285 million dollars annually in the US, pollination accounts for about $24 billion dollars in produce. Roughly 1/3 of what we consume has been pollinated by bees.
The study also indicated that the berries produced by this pollination (bees are not necessary for pollination in these plants) were 30% bigger than those not visited by bees of either kind. While this is certainly not the solution to the pollination problem that the US faces in the future, it may be one piece of the puzzle. Supplemental pollination from native bees will likely be a necessary component. So– what can you do to help the native bees? It turns out to be as easy as drilling holes in wood.
“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” - Lao Tzu
Osmia aglaia are as efficient as European Honeybees.
It is evident that bees play a significant part not only in food production, but economically as well. That is where the problems lies. Hived bee numbers are in serious decline. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is decimating hived bees across the county. Everything from cell towers to insecticides have been blamed for this collapse. New research has indicated a pathogenic gut microbe named Nosema apis to be a factor as well. It is likely that several factors, including stress of moving colonies from location to location and Africanized honey bees, are combining to weaken bees and reduce numbers. With commercial bee numbers in decline, scientists are looking for native replacements to give the industry a boost. Agricultural Research Service entomologist James H. Cane has produced a study showing that the native bee Osmia aglaia, the emerald-green bee, has a special talent when it comes to berry plants like raspberries.
Unlike honey bees, many native bees are solitary, meaning that they don’t live with others of the same species. In the past, bees have used holes in dead wood created by insects as sites to deposit eggs. Unfortunately, this habitat has been reduced greatly. Fortunately, these native bees take readily to human-made dwellings. Enter the Bee House. There are many commercial mason bee houses available for sale. These range from bamboo tubes to blocks with holes. One only needs to do a Google search for them. But one can also make their own easily as well. Using a drill with sizes varying from 1/4” to 3/8”, space holes about 3/4” apart in any pattern. The holes should be drilled to a depth of about 4 inches or deeper. I usually vary the depths and hole sizes. Use untreated wood (cedar is a good choice for longevity) so as not to harm the bees. Sand the entrances smooth. These solitary bees are not territorial and putting up a bee house is not inviting stings. Watch for mud plugs in the ends. That means you’ve got bees! Your flowers will thank you!
In an outdoor experiment based in both Oregon and Utah, these bees (native to California and Oregon) visited just as many red raspberry blossoms as honey bees in the same amount of time.
Mason bee houses are simple to make and beneficial for all types of plants.
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I N VA S I V E S T R E E O F H E AV E N I have decided to highlight a different invasive species each month to increase awareness, help identify, and hopefully help to reduced the spread or infestation of the highlighted species. Last month I covered the Emerald Ash Borer. Ailanthus altissima, also known as Chinese Sumac, tree of heaven, or stinking shumac has pretty much taken America by storm. Introduced as early as 1784, it has been written about ever since. A Tree Grows In Brooklyn focuses on this genus and Alan Weisman mentions it in The World Without Us.
This tree will grow anywhere – even in the cracks in sidewalks. Shade seems to be the only deterrent, and not a good one at that. Identification is very important with this plant, as many native sumac and other trees like black walnut have similar compound leaves with numerous leaflets. A single tree can produce 325,000 winged seeds in a year. The tree also suckers, forming dense clumps.
Tree of Heaven National Distribution
For a great resource for identifying and eliminating these trees visit MIPN.org
FANTASTIC FAUNA: THE LOWLY EARTHWORM “It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world, as have these lowly organized creatures” -Charles Darwin
1– Earthworms convert organic material into humus, thus improving soil fertility. 2– Earthworms also ingest inorganic matter grinding it into smaller particles that create castings. It is estimated that a single worm can create 10 lbs. There are about 1,678 earthworm taxa in twelve of castings a year. These casting are rich in phosphates, nitrogen, and potash– all things needed for different families found in North America. Apgreat plant growth. proximately 60 of these are exotic/introduced. 3– Earthworms create physical channels allowing air and water to get to the roots of plants. It is These creatures do many wonderful things both when these channels become flooded that they in a yard and as a part of the larger ecosystem come to the surface after rain to keep from drownas a whole. There are many benefits to having ing. Free aerators– who would have thought? them under foot, so to speak, so let’s take a 4– Earthworms are a valuable food source, particulook at some ways that they enhance our envilarly during nesting season for birds. ronment. These are just a few benefits from many.
Earthworms are a main component of a healthy ecosystem
Unfortunately, many are unable to reap these benefits due to use of artificial chemicals. Nitrogenous fertilizers commonly applied to lawns often create acidic soil conditions fatal to earthworms. Therefore, the most reliable way to increase worm populations is to avoid artificial chemicals altogether. Worms– they’re not just for bait anymore!
“I think we consider too much the good luck of the early bird and not enough the bad luck of the early worm.” -Franklin D. Roosevelt
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E-mail: GNOME.Native@gmail.com
Great Natives of Mid-western Ecotype (GNOME) is an organization focused on the preservation and expansion of native floral and faunal species. The mission is to provide a netbased forum where members can share their passion, plans, ideas, and questions with other people having a common interest in native species.
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This is our primary forum location. The newsletter as well as open discussions are there and also other links to people and groups that focus on natives.
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FOCUS “Why don’t we have as many birds at our feeders as we did at our old house, Dad?” A good question posed by my now 10 year old son one winter evening.
ON THE
FUTURE Maybe it is simply that rural people tend to be more lax in their ways– especially their driving as I can attest upon going back. Maybe the fence line sprouting saplings is on “next year’s” project list. Is that how those trees get to be full grown? The lines just seem to blur to me.
I began to discuss how we don’t have the mature trees that we had there, how we lacked cover, how even our old The bottom line is that there house was once new Short-eared Owl near South Amana, Iowa 2007 are pros and cons to living and likely didn’t have anywhere I guess. I would the same species of like to think that by sharing birds that visited and I can see the biggest differmy interests and thoughts with my lived there when we called it ence in the general separachildren, it might cause a little home. But now I find myself tion of land use. It feels like more blurring of lines down the questioning my answer. Is we try to keep nature in pockroad. It is more about interrelation there more to that than I was ets in suburbia. A preserve than separation. That is, after all, thinking? here, a prairie there. Lines in all probability how I got my own seem to be much more deviews. fined. Many would not be There seems to be a fundavery excited to find a snake in mental philosophical differThe quote “Bloom where you’re their yard– though I haven’t ence between our current planted” comes to mind. Happy seen one anywhere since suburban community and our blooming! moving here. old rural one in Iowa.