Ecological Design Studio Portfolio

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Birch + Aspen + Sassafras

WHAT LIES

W. Pine

BENEATH?

Asking Questions About Hidden Systems, Processes, & Organisms Kyle Franta 2019

Contents Kyle Bradley Franta University of Minnesota Master of Landscape Architecture Ecological Dimensions of Space Making, Spring 2019

Faculty: Karen Lutsky, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture Rachel Salmela, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture

Mapping Populus tremuloides

01

Rooted Responders

09

Material Investigations

13

Unveiling Decay

25

Introduction

Ecological Dimensions of Spacemaking opened my eyes to a world that is heavily connected and dependent of its constituent parts. This world has been here all along, but like so many others, was invisible to my eyes. The hidden processes that often go on unnoticed, such as the trees in the forest that speak to each other through a network of fungi, are integral to the health of the planet. Human interventions, even if seemingly small, have drastically altered the way that ecosystems function, often times to a point of total destruction.

It is the role of landscape architects to unite their broad understandings of design, and natural systems, to create a world that works with nature, instead of against it. This book showcases my development in the understanding of these systems.

Mapping Populus tremuloides In Partnership with David Hedding Quaking aspen are a characteristic tree in the landscape, often chosen for the ornamental white bark, and the fluttering leaves that turn a vibrant yellow in the fall. However, when looking below ground, the true spectacle of the quaking aspen is revealed. Aspen stands are unique in that they are clonal, meaning that the trees that are seen above ground are all sprouting up from the same parent root system. In short, the entire stand is of one singular organism. In fact the oldest known organism in the world is a stand of quaking aspen in the Fishback Mountains of Utah. This organism is thought to be anywhere from 80,000 - 1,000,000 years old, covers over 100 acres, and weighs in collectively at 6,000 tons. The aspen’s ability to live this long, and grow to this size can be credited to its unique ability to adapt to a large variety of climates and ecosystems, and to quickly respond to changes in its environment. This ability is also what makes the Aspen the most widespread tree in North America.

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Site Impressions The first mapping of the quaking aspen that was captured was the way that the aspen is experienced on a human scale. Images were taken of the bark at three levels ranging from the base of the tree to just above eye level, and then a final image was captured of the trees canopy, looking upward. When the images were compiled, they created an experiential panorama.

The second on-site mapping was focused on the growth pattern of the aspen tree. We cataloged the distance from stem to stem in a clonal stand of aspens to understand how they asexually produce / migrate. Understanding this phenomenon would be crucial to understanding the Quaking Aspen for the immense organism that humans often fail to recognize.

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Tree Drawing Alongside the drawing of the leaves, bark, fruiting bodies, and juvenile clones, we thought it was essential to capture the atmosphere, and immense size of an aspen clone. For this, it was imperative to draw the shallow root system that is characteristic of the aspen, as well as the clones shooting out from the interconnected roots.

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Narrative Map In this mapping, the focus was to depict the time scale and life cycle of the Aspen, both as a large clonal species, and on a human scale. The mapping showed this life cycle by depicting a forest fire giving rise to new growth, the aspen reaching maturity, and then eventually dying and being brought back to the forest floor to be decayed, or be provide kindling for the next life-giving fire.

We also focused on the human scale. Although an aspen clonal stand may live for thousands of years, each clone has a short lifespan of only 80-100 years, much like that of a human. To represent this connection, we chose to showcase the beloved ornamental features of the aspen such as the ornamental white bark, and the fluttering yellow leaves. The bark transfers were arranged to represent the vertical growth of the tree, each image representing ten years of growth.

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Rooted Responders Rooted Responders looks to represent the responses of living things to altered ecosystems.

Populus tremuloides, or Quaking Aspen, serve as an interesting organism to showcase this phenomenon to people, as they are a species that is significantly impacted by its immediate site conditions.

Since Quaking Aspen are a clonal species, their physical responses to site conditions are represented across the entire stand, making the results much more obvious and impactful to the sites visitors.

By creating a singular site with varying site conditions, the responses of the Quaking Aspens clones can be observed side by side. This side by side comparison is intended to demonstrate to people that even subtle changes to our environments can have drastic implications on our connected ecosystems.

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Aspen Stand Development In the conceptualization stage, sketch models were created to depict and visually understand the response of clonal aspens to their immediate growing conditions. The models show how the success of an aspen clone is immediately tied to that of the site conditions, and that Aspens are a species that physically represent their tolerances and intolerances.

Also shown is the initial sketch for the proposed site conditions. Careful attention was placed into the site development, to ensure that each of the four opposing biomes could actually exist together naturally. To achieve this, it was important to take a rigorous look at the hydrology, topography, soil composition, and coexisting vegetation of each of the four quadrants of the site.

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Stand Proposal The goal of this stand proposal was to test the adaptability of clonal quaking aspens, as well as to create a “living laboratory� that would showcase to people how subtle changes to the landscape can drastically impact the health and longevity of living things. To achieve this, the stand was divided into four quadrants, with each quadrant containing an aspen tree in the central corner of its plot.

Each of the quadrants was also separated by a subsurface wall that lied beneath the walking paths within the stand. These walls were meant to impede the movement of the clonal root system of each of the four parent Aspen trees. As each quadrant was characterized by different site conditions, observers could walk between the quadrants and see the responses, the intolerances and tolerances, of the Aspen to their site.

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ASEXUAL GROWTH OF QUAKING ASPEN

ASPEN GROWTH OVER TIME Fire Succession

Year 1

Year 2 - 10

Year 10 - 100

Coniferous Forest Succession

SUBSURFACE ROOT-WALL

Tree Projections

Year 10 - 100

Year 100 - 120

Year 120 +

Spring

Spring - Fall

Year 2 - 5

Year 5 - 20

Riparian Zone Flooding

The projected success or decline of each of the four clones was projected to be drastically different. This stark contrast is depicted in axonometric model and the change over time diagrams.

The specific site conditions along with the aspens observed responses are listed alongside the sections on page 12.

ASEXUAL GROWTH OF QUAKING ASPEN Upland

Summer - Winter

Post-Fire Succession

Upland / Low Water Table

Riparian

Coniferous Forest

Year 1

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Stand Sections

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Material Investigations: Concrete Concrete has a lasting impact across multiple scales. Original structures still remain at a site in turkey from over 12,000 years ago, and many of the iconic roman ruins are made from a from of a concrete mixture. Concrete also has a lasting impact on an environmental level. Surface mining practices fragment and contaminate ecosystems and pollute water. Over 5% of the global CO2 emissions can be attributed to concrete production.

It is hard for anyone on the planet to avoid the impact of this material in some way, as it is the second most widely consumed product on earth only after water. This essentially means that 3 tons of concrete are used each year by each person on our planet. It is hard to ignore the severe implications that concrete poses ethically on our society.

The reason for its widespread use is do to its durability, and its ability to be poured into desired forms. Current research is being done to increase concretes perviousness and lower its production impact.

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LASTING IMPRESSIONS

Lasting Impact

Vesatile

Versions of concrete mixtures have been used since at least 12,000 years ago, and many still stand today

During the concretes liquid state, the material is able to be formed into almost any imaginable geometries. Complex geometries and thin volumes require metal reinforcement.

Environmental

Narrative Mapping The narrative mapping of concrete reflected the research done on the material. After researching, the lasting impacts of concrete across scales became apparent. The Mapping to the right depicts concretes lasting impacts as a structure, its environmental implications, its impervious nature and its implications on water quality and flooding, as well as its versatility in form.

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The landscape is blotted with destructive pits and quarries, and species of all kinds endure permanent negative impacts.

Concrete production accounts for over 5% of the global C02 Emissions, and has sever implications related to water quality.

Impervious Existing concrete infrastructure allows almost no storm water to seap through the surface.

New forms of concrete are becoming more pervious.

Consumption Concrete is the second most consumed substance on Earth after water. On average, each year, three tons of concrete are consumed by every person on the planet.

Concrete Tests The images sequentially represent the methods of the concrete strength tests.

A curvilinear formwork was created in order to test the ability of the cast concrete to hold itself intact. Next, a pre mixed bag a quikrete was sifted to removed aggregate. For example, one test may have had 2 cups of quickrete, and one cup of sifted quickrete; and the next test may only contain one cup of quickrete and two cups of sifted mix. Alternately, some tests contained added aggregate. After water was added to the concrete mixes, they were formed into “patties� and pressed over the form. The concrete was allowed to properly dry according to the product specifications.

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Aggregate Gradient The results depict a gradient of concrete casts. The gradient shows that the more aggregate that was removed, the smoother the casts appearance. However, at a certain point, too much aggregate removed results in a cast that is unable to hold itself together.

Likewise, adding too much aggregate to the mixture also resulted in a cast that was unstable. If another round of tests were to be completed, it would have been interesting to test the amounts of water that were poured into the mixture.

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Hvidovre Beach Hvidovre Beach by VEGA Landscape Architects is a project that aims at containing the capped landfill from erosion along the shoreline of the North Sea. The details on page 20 show the ways that the concrete walls were formed. 64 Precast Walls were made from 21 Molds, and each mold could be used in 4 ways.

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HVIDOVRE BEACH Precast Concrete to Mitigate Erosion Plan View: Wave Wall

Plan View: Form Work

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MOLDS

WAVERING CURVE SIZE

64

DYNAMIC

CASTS

SEATING

Plan View: Wave Wall

Landfill

Planted Grass

Concrete Wall

Old Shoreline

Water Level

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Kalvebod Waves Kalvebod Waves by JDS + Urban Agency is a waterfront access project that seamlessly blends materials into a cohesive design.

The curvilinear and directional design of the project also evokes movement, and showcases the diverse applications of concrete. The section showcases the thin structure of the cast concrete, as well as the material relationships of the diverse materials.

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KALVEBOD WAVES Thin Reinforced Concrete Broom Finish Creates High Traction

18”

H. Rebar

Metal Fence

V. Rebar 12” o.c.

Corten Steel Edge

Metal Column

Anchor Bolt

Concrete Anchor

Reinforced Concrete

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Schalker Verein Schalker Verein by Planargruppe Oberausen is a post-industrial skate park that looks to connect the old existing concrete structures with newly formed and poured concrete. The detail shown on page 24 depicts the expected connections that would be made to connect this new concrete to the old.

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SCHALKER VEREIN Connecting the Old and the New

Exisitng Concrete

Steel Plate

Rebar @ 1.50’ o.c.

New Concrete Lag Bolt

Anchor Bolt

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Unveiling Decay Unveiling Decay looks to reveal the importance of fungi northern Minnesota forests, and beyond.

The project aims at understanding the complex relationships that are symbiotically formed between fungi mycelium and trees. This reciprocal relationship offers fungi the benefits of photosynthesis, while offering trees the ability to fully utilize all of the resources embedded in the soil, while also transporting excess nutrients to their offspring and other tree species.

Due to climate change, these relationships are in jeopardy. As climate change pushes existing tree species out of their habitable range, the forest is left to die, and the fungi are threatened to lose their tree partners. However, by utilizing species that are expected to thrive in the changing climate, and can simultaneously fill the niches of the trees that are expected to die out, the relationship between plant and fungi can be preserved. It is the goal that by maintaining this strong relationship, the species expected to decline can be saved, but if this is not possible, a healthy, productive forest of new species will be left to replace the old.

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Narrative Map In Partnership with David Hedding.

The section drawing across stand 57 in the Clouqet Forestry Center shows the details of the stand including the felled trees, the many cut tree stumps, the white pine anchors, and the slight change in elevation.

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Concept Sketches

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Narrative Map Forest

Prairie

This narrative mapping depicts the variety of fungus, lichen and mosses that were observed across stand 57. The mapping also describes the roles of saprotrophic and mycorrhizal fungi, and their impacts on the forest system.

As the project looks at the current projections of climate change and its impact on the forest, it became apparent that dying species would lead to a loss of diversity. This loss would be detrimental to the fungal communities, and therefore the forest system as a whole.

To lessen these impacts, three species that were expected to decline were selected. Next, three species that filled similar ecological niches, and were expected to thrive in the changing climate, were selected. It is the hope that this “smooth transition” will maintain forest functions as well as a strong mycorrhizal network strength.

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Mycorrhizal

• Form a plant-fungal symbiosis with almost every plant they come into contact with.

• Mycorrhizae absorb nutrients such as phosphorus and magnesium and bring it directly to the plant roots • Serve as a sugar delivery service shuttling sugar back and forth to different plants connected to the same common mycorrhizal network.

White Pine

Red Pine

Pine Decay

Paper Birch

N. Red Oak

Oak Decay

Saprotrophic

• Obtain nutrition from non-living organic matter.

• Key regulators of terrestrial carbon and nutrient cycling

Quaking Aspen

Sassafras

Aspen Decay

• Dynamic channels through which nutrients are distributed.

Mycorrhizal

Saprotrophic

Site Condition + Proposal Mycorrhizal Network Hub / Mother Tree Mature Tree Juvenile Tree Unrelated Species Mycorrhizae

Diversification Strategy White Pine + Birch - Oak Transition Old Growth White Pine Red Pine - Ponderosa Pine Transition

STAND 57

Aspen - Sassafras Transition

+ Adjacent Stands

Oak + Aspen - Sassafras Transiton

Current Plant Life Birch + Jack Pine + White Pine White Pine Red Pine + White Pine

1984 JACK PINE

Clear Cut + Rasberries

2018 RED PINE + WHITE SPRUCE

Path

1990’s RED PINE + JACK PINE

1981 RED PINE

Topography 1284 1282 1280 1278 1276 1274

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Change Over Time Strengthening and maintaining the mycorrhizal network is imperative to the health of forests. However, a forest’s network strength is only as good as its plant diversity. It is important to have a variety of canopy, and understory plants that all fill vital niches in the forest.

Each of these species form a symbiotic bond with the mycorrhizal fungi, and offer their own unique benefits to the forest system. The stand proposal calls for this diversity, but in a controlled system such as a research plot, the forest needs help to carry out its checks and balances, ensuring that one species is not left to take over the system. To maintain this diversity, a controlled burn regimen has

300 Year Strategy

0

25

50

Northern Red Oak Sassafras Quaking Aspen Paper Birch Red Pine White Pine

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100 Year Burn Cycle

Controlled Burn

75

100

125

been set in place to maintain the strong forest diversity that would be found in a human-less forest. The strategy is focused on burning one quarter of the stand every 25 yeas, meaning that every 100 years the entire stand would have been burned once. This management practice creates a system of forest succession, giving opportunity to all species to thrive and make their own contributions to the forest.

Burning every 25 years is also important because it ensures that accumulating woody debris is managed more gradually, instead of setting the scene for an uncontrolled catastrophic fire event. Maintaining forest diversity will ensure the success of our forests.

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175

200

225

250

275

300

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Path Segment One This path segment exists anywhere where post fire growth is taking place. Here, the scene is set by large amounts of decaying woody debris and a dense planting of juvenile - 50 year old aspen, sassafras and birch. In this segment, the path direction is dictated by felled decaying trees. This simulates how a person may walk through a pathless forest, and similarly brings people up close to the decaying debris. Some of these decaying logs will be inlayed into the path, and left to decay under the feet of passerby.

These log inlays also directionally indicate a point of decay in the forest, and offer the visitors a chance to venture off path to investigate the stand more deeply.

The paths rapidly changing direction causes visitors to move slowly, as one would through a dense stand of trees. This slow movement increases the chance to notice the subtleties of the forest floor.

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SEGMENT ONE | ASPE

A

B

Section AB

Discovering Fungus - Felled Tree

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Discovering Fungus - Dead Pine

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Discovering Fungus - Felled Tree

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Path Segment Two

SEGMENT TWO | WH

This segment takes place anywhere that the pines and oaks are beginning to shade out the colonizer species. Oak forests are often characterized by above average amounts of woody debris, which positively impact the diversity of fungus in the area. Due to the large amounts of woody debris found in these areas, the path material will be made from a wood much, created from locally sourced/ on sight woody debris. This material will allow species of saprotrophic fungi to grow on it, creating a sort of decaying path. Broken tree limbs will also be drug and laid along the edge of the path.

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Mychorrhizal Fungi On Mulch Path

SEGMENT TWO | WHITE PINE + RED OAK

Saprotrophic Fungi

Toppled Tree

Mychorrhizal Fungi On Mulch Path

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Path Segment Three Path segment three takes place anywhere were conditions have allowed older growth pines to take place.

In the forest, the oldest pines act as “hub trees” or “mother trees.” This means that they have the strongest connections with fungi, and they are primary distributors of nutrients to their offspring, and even other tree species. By the very nature of these types of forests, this path will become somewhat more permanent. Here some of the trees near the path will have the ground excavated to expose the roots. The path itself will be made of stone to indicate this unearthing process. The spaces between the stones will be filled with mulch in order to attract saprotrophic fungi. In the end, the fungi will appear in a web like fashion in between the exposed roots, representing the unseen relationship of fungi hyphae and tree roots.

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SEGMENT THREE |

Local Stone

SEGMENT THREE | WHITE PINE + RED PINE

Local Stone

Exposed Tree Root

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SECTION | DIVERSITY GRADIENT

Tree Diversity This section depicts the types of forest diversity that can be found in the proposed stand. As is indicated by the below diagram, the higher amount of diversity in tree species directly correlates to the diversity of saprotrophic and mycorrhizal fungi, therefore increases the strength of the mycorrhizal network.

W. Pine + Oak + Birch + Aspen Tree Species Diversity Mycorrhizal Network Strength

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Birch + Aspen + Sassafras

W. Pine + R. Pine

SECTION | FUNGAL DIVERSITY

Fungal Diversity This section looks at showing the mycorrhizal fungi network, something that often goes unseen in the forest. The sections shows how the mycelium connect to the root systems of their host trees to form a symbiotic relationship that is reciprocal. Without diverse forest systems, the relationship would fail to exist, and the trees, the animals, and the human population would all stand to suffer the loss.

W. Pine + Oak + Birch + Aspen

Birch + Aspen + Sassafras

W. Pine + R. Pine Tree Species Diversity Mycorrhizal Network Strength

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en

Birch + Aspen + Sassafras

THANK YOU

Kyle Bradley Franta University of Minnesota Master of Landscape Architecture Ecological Dimensions of Space Making, Spring 2019

W. Pine