Ever wonder why certain plants are used in restoration work and not others?
Many factors are looked at when picking plants for any project; what kind of soil, how wet the soil stays during the year, and what plants are already thriving on the site.
This post will cover how what is already at a restoration site, or what historically was there, can help determine what plants will be included in a restoration plan.
When taking inventory of a restoration site a site map will be compiled to inventory what plants are already present on the site. Much like the one below that was composed when work first began at North SeaTac Park.
By looking at this inventory we can see what kind of mature plants are growing on the site and if any of them are natives. If there are natives plants growing on the site we can identify other natives plants that are known to grow with those already on the site, or are known to like similar growing conditions. The image above lists native plants already found on the site: Western Red Cedar, Douglas Fir, Snowberry, Indian Plum, and Sword fern. These species give us clues that will allow us to pick other species that might do well on the site.
When a site has no plants, or where native are not present, planners can research what historically grew on the site. By using historic documents from Native American interviews or settler accounts planners can reconstruct the native plant community that previously existed.
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