Picking Plants for Restoration Part 1: What the Dirt Says

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 looks at what the soil will tell us about the plants that should be included in our restoration.

Soil, or dirt, is very special stuff.  To call it dirt does soil a great injustice.  Gardeners know that soil is the basis for any good garden.  Soil is a collection of a variety of granular material, minerals, micro-organisms, decomposing organic matter, and can have a wide pH range.  Knowing what the soil is like is incredibly important for determining what kind of plants will do well on a site.  

To figure out the composition of the soil you can look at how it feels.  When you "feel" the soil what you are actually doing is evaluating the soil texture and structure.  Soil can be described as being sandy, gritty, or clumpy.  In restoration we take these descriptions a step further and determine what percentage of silt, sand, and clay.  We also look at the structure of the soil, is it granular, single grain, rocky, prismatic.  By figuring out the texture and structure we can determine factors like how well the soil drains water, and how nutrient rich the soil might be.  

It is useful to note that water drainage can also be affected by the soil being compacted by development or heavy use.  If compaction is an issue then the soil would have to be loosened before restoration activities could begin.

Micro-organisms in the soil are another factor in determining what plants should be planted.  Some native plants require symbiotic fungus, mycorrhizae, to flourish.  Some plants that require, or do best with mycorrhizae include: Red Huckleberry, and Western Red Cedar.  

Organic matter in the soil also affects the pH, which dictates what kind of plants can be used.  Many native plants love acidic soil.  Other natives don't fair as well because they may have evolved in prairie, or water heavy areas.  pH can also let stewards know if fixing the soil is in order if the pH of the area is extremely basic or acidic.  Fixing the soil, or amending it, can be accomplished through mixing in compost, mulch, or special soil treatments.  Knowing the pH can make a huge difference in the success or failure of a planting plan.

Carbon to nitrogen ratio can be important not only for picking out plants, but also could be used to determine if a restoration site has been disturbed too greatly to be planted without amending the soil first.  By increasing organic material, like compost or mulch, at a site the carbon nitrogen ratio can be adjusted to make a site hospitable to plants after a severe disturbance.

August 23rd Work Party

Event: Blackberry Removal at North SeaTac Park

Date: August 23rd

Time: 9:30 AM to 1 PM

Address: 2000 S 136th St SeaTac, WA 98168

Washington Native Plant Society Stewards, in Partnership with the City of SeaTac, are holding a volunteer event at the Southern end of North SeaTac Park.  This event’s focus is on planting native plants, pulling some invasive weeds, and laying mulch.  

Tools and refreshments will be provided. Please dress for the weather and bring gloves.

If you are interested in volunteering please contact the North SeaTac Stewards at seatacstewards@gmail.com.

Follow the restoration’s progress at: northseatacparkrestoration.blogspot.com

Like us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/NorthSeaTacParkRestoration

May 16th Work Party

A big thank you to all the volunteers that came on the 16th to help with the work party.  We were able to clear 400 sq feet of weeds and mulched another 200 sq ft.  A good day of work.  Posted below are some pictures of the clearing and some of the blooming shrubs.  There are currently wild rose and Serviceberry, also known as Saskatoon, are all blooming.  The next few posts that will be made on the blog will cover some of the plants used in the restoration.

Urban Forest Stewardship Award

On November 12th of 2014 the North SeaTac Park restoration project received an award for Urban restoration from the Washington Community Forestry.  This was great exposure for our project and the Stewards would like to thank all the volunteers that have made our project such a success.  Special thanks to the students from Highline Big Picture High School in Burien.

Below are some pictures of the award ceremony.

November 2014 Update

The Stewards and some volunteers were out at the restoration site on November 1st.  205 plants were planted in the newly cleared areas.  Only 70 more to go!  There will be one more volunteer planting event on Saturday November 15th at 10 AM.  If you are interested in coming out and digging in the dirt please contact the Stewards at seatacstewards@gmail.com!

After the 15th work on the site will be slowing down until February 2015.  At that time we will be starting on work on another half acre.  Mostly pulling up blackberry and mulching.

Keeping checking back for more updates and pictures.  This blog will continue to be updated with information about the site and about the plants going into the ground.

If you see a Steward on the site say Hi.  We don't bite.

Why do Restoration

All about restoration!

Over time, certain species of plants (and animals) have been introduced to areas where they did not evolve naturally. This can happen due to a variety of reasons, most often because of humans. Sometimes an introduced plant species will out-compete the native vegetation. These plants have certain traits, which without their native competition and environment will reproduce or grow more quickly, making them invasive and allowing them to push out native vegetation.

While this may seem like survival of the fittest, invasive plant species can have major effects on the environment and the economy. For example, some invasive species absorb too many nutrients in the soil, leaving little for other plants. They can also serve as sources of insect infestations and plant illnesses. In some cases, an invasive plant has overtaken an area so much it becomes the only plant species present, sometimes called a monoculture desert which hinders biodiversity. Biodiversity enhances the functions that organisms provide to an ecosystem (ecosystem services), making the overall ecosystem happier and healthier.

Our overall goal in doing habitat restoration is to return an area to a more natural state, increasing biodiversity and providing good habitat for insects and wildlife. However, the process of restoration is both time consuming and labor intensive. Restoration has four phases, the first phase is removing invasive plant species. This is usually done through mechanical, such as digging out the root of the plant, or chemical means. The next phase is planting a wide variety of native plants that are well suited for the habitat are installed. Often restoration ecologist will look at historic records to determine what grouping of plants in the past flourished in the area and try to replicate that environment again if possible. After phase one and two are done, cardboard and mulch are laid out for weed suppression and moisture retention.

Phase three is monitoring, and phase four is maintenance. These are done over the next few years. The site will be monitored for invasive re-growth and plant mortality, and adjustments to the are made to maintain native progress. In time, the native plants will become well established, and because they are suited well for the environment the entire system will be self-sustaining. Eventually the area will become a beautiful diverse habitat perfect for all the local inhabitants.

Random Things

In case anyone is interested all our native plants are coming from Furney's Nursery in Des Moines.  All the plants are beautiful and super health.

Also if anyone once lived in the neighborhood that our site is in, or if you know someone that did, we would love to hear from you or even see pictures of what the site use to look like.  Please email us at seatacstewards@gmail.com.