Biodiversity Planting Formula

[Gary Prentice]

I read a citation for planting for biodiversity recently, but can't find it again. It was someones name (if that helps) and gave percentages for species, genuses and families in a planting scheme.

 

Any ideas?

[HCR]

There's no magic species mix that works universally. Assuming you're talking woodland, there are 25 recognised types, many with up to 5 sub-types, each being the most appropriate mix for a given set of conditions.

 

Get hold of British Plant Communities Volume 1 (Edited by JS Rodwell) to get a good feel for how it all works.

[Christopher Schroeter]

Shannon Weiner diversity index?

[Gary Prentice]

Thanks for the reply. It wasn't particularly woodland I was referring to. I was talking to our local TO recently with regard to current tree losses due to new pathogens. Locally the councils looking to change their suggestions for replacement planting requirements, ie more exotic species that can deal with environmental changes and new pathogenic threats.

 

With Denmark now operating a 10% rule, (if a genus comprises ten or more percent of the local tree cover another genus is planted) due to their losses of ash trees, I thought this formulae was really relevant.

 

I was hoping someone would just post "it's .............rule"

[HCR]

Thanks for the reply. It wasn't particularly woodland I was referring to. I was talking to our local TO recently with regard to current tree losses due to new pathogens. Locally the councils looking to change their suggestions for replacement planting requirements, ie more exotic species that can deal with environmental changes and new pathogenic threats.

 

With Denmark now operating a 10% rule, (if a genus comprises ten or more percent of the local tree cover another genus is planted) due to their losses of ash trees, I thought this formulae was really relevant.

 

I was hoping someone would just post "it's .............rule"

 

It worries me when people say things like this.

 

No species have shown themselves better adapted to our climate than the ones that have native status. Britain has been far warmer (6000 years ago the tree line was 300m higher than it is now) than it is now as well as far colder (the 'mini ice-age'), yet every native species survived.

 

Planting palm trees or Eucalyptus everywhere 'to cope with climate change' has no basis in science and is academically lazy.

 

By all means avoid high maintenance species, such as those requiring vast amounts of watering, but don't try to recreate montane xeric woodland in Portsmouth!

 

I don't know any specific details relating to the Danish example you gave, but that sounds like it has more to with amenity planting than the naturalistic.

[Gary Prentice]

It worries me when people say things like this.

 

No species have shown themselves better adapted to our climate than the ones that have native status. Britain has been far warmer (6000 years ago the tree line was 300m higher than it is now) than it is now as well as far colder (the 'mini ice-age'), yet every native species survived.

 

Planting palm trees or Eucalyptus everywhere 'to cope with climate change' has no basis in science and is academically lazy.

 

By all means avoid high maintenance species, such as those requiring vast amounts of watering, but don't try to recreate montane xeric woodland in Portsmouth!

 

I don't know any specific details relating to the Danish example you gave, but that sounds like it has more to with amenity planting than the naturalistic.

 

I'm sorry I didn't make myself clearer, but I was talking about amenity planting, the reference to Denmark was for the urban environment. Although I did choke on the idea of planting palms in Oldham.

 

I can appreciate that our native trees have adapted over thousands of years to our climate, no argument there. They can and have adapted to minor changes such as wet spring periods. What they haven't adapted to is pathogens such as phytophthora, Venturia, pseudomonas syringa pv's and the like. Many of these newer threats originated in a different climate and seem to be particularly aggressive here. (of course our trees haven't evolved with these)

My personal opinion is that unless we, as a country, start to create more diversity, we're going to have some real long term problems. I was in Prague in September and the wooded areas around the city were loosing hundreds of horse chestnuts to bleeding canker. Lots of sorbus and prunus were also in decline. I,m just concerned as to what the future holds.

[treeseer]

hows this

 

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/fletcher/programs/nursery/metria/metria07/m79.pdf

[Gary Prentice]

hows this

 

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/fletcher/programs/nursery/metria/metria07/m79.pdf

 

Terrific, thank you for posting, an interesting read with references for further research. So much to read and learn.

[treeseer]

Santamour was a cool guy; taught Shigo a thing or 3...

[HCR]

Interesting article, but I would be very wary of associating it in any way with biodiversity planting, which is what the original post referred to.

 

Planting new native woodland would obviously contradict Santamour's ideas; W17 is planted with about 50-55% Quercus petraea for example.

 

But yes, for amenity planting it makes sense.