Case Study: Growing ecosystems and industries with native plants

Lupinus perenis was planted in a reclamation site to attract the endangered Karner blue butterfly.

In today’s eco-friendly and health-conscious world, landowners and public land managers are ready and willing to learn about – and invest in – native plants. There are many benefits to using plants that are naturally adapted to local soils and climates, including decreased long-term costs, less maintenance and harmful pesticides, and year-round natural beauty.

In fact, year-round attractiveness is what many find most appealing. And because there are native species that thrive in wet, dry, sunny or shady locations, “problem areas” are no problem with native landscaping. In contrast, many non-native and ornamental plants cannot support themselves without costly and harmful fertilizers and chemicals, irrigation and constant care.

With one recent restoration project, our team at Applied Ecological Services Inc. (and our partners) converted a trailer park, the degraded landscapes of a former sand mine and parts of a landfill into Pine Bush Reserve habitat, located outside Albany, N.Y. Unfortunately, we quickly found local nurseries did not have many of the seeds and plants we needed and, when they did, they did not have enough to support the project. We were forced to start a local nursery that would meet our needs.

Some of the most rare and unusual species that we used in Albany included:

• Three way sedge (Dulichium arundinaceum), a rhizomaceous wetland sedge-relative for the pine bush vernal pond system.
  
  
• Green hellbore (Veratrum viride), a large lily relative planted in well-drained but moist soil settings in the forested floodplain wetlands.
   
• Wild blue lupine (Lupinus perenis), an important nectar plant for the endangered Karner blue butterfly.

The Albany project also involved complete regrading, installing appropriate chemically suitable top soils, creating ecosystem features such as new dunes, re-routing and restoring stream channels, creating Pine Bush vernal ponds and propagation. We’re involved in the management and monitoring of the Pine Bush Reserve project to ensure its continued success. The data we’ve collected so far gives us every confidence the project will thrive. Native restoration projects benefit communities, the environment, water quality and local economies. Native species represent new and exciting opportunities for both ecologists and nursery professionals alike.

Apfelbaum is the founder of Applied Ecological Services Inc., an ecological restoration company. Apfelbaum is co-author of the Restoring Ecological Health to Your Land series, which provides practical step-by-step instructions to restoration ecology and the care of native plants. He is also the author of Nature’s Second Chance, which recounts the thirty-year story of how he and his family restored a dairy farm near Juda, Wis.