All the other species, great and small
Posted by Lisa Fern on November 1, 2015, 11:55 am 189.164.98.206
Hello all, While most of us humans are focused on the losses to people and their possessions (and rightly so), I would like to remind everyone that this storm took a tremendous toll on the wildlife, sea life, and plantlife in this area. You may know that this is a "biodiversity hotspot", home to many, many species of flora and fauna, some endemic to this region. Many birds, butterflies, amphibians, reptiles and mammals may not have survived. And I'm sure most of you have seen the damage in photos to the vegetation. Even some large, old trees were completely knocked over from the root ball. What can we do? As you and your crews begin the cleaning/"limpiando" process, please consider salvaging any trees or plants showing signs of life. It is so much easier to cut a tree down entirely, but even in the abundant tropics, it takes a lot longer to grow a tree. Please try to prune as carefully as you can, paying particular attention to the flowering trees and shrubs, food sources for butterflies (almost 2,000 species in Mexico!), hummingbirds and other birds. And finally, in replanting, consider choosing varieties that attract birds and butterflies. I would be happy to assist anyone wanting further information or recommendations for your terreno. As a naturalist, this is where my heart is. Here's to the resilience of Mother Earth! | ------------------------Re: All the other species, great and small
Posted by Pamala/Gregorio on November 1, 2015, 12:16 pm, in reply to "All the other species, great and small" 209.135.211.181
Thank you Liza for a very informative reminder. | ------------------------Re: All the other species, great and small
Posted by Larry F on November 1, 2015, 12:48 pm, in reply to "Re: All the other species, great and small" 70.66.229.133
Here is an excellent article on assessing hurricane damage to trees and choosing an approriate restoration plan. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/EP/EP29100.pdf As you likely know, many of the trees in La Manzanilla are legumes, which tolerate poor soil and are disease resistent. They also fix nitrogen into the soil. There are also very hard to kill. Severely damaged legume trees will instantly sprout new growth, so in many cases salvaging the tree may be a better option to ripping it out and replanting. Hopefully the big trees that have been lost can be replanted with new trees as quickly as possible. I'm thinking I may "adopt" a destroyed tree somewhere and plant a new one.
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Posted by Lisa Fern on November 1, 2015, 3:55 pm, in reply to "Re: All the other species, great and small" 187.139.74.43
Adopt a Tree, great idea Larry!! There is a giant old Guayabillo that went over close to my place. I see it has new growth from the root base, so am wondering how that can be salvaged to regrow. Lots of big projects here!!! | ------------------------Re: All the other species, great and small
Posted by Ani Mac on November 1, 2015, 6:23 pm, in reply to "Re: All the other species, great and small" 206.116.100.196
Maybe get this translated into Spanish for our neighbours who do check into the board but whose English needs a little help. | ------------------------ |
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