Fitting Plant to Place Poster
1
FITTING PLANT TO PLACE: COMMUNITY-ENGAGED ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION ON STRAWBERRY CREEK Strawberry Creek is a unique urban waterway that runs through the UC Berkeley Campus. This project examines the restoration practices employed along the creek, using a trait-based approach for selecting appropriate native species to replace invasive ivy targeted by restoration efforts. We pursue scientific, educational, and community-based approaches to gain insight into restoration techniques and actively restore the creek. This year’s project builds on plant trait characteristics measured by the Suding lab in 2012-13. To determine whether plants with similar traits to ivy perform better in restoration than plants with different traits from ivy, we planted 220 plants at 9 sites along the creek and collected data on height, leaf count, slope, soil texture and soil pH. We cleared ivy in one plot and planted directly into the ivy in an adjacent plot. Background 1 Methods 2 Outreach 3 Berkeley Undergraduate: 245 students from various campus volunteer groups planted, weeded, and picked up garbage. 35 students from the ESPM Restoration Ecology course assisted in data collection. Berkeley High School: We partnered with 2 sections of Russell Campisi’s IB Environmental Science from Berkeley High School. 60 students worked for 10 weeks to plant, measure and maintain 100 plants along the creek. Each group developed and tested a hypothesis, collected data on plant growth and analyzed their data as part of their final class project. 4 Accomplishments And Future Work What’s in a trait? A plant’s traits relate to how it uses resources. Average leaf size, root length, and root depth are some examples. Managing for drought 2013-14 was one of the driest years on record for California. To adapt our project, we planted less than initially expected and focused our weekly energy on maintaining our plantings. Over 90% of our plantings survived. Dylan Chapple, Lauren Hallett, Ariel Cherbowsky, Ken Schwab, Katharine Suding Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, UC Berkeley 490 hours of UC Berkeley undergraduate service 200 hours of UC Berkeley undergraduate research 1200 hours of Berkeley High educational service 350 plants planted and maintained along the creek 350 additional plants purchased and propagated for subsequent years 800 square meters of invasive species controlled 1 senior research thesis Future directions: Analyze data (in process) Continue data collection for 2 years Continue planting based on successes Scale up Berkeley High partnership South Fork, Strawberry Creek Red flowering currant Measuring traits Students collecting data Site before clearance Site after clearance Supported by:
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2013 TGIF Grant http://tgif.berkeley.edu/index.php/funded-projects/grant-cycle/grantawards2013/140-fitting-plant-to-place
Transcript of Fitting Plant to Place Poster
FITTING PLANT TO PLACE: COMMUNITY-ENGAGED
ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION ON STRAWBERRY
CREEK
Strawberry Creek is a unique urban waterway
that runs through the UC Berkeley Campus. This
project examines the restoration practices
employed along the creek, using a trait-based
approach for selecting appropriate native species
to replace invasive ivy targeted by restoration
efforts. We pursue scientific, educational, and
community-based approaches to gain insight into
restoration techniques and actively restore the
creek.
This year’s project builds on plant trait characteristics
measured by the Suding lab in 2012-13. To
determine whether plants with similar traits to ivy
perform better in restoration than plants with different
traits from ivy, we planted 220 plants at 9 sites along
the creek and collected data on height, leaf count,
slope, soil texture and soil pH. We cleared ivy in
one plot and planted directly into the ivy in an
adjacent plot.
Background 1
Methods 2
Outreach 3
Berkeley Undergraduate: 245 students from various campus
volunteer groups planted, weeded, and picked up garbage.
35 students from the ESPM Restoration Ecology course
assisted in data collection.
Berkeley High School: We partnered with 2 sections of
Russell Campisi’s IB Environmental Science from Berkeley
High School. 60 students worked for 10 weeks to plant,
measure and maintain 100 plants along the creek. Each group
developed and tested a hypothesis, collected data on plant
growth and analyzed their data as part of their final class
project.
4 Accomplishments
And Future Work
What’s in a trait?
A plant’s traits relate to how
it uses resources. Average
leaf size, root length, and root
depth are some examples.
Managing for drought
2013-14 was one of the driest
years on record for California.
To adapt our project, we planted
less than initially expected and
focused our weekly energy on
maintaining our plantings. Over
90% of our plantings survived.
Dylan Chapple, Lauren Hallett, Ariel Cherbowsky,
Ken Schwab, Katharine Suding
Department of Environmental Science, Policy
and Management, UC Berkeley
490 hours of UC Berkeley undergraduate service
200 hours of UC Berkeley undergraduate research
1200 hours of Berkeley High educational service
350 plants planted and maintained along the creek
350 additional plants purchased and propagated for
subsequent years
800 square meters of invasive species controlled
1 senior research thesis
Future directions:
Analyze data (in process)
Continue data collection for 2 years
Continue planting based on successes
Scale up Berkeley High partnership
South Fork, Strawberry Creek
Red flowering currant Measuring traits
Students collecting data
Site before clearance Site after clearance
Supported by:
