AgEBB-MU CAFNR Extension
Green Horizons
Volume 20, Number 2
May 2016
Urban Forestry
Living on the Edge
By LYNN BARNICKOL | Outreach Project Coordinator, Missouri SAF
The Missouri Society of American Foresters believes that we all can have a positive effect on trees, wildlife, and insects. Even if you live in an apartment, on a neighborhood lot, or on a farm there are plenty of things you can do. Planting trees, shrubs and flowers provides food for insects and wildlife species, nesting and roosting habitat for birds and at the same time, provides summer shade for our homes. Here are some examples of how I am approaching care of my trees, wildlife, and insect habitat.
The main feature of our home, positioned on less than an acre of ground but nestled into the woods, is the trees; mainly short-bodied post oaks, a couple of taller black oaks, and shagbark hickories. By looking at the vegetation when we moved in, we identified several habitats. Part of the yard was shaded, part was dappled shade, and on another part full sunlight. We thought we had the beginning of interesting habitats. We get a nice variety of birds at our feeders, especially during the migration periods.
As a forester, I knew the best use of these trees was shade for the house and dens for squirrels and woodpeckers. Trees create a lot of leaves, but they get collected, providing exercise and compost. Basically we have a wooded lot with three ages of trees; post oaks 90 years, the black oaks at about 60 years, and some oak seedlings. Openings created by thinning the oaks provide more open space between the remaining trees and helps the surrounding trees remain healthy. We also have a steep, south-facing slope, receiving lots of sunlight that behaves like a glade. Rather than mow, we decided to make a woodland and glade area with native, flowering plants.
To make life interesting, we have replaced a collapsed retaining wall and corrected some drainage issues. By adding a dry creek, a shallow trench lined with a weed barrier fabric and course rock, water is directed away from the house. We replaced the timbered wall with a rock wall. To expand an existing garden pool, we added a wet creek, a shallow trench about 30 feet long that's lined with rubberized pond liner and gravel. Water is pumped through a tube buried in the gravel to the upper end of the creek where it tumbles and eddies back down a gradual slope.
Our wooded lot is taking shape. We have four miniature habitats with trees as the dominant feature. The north side of the house is a moist shade garden featuring native plants. The openings in the woods feature native plants that attract birds and bees, the south-facing slope features native grasses and flowering plants that are unique to glade habitat and beneficial to birds. The wet creek, shaded and lined with native plants and shrubs, was a surprise to us. During a spring morning, we had 20 species of birds using the wet creek.
To sum it up, we do some typical yard maintenance like mowing and leaf raking and the wet creek will require some maintenance. However, it's worth it to be able to watch the birds frolic in the wet creek. Located at the edge of town, the benefits of our wooded lot include shade for the house, reducing cooling bills, and enjoying the relaxing atmosphere.
If you would like to take action to care for your trees, plants, animals, and insects here's a link for habitat information: http://mdc.mo.gov/your-property/wildlife-your-property/backyard-wildlife. Additionally, the Forest and Woodland Association of Missouri provides an informational web site for anyone interested in our forests and woodlands: http://www.forestandwoodland.org/.
If you do not use a computer please call your local Missouri Department of Conservation office, or the State Forester at 573-751-4115.