Bringing Nature Home

Bringing Nature Home

Doug Tallamy

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Top 10 Voter Concerns

Biodiversity losses are a clear signal

that humanity’s life support systems

are failing.

What is biodiversity ?

What is biodiversity?

Every species on earth

Each species has a specific function in its ecosystem, and there is much redundancy in

healthy ecosystems.

Several species do the same job.

Why do we needbiodiversity?

Biodiversity is essential to ecosystems because it:

Increases stability Increases productivity Decreases susceptibility to biotic invasions

David Tilman, Peter Price, Don Strong

Plants and animals are the rivets

holding the ecosystems that sustain us together.

Biodiversity = ecosystem services

We also needbiodiversityfor our own mental health

Our kids have nature deficit disorder because we have a deficit of nature!

Where does animal diversity come from?

950 million acresKershner & Leverett 2004

Photosynthesis drawing

Sunlight

CO2

Water

Food

O2

Plants also provide shelter

Plants are literally a matter of life and death

Carrying Capacity

The number of individuals of a particular species that can be

supported sustainably without degrading the resource

base

Carrying Capacity

Carrying Capacity

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Carrying Capacity

Carrying Capacity

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What have we done to the carrying capacity of the U.S. ?

Sanderson 2009

We haven’t done this only on Manhattan!

We have turned 950 million acres of virgin forests into tiny patches of secondary growth woodlots

We have paved 4 million miles of roads in the U.S. (Hayden 2004)

This is equivalent to 37,879 sq miles,

or nearly five times the size of New Jersey

We have converted 62,500 sq miles to suburban lawn in the U.S. This is over 8 times the size of New Jersey

dedicated to a non-native plant

The U.S. is a human- dominated ecosystem

41% agriculture

54 % cities and suburbs

We have converted our natural world into cities and suburbs.

This is not abouthumans disappearingfrom the earth;it’s about humanssharing the earth.

127 spp of neotropical migrants are declining.

Even though biodiversityis an essential, non-renewable natural resource,we are forcing it to extinction.

Why can’t biodiversity survive in our parks

and preserves?

When we shrink a habitat, we lose niche space.

Consequences:1) Only tiny populations can exist in

tiny habitats.

2) Tiny populations are vulnerable to extinction.

Pimm et al. 1988

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Our natural

areas are not

large enough

to sustain nature

Today, our yards support very little

biodiversity.Our challenge is to raise

the carrying capacity of our neighborhoods so that they can be healthy, functioning

ecosystems.

Just add plants?

All plants do notsupport wildlife equally

Autumn Olive

Black Cherry

Non-native plantssupport fewer insects.

Non-native plantssupport fewer insects.

05

1015202530354045

Number of Species

Uninvaded Invaded

050

100150200250300350400450500

Abundance

Uninvaded Invaded

Why can’t insects eat aliens?

Why can’t insects eat aliens?

Foliage is defended by distasteful chemicals

Most insects can develop and reproduce only

on the plants with which they share an evolutionary history.

(Ehrlich & Raven, 1964)

Insects that specialize on one plantInsects that specialize on one plant are no longer able to eat other plants.

90% of all phytophagous insect species can eat plants in only 3 or fewer families.

Most can tolerate onlya few closely related species.

(Bernays & Graham, 1988)

Who cares if our plants make insects?

Animals that eat insects care!

Bill Duyck

Icteridae (blackbirds & orioles) Fringillidae (finches)Ploceidae (weaver finches) Passeridae (Old World Sparrows) Podicipedidae (grebes) Ardeidae (herons) Threskiornithidae (ibises & spoonbills) Anatidae (ducks, geese & swans) Accipitridae (hawks, kites & eagles) Falconidae (falcons) Phasianidae (turkeys & grouse) Odontophoridae (new world quail) Rallidae (rails, gallinules & coots) Aramidae (limpkins) Gruidae (cranes) Charadriidae (plovers) Recurvirostridae (avocets & stilts) Jacanidae (Jacana) Scolopacidae (sandpipers & phalaropes)Laridae (gulls & terns) Columbidae (pigeons & doves) Cuculidae (cuckoos & roadrunners) Tytonidae (barn owls) Strigidae (owls) Caprimulgidae (goatsuckers)Apodidae (swifts) Trochilidae (hummingbirds) Trogonidae (trogons) Alcedinidae (kingfishers)Picidae (woodpeckers)

Tyrannidae (tyrant flycatchers)Laniidae (shrikes)Vireonidae (vireos)Corvidae (crows & jays)Alaudidae (larks) Hirundinidae (swallows) Paridae (titmice) Remizidae (verdins) Aegithalidae (bushtit) Sittidae (nuthatches) Certhiidae (creepers) Troglodytidae (wrens) Pycnonotidae (bulbul)Regulidae (kinglets) Sylviidae (Old World warblers)Muscicapidae (old world flycatchers) Timaliidae (babblers) Turdidae (thrushes) Mimidae (mockingbirds & thrashers) Sturnidae (starlings) introducedPrunellidae (accentors) Motacillidae (pipits & wagtails) Bombycillidae (waxwings) Ptilogonatidae (silky-flycatcher) Peucedramidae (olive warbler)Parulidae (wood warblers) Coerebidae (bananaquits) Thraupidae (tanagers) Emberizidae (sparrows& buntings) Cardinalidae (cardinals & grosbeaks)

Birds that eat insects

How much food do we need to make in our yards?

L

Lots !!

Carolina chickadee feeds its young almost exclusively caterpillars

Both the male and female forage for caterpillars

A pair can deliver food about every 3 min

30 caterpillars in 27 min

Parents forage from 6 am til 8 pm

A chickadee pair brings at least 300 (390-570) caterpillars to the nest per day

( Brewer 1961);

Chickadees feed their young for 16 days before they fledge.

So to rear one clutch they must catch at least

4800 caterpillars!

25 caterpillars per tree

At 25 caterpillars per tree, it will take 192 trees to produce one clutch of chickadees.

If each tree occupies 225 sq ft (15 x15’), it will take 43,200 sq ft, or about 1 acre of trees, to provide enough food for one chickadee nest.

0.35 oz

How close areour yards to making

this much food?

Landscapable Area that is

Lawn

Alien Species Alien Plants Invasive Plants0

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10.92

0.740.79

0.09

Perc

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Biomass of trees in suburbia

Biomass of trees in woodlots

Problems with Plant Introductions

Chestnut blight Sudden oak death White pine blister rust Dogwood anthracnose Greening disease Hemlock wooly adelgid Chestnut gall wasp Japanese beetle Light brown apple moth Citrus long-horned beetle

58 high-impact insects and diseases have been brought to the U.S. on ornamental stock

(Liebold et al. 2012)

85% of our invasive woody plants have escaped from the ornamental industry Reichard & White 2001

Invasives from the Ornamental IndustryJapanese honeysuckle Japanese barberryMelaleuca BuckthornOriental bittersweet KudzuMile-a-minute Purple loosestrifeAutumn olive Yellow IrisBrazilian peppertree Norway maple Callery pear English ivyPrivet PorcelainberryBurning bush MiscanthusJapanese hop vine CarrotwoodLaurel fig Day lily Multiflora rose PaulowniaCork tree Butterfly bushAmur honeysuckle JetbeadPeriwinkle AkebiaOriental Wisteria Virgin’s bowerOld man’s beard White poplarWintercreeper Mimosa

house

It’s not just the types of plants in our landscapes that are starving our birds, it is the amount of plants we use in suburbia.

To restore the ecological integrity of urban ecosystems we must not only use more plants, but use more productive

plants as well.

Does your yard have to 100%

natives?

Is the solution to simply plant native plants?

Quercus (534)Prunus (456)Salix (455)Betula (411)Populus (367)Malus (308)Acer (297)Vaccinium (294)Alnus (255)Carya (235)Ulmus (215)Pinus (201)Crataegus (168)Rubus (163)Picea (150)Fraxinus (149)Tilia (149)Pyrus (138)Rosa (135)Corylus (131)Juglans (129)Castanea (127)Fagus (127)Amelanchier (124)Larix (121)Cornus (118)Abies (117)Myrica (108)Viburnum (104)Ribes (99)Ostrya (94)Tsuga (92)Spiraea (89)Vitis (79)Pseudotsuga (76)Robinia (72)Carpinus (68)Sorbus (68)Comptonia (64)Hamamelis (63)Rhus (58)Rhododendron (51)

Thuja (50)Diospyros (46)Gleditsia (46)Ceanothus (45)Platanus (45)Gaylussacia (44)Celtis (43)Juniperus (42)Sambucus (42)Physocarpus (41)Syringa (40)Ilex (39)Sassafras (38)Lonicera (37)Liquidambar (35)Kalmia (33)Aesculus (33)Parthenocissus (32)Photinia (29)Nyssa (26)Symphoricarpos (25)Cydonia (24)Ligustrum (24)Shepherdia (22)Liriodendron (21)Magnolia (21)Cephalanthus (19)Cercis (19)Smilax (19)Wisteria (19)Persea (18)Arctostaphylos (17)Ricinus (16)Taxodium (16)Chamaedaphne (15)Toxicodendron (15)Oxydendrum (14)Ampelopsis (13)Arbutus (12)Asimina (12)Berberis (12)Acacia (11)

Euonymus (11)Frangula (11)Lindera (11)Lyonia (11)Caragana (10)Clethra (10)Rhamnus (10)Pyracantha (9)Morus (9)Elaeagnus (9)Chaenomeles (8)Cytisus (8)Ficus (8)Catalpa (8)Chamaecyparis (8)Chionanthus (8)Maclura (8)Taxus (8)Cupressus (7)Andromeda (7)Campsis (7)Celastrus (7)Halesia (7)Ledum (7)Ailanthus (6)Clematis (6)Ptelea (6)Zanthoxylum (6)Albizia (5)Ginkgo (5)Decodon (5)Diervilla (5)Gymnocladus (5)Hydrangea (5)Cotinus (4)Eremochloa (4)Genista (4)Indigofera (4)Pueraria (4)Leucothoe (4)Philadelphus (4)Phoradendron (4)

Sideroxylon (4)Cedrus (3)Cissus (3)Cotoneaster (3)Hedera (3)Lagerstroemia (3)Myrtus (3)Tamarix (3)Deutzia (2)Lavandula (2)Lycium (2)Melia (2)Paulownia (2)Phoenix (2)Sophora (2)Sorbaria (2)Weigela (2)Calycanthus (2)Gaultheria (2)Litsea (2)Menziesia (2)Pieris (2)Staphylea (2)Abelia (1)Bambusa (1)Broussonetia (1)Buddleja (1)Buxus (1)Calluna (1)Camellia (1)Clerodendrum (1)Colutea (1)Forsythia (1)Koelreuteria (1)Laburnum (1)Phyllostachys (1)Poncirus (1)Pterostyrax (1)Sapium (1)Thamnocalamus (1)Vincetoxicum (1)Callicarpa (1)

Dirca (1)Leiophyllum (1)Menispermum (1) Nemophila (1)Osmanthus (1)Stewartia (1)Metasequoia (0)Vitex (0)Ceratonia (0)Cercidiphyllum (0)Exochorda (0)Firmiana (0)Grewia (0)Kalopanax (0)Kerria (0)Kolkwitzia (0)Nandina (0)Phellodendron (0)Pseudosasa (0)Rhodotypos (0)Stephanandra (0)Styphnolobium (0)Tetradium (0)Toona (0)Zelkova (0)Adlumia (0)Arceuthobium (0)Berchemia (0)Borrichia (0)Cladrastis (0)Empetrum (0)Eubotrys (0)Itea (0)Loiseleuria (0)Nestronia (0)Styrax (0)Xanthorhiza (0)Zenobia (0)






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Saddled Prominent

Double-lined Prominent

Double-lined Prominent

What does a biodiversity-friendly

suburb look like?

To share suburbia with wildlife, we need to:

Create corridors connecting natural areas

Reduce the area now in lawn Begin the transition from alien

ornamentals to native ornamentals

If we replant half of the area now in lawn…..

20 Million AcresAdirondacks +Yellowstone +Yosemite +Grand Tetons +Canyonlands +Mount Ranier +North Cascades +Badlands +Olympic +Sequoia +Grand Canyon +Denali +Great Smoky Mountains

It is often hardest to see what is most

obviousIt is often hardest to see what is most obvious

Nature is what you make it.

We have paved 4 million miles of roads in the U.S.

This is equivalent to 37,879 square miles, or nearly five times the size of New Jersey

Native

Native

Species of “Conservation Concern” at the Study Sites

From “Partners in Flight” list of priority species for the mid-Atlantic piedmont region

Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) Veery (Catharus fucescens) Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea) Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Build a balanced community

Planting natives is a “grass roots” approachto conservation

There is no better way to expose children to nature than to bring nature home to the children.

“Gardening is a way of showingthat you believe in tomorrow”

Unknown

BringingNatureHome.net

Tilia 149Fagus 127Myrica 108 Ostrya 94Carpinus 68Hamamelis 63Diospyrus 46Platanus 45Sassafras 38

Liquidambar 35 Nyssa 26Liriodendron 21Cercis 19Lindera 11Morus 9Campsus 7Celastrus 7Itea 0

Plant Homeland herbivores Novel herbivores Years since introduction

Phragmites australis 170 species 5 species 300+Eucalyptus stelloleta 48 species 1 species 100Opuntia ficus-indica 16 species 0 species 250Clematis vitalba 40 species 1 species 100Melaleuca quinquenervia 409 species 8 species 120

Can a plant become native if it’s been here long enough?

Compromise With Alien

Credits!

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Bringing Nature Home