ON this day, May 22, World Biodiversity Day – The International Day for Biological Diversity, let us celebrate the wonders of biodiversity.
Join us to learn about Land & ecosystem degradation reversal. Protect & rehabilitate watersheds, increase carbon storage & recovery of native biodiversity & crops. Farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR) is a low-cost, sustainable land restoration technique used to increase both food and timber production, and resilience to climate extremes. It is a means to protect and restore watersheds, increase carbon storage, and recover native biodiversity resulting in increased crop yields with this low cost method.
Tony Rinaudo, the Forest maker, received his Bachelor’s Degree, Rural Science University of New England Australia, and agronomy through the University of Armidale as well as attending the Bible College of New Zealand (Diploma in Bible and Missions). Rinaudo is known for putting forward a deforestation management practice known as farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR). Following his marriage they ended up for 18 years in Niger, Africa which Rinaudo described as a “moonscape.” Though many tree planting methods were tried the degraded land and the population were facing desert like conditions, famine, disease and drought. Though these degraded conditions exist, without resources for sustaining life FMNR provides sustainable land regeneration to restore Africa’s uplands. Through FMNR, a means of pruning and management, the underground forest of roots catalyzed into trees above ground. Rinaudo worked with local farmers in Niger in the transformation of hectares of dry land. He has worked as the Principal Natural Resources Advisor for World Vision Australia, and is currently the Senior Climate Action Advisor. Rinaudo is recognized for both his environmental and humanitarian approaches for global initiatives.
Rinaudo, the Forest Maker, was the 2018 Laureate of the Right Livelihood Award and bestowed the Member of the Order of Australia. Rinaudo, the “alternative Nobel” winner was portrayed in a documentary “Forest Maker” created by German director and film maker Volker Schlöndorff’ Following the making of the film, a panel session went into the FMNR approach, and the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100)
Tony Rinaudo, from Australia happened upon one of St. Barbe’s Sahara books which influenced him. He is now referred to as the “Forest Maker” saving lives, and awarded the Order of Australia and the alternative Nobel Prize in Stockholm for farmer managed natural regeneration. He is an Australian agronomist discovering a way to grow forests without planting trees.
Tony Rinaudo, BSc AM. Agronomist, Senior Climate Advisor World Vision, Forest Maker, Famine Fighter. Rinaudo is an Australian agronomist who has pioneered and championed a simple method to grow trees in dry and degraded lands. He has empowered and inspired a farmer led movement across continents, regreening the lands, improving the livelihoods of millions and helping to combat biodiversity loss and climate change.
Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration FMNR with Tony Rinaudo, Australian Agronomist.
May 25
THE FOREST UNDERGROUND: HOPE FOR A PLANET IN CRISIS
Celebrate 50 years! Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and George Genereux Urban Regional park were planted to trees in 1972, 50 years ago. Come out and say Happy Birthday!
UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration #GenerationRestoration hashtag and tag @UNEP and @FAO
Online is an 18 minute historic documentary online from the National Film Board entitled, “Windbreaks on the Prairies,” created in 1943.
Forests of George Genereux Park and Richard St. Barbe Baker Park
The Dominion Department of Agriculture set up an experimental station at Indian Head, SK which later became known as the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration[PFRA.] This tree nursery distributed many hardy, drought resistant tree saplings for distribution across the prairies in response to the devastation caused by the drought” years during the “Dirty Thirties.” The recognition of the value of trees for the soil, and water became evident.
The film, Windbreaks on the Prairies, says; “In the protection of trees birds will flourish and keep insects under control. As one pioneer woman who has grown many trees. says without trees we would have left our farm long ago. To us trees are the hope of the earth like healthy children to a home. The world without trees would be as world without children.”
In My Life My Trees, Richard St. Barbe Baker puts it this way….”Thus the forest manures itself and, with the help of the earthworms and other animals, distributes this manure through the upper layers of the soil. Everything is done by nature quietly and efficiently. No artificial fertilizers, no selective weed-killers, no pesticides and no machinery are needed in the household of the natural forest.”
And from the same book, Baker also says, “If a man loses one-third of his skin he dies; the plastic surgeons say, “He’s had it.” If a tree loses one-third of its bark it dies .. .. Would it not be reasonable to suggest that if the earth loses more than a third of its green mantle and tree cover, it will assuredly die? The water table will sink beyond recall and life will become impossible.”
The benefits of trees are amazing in both situations, during years of high water tables, trees mitigate flooding, and during years of drought, trees help to raise the water table, and produce microclimates attracting rain. This theory has been proven effective in afforesting the deserts around the world.
Though the PFRA is now defunct, the Shand Greenhouse still grows and distributes trees. The City of Saskatoon has a Request A Tree program. The University of Saskatchewan has a wonderful Shelterbelt DSS tool for shelterbelt planning, and the One School, One Farm Shelterbelt Program connects urban youth with rural farms with invaluable Eco-Buffers and shelter belts programmes.
In this year of severe drought, there are so many wetlands drying up, it is a wonder that those birds which migrated north have any water at all.
To begin to look at the species profile and why they are considered threatened, well there are little to no wetlands policies around for conservation when development wishes to go through, and then drought has taken what little there is away. And the reason for the threatened designation is that there are substantial declines recorded in bird surveys. Loss of wetlands is one concern, but there is also climate change taking its toll along with other factors.
Society has started to rally with Bee crusades, and Monarch butterfly flyways and pollinator gardens, but who has started a shorebirds action? Who has said that the wetlands policy must become a bylaw, and that it should protect the habitats of species at risk? So, COSEWIC provided the threatened designation 21 years ago for the Lesser Yellow Legs, and sadly to say, it has not changed. Are you good at letter writing. Can you write a letter to your Member of Parliament, Member of the Legislative Assembly, or Councillor? What would happen to mankind if we did nothing for the decline in homo sapiens species from Coronavirus COVID-19 for 21 years? Society surely did rally to fix the rapidly declining deaths and illness from COVID through a number of vaccines. The Lesser Yellow Legs is not sick, so it doesn’t need a rapidly developed vaccine. The population of the Lesser Yellow Legs has gone down because they have no home to live in. Their homes are wetlands. And what do we do with wetlands? Fill them in as quickly as possible with compost, gravel or any excavation material so we can build on them – who cares how many basements are flooded, and who cares how many Lesser Yellowlegs die without a home.
Luckily in Saskatoon the long range planners are doing a Green Network Connectivity Strategy to keep the wetlands of the West Swale! The West Swale joins the North Saskatchewan River Valley to the South Saskatchewan River Valley, and what a marvellous wetlands corridor that is! That surely shows continuous improvements and environmental leadership!
When will action start for the shorebirds? It is surely good that this decade is the United Nations Decade on Ecological Restoration, and we can love some shorebirds and protect their habitat. What thinks you?
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SE 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063
Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot
The Trembling Aspen is also referred to as the Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx)
Native species, Trembling Aspen or Populus tremuloides, quaking aspen, trembling aspen, American aspen, Quakies, mountain or golden aspen, trembling poplar, white poplar,, Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. Saskatoon, SK, CA
Trembling Aspen grove Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, CA
Trembling Aspen grove Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, CA
A ramet is an individual plant belonging to a clone. The botanical term for a sucker is ramet. The clone originates from one ortet. An ortet is the original or mother plant. A clonal colony is also referred to as a genet. A genet is the group of genetically identical individuals, such as plants, fungi, or bacteria, that have grown in a given location, all originating vegetatively, not sexually, from a single ancestor. In plants, an individual in such a population is referred to as a ramet. All plants (ramets) reproduced asexually from a common ancestor (ortet) and have identical genotypes which means it is an exact clone or perfect copy of the original ortet. A genotype is the genetic constitution of an individual organism.
The Trembling Aspen May 25, 2019
Tomáš Herben of the Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Charles University and at the Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Science relates rhizomes to clonal growth. Rhizome is from both Latin and Greek root rhizoma meaning “mass of tree roots”, and from the root rhizoun meaning “cause to strike root, root into the ground” and from the Green rhiz meaning “root” and -ome. In botany, rhizome is a horizontal, underground plant stem which is able to produce the shoot and root systems of a new plant. Duana A. Pelzer, also states that “Aspen (Populus tremuloides) dominates the southern treeline in western Canada, has long‐lived below ground connections between mother and daughter ramets, and reproduces vegetatively via resprouting rhizomes.” The Trembling Aspen clone can be called rhizomatous.
The Trembling Aspen May 25, 2019
Scientists, foresters or gardeners can practice vegetative propagation using rooted cuttings, grafting, or tissue culture. In the case of the Trembling Aspen, the original plant is also called the ortet.
The Trembling Aspen root suckers are produced from meristems featured in the cork cambium of the root systems. The Cambium is a layer of tissue between the wood and the bark from the Latin cambium meaning “exchange” and Latin cambiare “change. The cork cambrium, also called a phellogen, produces an outer protective barrier or corky tissue, and an inner phelloderm- a thin, food conducting vascular tissue.
The Trembling Aspen tree bark May 25, 2019
The roots twist, coil and undulate underground. Growing sideways, laterally, they do not reach lower than 40 cm (16 inches) below the surface of the soil and most often stay within 2 to 10 cm (1 to 4 in) from the soil surface.
A meristem is a collection of cells forming plant tissue in the zones where plant growth can take place. These undifferentiated cells (meristematic cells) have the capability for cell division, promoting growth and change. Meristem comes from the Greek root “merizein” which means “to divide” which is the main function of the merismatic cells, to change and divide thus providing new growth for the tree. Differentiated plant cells cannot produce new growth, as they cannot change.
The shoots develop following apical dominance. Apical dominance occurs when the shoot apex inhibits the growth of lateral buds so that the plant may grow vertically upwards towards the light. These shoots however, lie in wait, remaining dormant due to hormones called “Auxin” expressed by the main Trembling Aspen clone. High soil temperature, depletion of carbohydrate food sources, or excess soil moisture may inhibit the formation of suckers. If the Aspen Grove is disturbed, the hormonal balance is upset within the Trembling Aspen grove. There is a decrease in Auxin allowing meristem to develop into buds, then into shoots above ground, finally developing fully producing ramets which can be visibly seen above ground as part of the Trembling Aspen grove. Suckers originate after disturbances such as clearcutting, girdling, tree defoliation or fire.
The Trembling Aspen Dioecious Catkin or Ament May 25, 2019
When the suckers start to form, the parent root changes. The suckering rhizomatous root system has four parts:
The root collar, stump or root cap
The distal parent root
The proximal parent root
The adventitious roots
The root collar is the underground area of the Trembling Aspen sucker where it adjoins the stem. This root collar is the protective layer, so that apical meristem (upward changing new growth) is not affected by rocks, dirt or pathogens (germs.) The sucker roots and the parent roots cannot be distinguished from each other at the root collar, root cap or stump.
The distal parent root grows quite large to accommodate the new sucker formation. The distal parent root fills with juicy sap, and is quite succulent and tender. Distal means situated on the outside edge away from the point of attachment to the parent.
The proximal root which is on the close side of the root collar, or stump formation. Proximal means to be on the nearest to the point of attachment.
The adventitious roots of the newly initiated root suckers reveal growth downwards on the distal end of the roots reaching down to the root cambium of the Trembling Aspen clone or grove. Adventitious means formed accidentally or in an unusual anatomical position. These sucker roots will rely on the parent root for water and nutrients for the first few years. In some cases the suckers rely on the parent roots for more than 20 years. This interplay between parent root and ramet gives the sucker a distinct advantage over Aspen seedlings and other species arising on the forest floor.
Whereas shoots arising inside the meristem are one way to give rise to shoots as above, there are also shoots which arise from the exterior surface of Aspen roots from pre-existing primordia. It is believed that these primordia arise from injury or disturbance to the root system, perhaps by a grazing animal. Primordia comes from the Latin root prīmōrdiālis which is the earliest stage of development of the organism.
Root sprouting is the most commonly seen means of reproduction for the Trembling Aspen. This is referred to as vegetative asexual reproduction.
The Trembling Aspen is also referred to as the Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx) Leafy branchlet, Female Ament or catkin, Young Male Ament or catkin, Fruit, Floral Bract.
A Trembling Aspen grove or stand of trees is connected underground by this common root system originating from the ortet. Each Aspen Clone is dioecious. One Aspen stand of trees may be composed of a mosaic of clones with their roots interspersed with each other. Dioecious means that there are distinct male and female organisms, or boy and girl clones. A stamen is the pollen producing male organ of the flower. Pistils arise on the flowers of the female Trembling Aspen stands, and feature a base ovary, a style or pillar which extends from the ovary to the stigma. The stigma is sticky enabling it to capture the pollen from the male Trembling Aspen clone.
The Trembling Aspen Dioecious Catkin or Ament
A Trembling Aspen feature aments, also referred to as catkins. Each catkin bears many tiny dense flowers. The name catkin comes from the German root “kätzchen,” or in Dutch “katteken” meaning kitten. The aments look like the furry tail of a kitten. The catkins can be anywhere from 1 to 8 cm in length (1-1/2” – 3”) The flowers with red stigmas are female flowers. The flowers bearing black, dark anthers are male flowers. The seeds will spread in the wind across distances of 500 meters (1,600 feet) up to several kilometers in heavy winds. The seeds are plumose, which means having many fine filaments or branches which give a feathery appearance. Seedlings have barriers to establishment because early spring rainfall in the semi-arid prairie regions may be followed by a dry period ~ killing newly germinated seedlings.
The Trembling Aspen Dioecious Catkin or Ament
Trembling Aspen will hybridize, or cross with other species of poplar trees (Populus)
The extent of a single Trembling Aspen clone of trees can be determined by several features; morphology, and phenology. These two methods bring in the observation of the leaf size and shape, the character and colour of the bark, and the changes in the season. Morphological analysis is the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features such as the outward appearance of the shape, structure, colour, pattern and size of the visible aspects. Morphology has as its roots the Greek word, morphé “form” and logos “the study of.” The study of periodic plant and animal life cycle events and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as habitat factors (such as elevation) is the science referred to as phenology. Phenology means the study of the influence of climate on recurring natural phenomena, and is derived from phainō, which is Greek for “to show, to bring to light, make to appear” and logos.
Taking the observations one step further would be to employ a procedure called digital morphometrics. This digital approach utilizing scanned leaf images carefully tracking the location and statistics of each leaf, and comparing the digital scans of each leaf recording the analysis and observation of the morphology of each digital leaf scan. Specific and unique clone signatures appear under the observation of discernible patterns.
Aspens feature leaf dimorphism which arise from two types of leaflets, featuring short fixed shoot (stem) growth, and long free shoot growth. Short shoots can only produce embroynic early leaves, and are the very first set of leaves which appear in the spring from the winter bud. Embroyo is from the Greek embryon, “a young one”, or “one that grows at an early stage of development.” This is referred to as the spring flush. The first late leaves are also present in the winter bud, but they are arrested primordia or stopped at the beginning. Primordia comes from primus meaning ”first” and ordior “to begin”.
The Trembling Aspen Autumn foliage
Lateral long shoots may produce “early” or “late” leaves. The fact that the long shoots can produce two types of leaves means that they are called heterophyllous stems or shoots. Heterophyllous meaning having two different kinds of leaves on the same stem comes from the Greek root heteros meaning “other”, and phyllon, “leaf”. Late leaves have more variety in their shape than the early leaves. Gland-tipped teeth are featured around the leaf margins on late leaves only.
A Trembling Aspen Clone leaf flush will occur at the same time because clones share the same genotype. Likewise, since the Trembling Aspen genet is all one clone, the entire genet will change colour all at once in the autumn.
Scientists have studied how to differentiate one clone of Trembling Aspens from another, and there is much discussion and preferences stated on the criteria and methods used. Hana Jelı´nkova et al have determined that finding the unique signature morphological traits to be superior to the use of spring phenology for successful analysis.
Spring phenology is more accurate than autumn phenological changes according to Michael Grant, and J.M.I. McGrath et al wrote that the phenology during spring flush showed a variety in morphology depending upon climate change variations. Both first and second leaf flushes, and their characteristics (morphology) were studied by Samuel B. St. Clair’s team. Defoliation of the leaves by insects, may require the trees to flush out a second time, as would drought and temperature extremes such as a late spring frost causing damage and defoliation of the first flush. Defoliation is to destroy or cause widespread loss of leaves.
The Trembling Aspen Leaflets and Dioecious Catkin or Ament May 25, 2019
The size and shape of leaves showed a variety between Trembling Aspen groves depending upon if the trees were in an area of elevated oxygen or Carbon Dioxide. In an interesting data collection, Reimo Lutter et al studied spring and autumn phenology on the Aspen tree from one year to the next, and found that the growing season has been lengthening.
“The timing of bud break and bud set represents events in survival and growth, discernment of these mechanisms and their interactions with climatic variables is a key to understand the consequences of the projected climate change for Populus forests”(Sivadasan, 2017). Leaf phenology has been shifting in response to earlier leaf flushing due to warm winters in relation to climate change state Yongshuo et al. Now then, Joyce G. Greene suggested that it would be wise to look at six different features to seperate Aspen clones;
“Sex
Time of leafing, and of leaf fall
Spring and Autumn leaf colour
Shape and Size of leaves,
Leave serration
Pubescence of dormant buds.”(DeByle, 1985)
Burton V. Barnes developed another set of criteria for distinguishing clones, by season and in order of usefulness.
All Seasons
Bark
1. Texture
Color
Stem Characteristics
Form
Branching habit (angle, length, and internode length)
Susceptibility to injury
Sunscald
Frost crack
Insect and disease injury Miscellaneous
Self-pruning
Galls ~ Plant galls are abnormal swelling outgrowth of plant tissues caused by various parasites, from viruses, fungi and bacteria, to other plants, insects and mites.
Spring
Sex
Time of flowering, and flower characteristics
Time, color, and rate of leaf flushing
Summer
Leaf shape (width : length ratio), color, and size
Shape of leaf blade base
Leaf margin; number, size, and shape of teeth
Shape of leaf tip
Leaf rust infection
Autumn
Leaf color
Time and rate of leaf fall”
(DeByle, 1985)
Note: Pages 149-152 of Norbert V DeByle book features an appendix entitled, Wild Mammals and Birds Found in Aspen and Aspen-Conifer Mixed Forests of Western United States and Adjacent Canada.
Article copyright Julia Adamson
The Trembling Aspen Autumn foliage
Citizen Science:
Use these tools to track the morphology and the phenology of the Trembling Aspens out at Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, and in the George Genereux Urban Regional park. There is more than one Trembling Aspen stand in both the afforestation greenspaces.
A great way to engage in citizen science at the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, and in the George Genereux Urban Regional park is to post your images on their facebook pages!
Is it easy or difficult to determine how the Trembling Aspen clone groves are distinct from each other in the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, and in the George Genereux Urban Regional park? Can this interesting experiment to study morphology and phenology in relation to clonal colonies be repeated to determine where one genet begins and another ends? How many female genets are there? How many male genets? How many Trembling Aspen groves are mixed mosaics of both female and male clones?
What is the role of Auxin?
Have you seen Heterophyllous long stem shoots?
What colour is the bark of the Trembling Aspen?
What colour is the Trembling Aspen leaf in the autumn?
What is a catkin?
What time of year would it be best to see a catkin – spring, summer, autumn or winter?
What does dioecious mean?
What is the difference between stoloniferous roots and those which are rhizomatous?
What is an ortet, and what is a ramet? Are they related to each other?
How do Trembling Aspens propagate?
What colour are Trembling Aspen stigmas? What colour are Trembling Aspen anthers?
What does plumose mean?
What does morphology mean?
What is phenology?
Would you prefer to use phenology or morphology to study an Trembling Aspen stand of trees to determine if it is a mosaic, or a male clone or a female clone?
What upsets the Trembling Aspen’s hormonal balance?
How can studying phenology with citizen science lay the methodology for observing the effects of climate change?
DeByle, Norbert V.; Winokur, Robert P. (August 1985), (PDF), United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service. Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. General Technical Report RM-119. https://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs_rm/rm_gtr119.pdf, retrieved May 25, 2019
Herben, Tomáš (September 2001), Rhizome: a model of clonal grow(PDF), Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Charles University and at the Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Science, retrieved May 25, 2019
Schier, George A (May 29, 1972), Origin and Development of Aspen Root Suckers, U.S.D.A. Forest Service. Intermountain and Range Experiment Station, Ogden Utah, retrieved May 25, 2019
Sivadasan, Unnikrishnan; Randriamanana, Tendry; Chenhao, Cao; Virjamo, Virpi; Nybakken, Line; Julkunen‐Tiitto, Riitta (October 7 2017), Effect of climate change on bud phenology of young aspen plants (Populus tremula. L), Ecol Evol. 2017 Oct; 7(19): 7998–8007. Published online 2017 Sep 1. doi: 10.1002/ece3.3352, retrieved May 25, 2019
SPECIES: Populus tremuloides, Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) Index of Species Information Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory, 2018, December 4, retrieved May 25, 2019
“Children’s experience with the natural world seems to be overlooked to a large extent in research on child development, but it would be interesting to examine children’s early experiences with nature and follow how those experiences in nature and follow how those experiences influence the child’s long-term comfort with and respect for the natural world ~ comfort and respect…Given the power of nature to calm and soothe us in our hurried lives, it also would be interesting to study how a family’s connection to nature influences the general quality of family relationships. Speaking from my own personal experience, my own family’s relationships have been nourished over years through shared experiences in nature ~ from sharing our toddler’s wonder upon turning over a rock and discovering a magnificent bug the size of a mouse, to paddling our old canoe down a nearby creek during the children’s school years, to hiking the mountains.” ~ Martha Farrell Erickson
“Healing the broken bond between children and nature may seem to be an overwhelming, even impossible task. But we must hold the conviction that the direction of this trend can be changed, or at least slowed. The alternative to holding and acting on that belief is unthinkable for human health and for the natural environment. The environmental attachment theory is a good guiding principle: attachment to land is good for child and land.” ~ Richard Louv
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SE 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063 Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map Where is the George Genereux Urban Regional Park (Afforestation Area)? with map
Please help protect / enhance your afforestation areas, please contact the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. (e-mail)
Support the afforestation areas with your donation or membership ($20.00/year). Please donate by paypal using the e-mail friendsafforestation AT gmail.com, or by using e-transfers Please and thank you! Your donation and membership is greatly appreciated. Members e-mail your contact information to be kept up to date!
“They recognize that while knowledge about nature is vital; passion is the long-distance fuel for the struggle to save what is left of our natural heritage and ~ through an emerging green urbanism ~ to reconstitute lost land and water. Passion does not arrive on videotape or on a CD; passion is personal. Passion is lifted from the earth itself by the muddy hands of the young; it travels along grass-stained sleeves to the heart. If we are going to save environmentalism and the environment, we must also save an endangered indicator species: the child in nature.”~ Richard Louv.
“But what neither Yeats nor Einstein could envisage as they stared into their personal crystal balls for intimations of the future is that a biological breakdown of the entire planet was possible; that was beyond even their imaginations. When contemplating the future, they thought in social and economic terms and of the possibilities of nuclear war, but fundamental changes to the planet’s biomass or the biochemistry of the atmosphere just wasn’t on their radar.~Clive Doucet.
“In the 21st century, you don’t need to be a great physicist, poet or novelist to anticipate a different and more profound danger to humanity in your personal crystal ball; being a city councillor will suffice.”~Clive Doucet.
What do afforestation areas provide in an era of climate change?
Snowfall Saturday September 22 2018 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area Saskatoon, SK, CA
Branta canadensis Canada Goose
Richard St. Barbe Baker OBE, Hon. LL.D. F.I.A.L., For.Dip.Cantab., ACF (9 October 1889 – 9 June 1982)
How does one explain extinction? “Like a child descending a playground slide, a point is passed in the descent when the acceleration becomes so swift that the final transformative moments occur with unstoppable finality. In the case of the biosphere, the final transformation is more likely to be exactly this kind of sudden transition, not a predictable, gentle last step down a biological staircase. ..there would be no final warning at all; that it would happen from one season to the next and by definition in a way that no one expected.”~Clive Doucet.
People are generally aware of the build up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and climate change. Similarly, folks are aware of the ozone layer thinning, allowing heat to escape. “During the day, the temperature on the earth’s surface rockets up and then at night diminishes very quickly; these sharp temperature differentials cause hurricanes and form new deserts because fewer plants can survive to conserve water and create the transpiration cycle that the atmosphere needs to continue a balanced, regenerative behavior.”~Clive Doucet.
“In Europe right now, it takes years for the vegetation to recover from a severe summer heat wave and drought. The year following a heat wave has less plants, less transpiration, less cooling oxygen, less reduction of carbon dioxide.”~Clive Doucet.
“Planting and growing increasing quantities of trees is the scientific solution to Earth’s environmental dilemma.” –Richard St. Barbe-Baker
What do George Genereux Urban Regional park, and the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area provide to you?
These two afforestation areas are not park spaces with money allocated for their upkeep, maintenance or forest management. George Genereux Urban Regional park, and the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area are not municipal reserves or naturalized area reserves. These two afforestation areas belong to land bank, the city department in charge of buying and selling land.
The responsibility is not shouldered by our governments alone, nor solely by our city councillors. Democracy is a word which comes from two Greek words; dēmos “common people,” and kratos “rule, strength.”
So, our government, our city councillors depend on the voice of the common people. As a matter of fact, Saskatoon started an initiative called Saskatoon Speaks. Email your city and your mayor and your councillor. Ask questions, learn, and get answers. Your mayor and your city councillor are hired with your tax dollars, they work for you. You are the employer, speak up.
The Saskatchewan provincial motto is Multis e gentibus vires: from many peoples, strength.
“I believed that God has lent us the Earth. It belongs as much to those who come after us as to us, and it ill behooves us by anything we do or neglect, to deprive them of benefits which are in our power to bequeath.” Richard St. Barbe Baker
Bibliography
Doucet, Clive. Urban Meltdown Cities, Climate Change and Politics as Usual. ISBN 1-800-567-6772. New Society Publishing. Gabriola Island, B.C. 2007.
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SE 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063 Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map Where is the George Genereux Urban Regional Park (Afforestation Area)? with map
Please help protect / enhance your afforestation areas, please contact the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. (e-mail)
Support the afforestation areas with your donation or membership ($20.00/year). Please donate by paypal using the e-mail friendsafforestation AT gmail.com, or by using e-transfers Please and thank you! Your donation and membership is greatly appreciated. Members e-mail your contact information to be kept up to date!
“St. Barbe’s unique capacity to pass on his enthusiasm to others. . . Many foresters all over the world found their vocations as a result of hearing ‘The Man of the Trees’ speak. I certainly did, but his impact has been much wider than that. Through his global lecture tours, St. Barbe has made millions of people aware of the importance of trees and forests to our planet.” Allan Grainger
“The science of forestry arose from the recognition of a universal need. It embodies the spirit of service to mankind in attempting to provide a means of supplying forever a necessity of life and, in addition, ministering to man’s aesthetic tastes and recreational interests. Besides, the spiritual side of human nature needs the refreshing inspiration which comes from trees and woodlands. If a nation saves its trees, the trees will save the nation. And nations as well as tribes may be brought together in this great movement, based on the ideal of beautifying the world by the cultivation of one of God’s loveliest creatures – the tree.” ~ Richard St. Barbe Baker.
October 1 2018, the first monday in October is World Habitat Day.
How can Richard St. Barbe Baker’s theory of spiral shelters be analyzed? Is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area an example of afforestation spiral shelter theory being proven successfully? In 1972, the parks department planted, or afforested 660 acres of afforestation area as a tree nursery in a greening programme for the City of Saskatoon. The various trees selected were planted not in straight rows, but rather in circular patterns throughout the land allotment. What has been noted by horticulturists, and foresters in the comparison of trees planted in semi-circles as opposed to trees planted in straight rows? How does snow accumulate and what is the effect of seasonal drought and flooding? How does wind react upon trees planted in straight lines, and what is the wind pattern, if trees are planted in spirals? What can be learned of this practice to improve agricultural methods? Saskatchewan is a windy province, and is subject to years of drought and high water tables, will a spiral windbreak affect the wind and water cycle on agricultural concerns in our province?
“We submit that water must be a basic consideration in all our national and earth -wide forest programmes; streams and rivers must be restored to their natural motion; and floods and droughts must be eliminated. Forests and woodlands are intimately linked with biological, social and spiritual well-being. The minimum tree cover for safety is one-third of the total land area. Every catchment area should have at least this proportion of tree cover made up of mixed species, including broad-leaf trees, mono-culture in any form being injurious to the land.” segment from The Men of the Trees; The New Earth Charter
Snowfall Saturday September 22 2018 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area Saskatoon, SK, CA
“We’re stabilizing the sand with a series of spiral shelters – rows of trees planted in semicircles to catch the winds and create vortices of air,” explains Baker. “The same thing would be valuable on the Canadian prairies where straight shelter belts cause snow to accumulate.” Star Weekly Toronto, On January 15 1972. article title “He’s top man on the world totem pole”
Branta canadensis Canada Goose
Ken Liddells’s Column The Calgary Herald Nov 11 1971″He [Baker] says the fight to prevent the spread of the desert is being won. One tool is a series of spiral shelter belts, with openings for grazing cattle. It is effective for most directions of the wind. The funnels lead into circular enclosures to create vortices of air. It would, he said, be valuable on the Canadian Prairies where straight shelter belts cause snow to accumulate and where “the mining of wheat” will be mourned once again, because the dust bowl of the United States is again creeping over that land.”
Grus canadensis Sandhill Crane
Trees also break the strength of the wind, creating shelter for other life forms and lesser species of vegetation. The planting of shelter-belts (best in spiral form) reduces both the wind speed and the dehydration of the soil, creating microclimates that help the soil against erosion through the provision of additional humus and protection, Indeed shelter belts can influence the evaporation rate over cultivated land by as much as 30 meters upwind and 120 meters downwind, and Canadian research has shown that farms with a third of their land as shelter belts are more productive than farms of equivalent area where there are no trees at all.
These shelter belts also trap Carbon dioxide (CO2), the heaviest naturally occuring atmospheric gas, found mostly in the lowest levels of the atmosphere, and an essential component of photosynthesis. Increased CO2 under the right conditions will produce stronger photosynthesis. When trees and hedgerows between fields are removed, productivity falls, because this causes a fall in carbon dioxide. Trees should be revered as much as water, for together they are both the givers of life.” Hidden Nature: The Startling Insights of Viktor SchaubergerBy Alick Bartholomew
Shelterbelts do not have to be planted in rigid, straight lines. A curved shelterbelt on a natural topographical contour line around the north and west sides of your farmyard will look more pleasing.
Shelterbelts can follow the contour of a valley or creek, run in an angle, or even have a circular shape around the yard site. The main consideration is to keep the spacing parallel between rows for ease of between-row cultivation and maintenance. Farmyard shelterbelts Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
The afforestation areas were planted with “the following tree species…Amercian and Siberian Elm, Manitoba Maple, Green Ash, Poplar, Willow, Colorado Spruce, Scotch Pine and Caragana.” The Trembling Aspen, Snowberry, Buffaloberry are examples of native species also prevalent in the afforestation areas.
As a pioneer in afforestation which is applauded in contemporary times as the earth requires trees for “Carbon Sequestration”, and for the “cooling effect” of the summer tree canopy, reducing the heating effect from Climate Change locally. The Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and the Afforestation area formerly named “George Genereux” Urban Regional Park were planted uniquely, and could be considered pioneers in Richard St. Barbe Baker’s Spiral Shelterbelt planting theory.
A tractor operated by the City of Saskatoon Parks Department purchased a special tree planting machine to afforest the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and the Afforestation area formerly named “George Genereux” Urban Regional Park. The planting process at the afforestation areas began along an outside boundary, and the driver proceeded creating a weaving pattern. The rows would diverge as much as forty feet from the centre line, producing a greater naturalized forest effect rather than strict rows extending linearly. Weaving in and out spirally, and in a curvi-linear fashion creating a much more natural, effect mimicking the genius of Gaia, Mother Nature, herself and her wisdom.
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SE 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063 Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map Where is the George Genereux Urban Regional Park (Afforestation Area)? with map
Please help protect / enhance your afforestation areas, please contact the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. (e-mail)
Support the afforestation areas with your donation or membership ($20.00/year). Please donate by paypal using the e-mail friendsafforestation AT gmail.com, or by using e-transfers Please and thank you! Your donation and membership is greatly appreciated. Members e-mail your contact information to be kept up to date!
“I believe with Ruskin, that I must be just to the Earth beneath my feet, to the neighbour by my side and to the Light that comes from above and within that this wonderful world of ours may be a little more beautiful and happy form my having lived in it. “Richard St. Barbe Baker.
This concrete and asphalt jungle, filthy air and cold, stark, angular outlines devoid of greenery, are the characteristics of the modern metropolis. But, man is instinctively against this type of life and often retreats to the country to enjoy fresh, clean air and green landscape as far as the eyes can see. …Saskatoon’s parks and recreation board has preserved the areas of Beaver Creek and Cranberry Flats and the rifle range as open space to be enjoyed by Saskatoonians in pursuit of passive recreation such as picnics. It [parks and rec] has also ventured into a massive project of planting 200,000 trees for local parks, on 600 acres of land south of Diefenbaker Park and south of the CNR station [Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area]. The Green Survival program is sponsored in North American by the Canadian Nursery Trades Association and the American Association of Nurserymen.”~Kathy Cronkite May 10 1972 Star Phoenix
Richard St. Barbe Baker L.L.D, O.B.E. photo credit University of Saskatchewan. University Archives and Special Collections. Richard St. Barbe Baker Fonds MG71.
Photo of Richard St. Barbe Baker Courtesy: University of Saskatchewan, University Archives & Special Collections, Richard St. Barbe Baker fonds, MG 71
“There is a kinship amongst foresters and planters of trees which has to be understood. These men are bigger than themselves. They have been called to be earth healers and Trustees for the Divine Artificer of the Universe. The are above small talk, cheap entertainment, and trivialities. This can be sensed in their gentle manners and bearing. They have indeed realized the oneness of all living things and the part that they play in maintaining the delicate Balance of Nature. They are indeed Nature’s Gentlemen; they have glimpse the Divine at the heart of Nature, and stand apart from the mob of go-getters. Their burden is a heavy one. .” ~ Richard St. Barbe Baker writing in Caravan Story and Country Notebook.
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SE 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063 Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map Where is the George Genereux Urban Regional Park (Afforestation Area)? with map
In regards to your financial donations to protect / enhance the afforestation areas, please contact the City of Saskatoon, Corporate Revenue Division, 222 3rd Ave N, Saskatoon, SK S7K 0J5 To support the afforestation area with your donation please state that your donation will support the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, or the George Genereux Urban Regional Park, or both afforestation areas. Please and thank you! Your donation, however large or small is greatly appreciated.
Chaque fois que je fais les courses, je vote résolument “Oui aux aliments en vrac!” et “Oui aux produits biologiques!” Pour mes enfants, je rêve d’un avenir plus sain et sans déchet: je suis heureuse d’y investir mon argent chaque semaine.”
― Bea Johnson
“Has any one of us ever really seen a Tree? When we become aware of trees we may catch glimpses of them in moments of spiritual vision and, identifying ourselves with the trees, become conscious of the rising of the sap; the upward thrust of life; leaf burgeoning, their consciousness of the changing seasons; we may share their passionately boisterous exuberance of life in the height of a storm, and their tranquility when at rest; with them we will enjoy the glad murmur of the ripening seed clusters when after weeks of drought the steady warm rain brings relief to thirst; and we will know that these creatures, our elder brethern, are intimately related to us in their love and hunger for life. We may even catch their enthusiasm and aspire heavenwards while still rooted in our Mother Earth and in communion with our fellow men and, tree-wise, strive to make the Earth more fruitful again.” ~Richard St. Barbe Baker
What a question in the middle of winter, however as spring approaches ~ “Where are the frogs?” is a most excellent query!!!
“Stewards of Saskatchewan” is a voluntary program of the provincial group Nature Saskatchewan. With this program, volunteer stewards collectively monitor population data on various at risk species. One of these is the Northern Leopard Frog, (Lithobates pipiens or Rana pipiens) designated as Special Concern in Canada.
Where might be one of the places in the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area where a Northern Leopard Frog could be sighted?
The Chappell Marsh, the permanent wetlands of the West Swale contain water all the time. But where are the temporary wetlands located? This is exactly where the frogs are singing their merry songs. This area for the lands east of Chappell Marsh in the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is marked as a yellow oval on the attached map. The Northern Leopard Frog, sings just to the west of the southwest off leash recreation area.
Northern Leopard Frog, Rana Pipiens Map
Just as farmers watch the weather; “In dry years, arable agriculture can fail over large parts of the province, whilst in wet years, flooding has caused widespread damage to rural and urban infrastructure.” “(Pomeroy, 2005)
So, too, do the frogs seem to watch the weather. During dry years such as those experienced 2015, 2016, and 2017 there were no frogs heard at the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. However in 2013 and 2014 frogs were a delight to the years, especially as the Northern Leopard Frog is a species of Special Concern. As the weather cycles in the province, it can be expected that another year of flooding may follow the very dry years experienced 2015, 2016, and 2017. The newspapers report the flooding damaging crops, basements and highways however the glorious thing which is missed on the years of high water tables, is that the frogs come back!
Rana_pipiens Northern Leopard Frog
Northern Leopard Frog
Chappell Marsh. West Swale Wetlands. Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. Saskatoon, SK, CA
There are definitely other areas, such as where the old grid road is being swallowed up by Chappell Marsh near the road turn off to Chappell Marsh Conservation Area. The old grid road is partially submerged, making it the perfect habitat for frogs [and ducks] as well.
Now then, it would be a very intriguing for a herpetologist, volunteer ‘Steward of Saskatchewan’ or conservation officer to engage in a project to walk with a GPS app which records altitude. This project would scan the entirety of the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and ‘George Genereux’ Urban Regional park for altitude levels similar to the altitude of the meadow west of the South West Off Leash Recreation Area. Other areas which provide a rich habitat for the Northern Leopard Frog could be identified in this method for the areas west of Chappell Marsh and in ‘George Genereux’ Urban Regional park. In this way during years of flooding the Northern Leopard Frog could be surveyed and counted in identified Frog zones. And accordingly in the years of drought, the environment could remain undisturbed awaiting their safe return. 🙂
Perhaps, just perhaps, this would be a way to ensure the Northern Leopard Frog’s survival. An altitude test may just help to find the temporary wetlands conducive to the frog’s habitat, and could then be protected from development. Either that, or developers would need wait until years of high water tables before developing land to determine the habitat for frogs.
Saskatchewan cycles through years of drought and high water tables. The years 2013, and 2014, saw very, very high rain levels, spring run off and flooding. Chappell Marsh itself washed out a grid road, and water pumps were allocated to try to divert the flooding away from Saskatchewan Highway 7 west of the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, and CN Chappell Yards. The cycle of very wet conditions was also seen historically over the years 2005, and 2006. (Garnet, 2012)
July 13, 2014, Emily Chan reported “In Saskatchewan, it’s estimated that a total of up to 3 million acres, including some farmland, have already flooded.” “Highways closed and communities declared states of emergency …, ” reports the Canadian Press on June 30, 2014 due to a deluge of rain.
“From too much rain to not enough — and everyone baking in the heat — communities smashed weather records in July across Saskatchewan.”(Climenhaga, 2017) Whereas, in direct contrast to the years of 2013 and 2014, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada reported that 2016 was the hottest year on record, replacing the record set in 2015. In 2017, “Saskatchewan farmers say drought conditions in some parts of the province are the worst they have seen in decades “(Bridges, 2017) “Record-breaking temperatures and extremely low rainfalls across Western Canada are causing chaos for farmers and firefighters this summer as they grapple with the worst drought in more than a decade.” {Sikierska, 2015) Drought also ravaged Saskatchewan over the years 2001 to 2002. (Garnet, 2012)
“Nowhere else in Canada does the lack or excess of water cause such widespread concern, nor are there many Canadian environments subject to greater seasonal change in precipitation and surface-water storage.”(Pomeroy, 2005)
Drought years have been recorded as 1961, 1967, 1979, 1980, 1985, 1988, 2003, 2009. Whereas, the flood years are reported as 1965, 1977, 1986, 1991, 1993, 1999, 2005, 2010. (Garnet, 2012)
“The trees and vegetation which cover the land surface of the Earth and delight the eye, are therefore performing vital tasks incumbent upon the vegetable world in nature. The glorious rich, colourful, quilted covering of vegetation is not there merely to feed and please us. Its presence is essential to Earth as an organism. It is the first condition to Earth as an organism. It is the first condition of all life; it is the ‘skin of the Earth, for without it there can be no water and, therefore, no life. ” Richard St. Barbe Baker.
Pomeroy, John, Dirk de Boer and Lawrence Martz. Hydrology and Water Resources of Saskatchewan. Centre for Hydrology Report #1. Department of Geography, University of Saskatchewan February 2005.
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SE 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063 Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map Where is the George Genereux Urban Regional Park (Afforestation Area)? with map
Please help protect / enhance your afforestation areas, please contact the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. (e-mail)
Support the afforestation areas with your donation or membership ($20.00/year). Please donate by paypal using the e-mail friendsafforestation AT gmail.com, or by using e-transfers Please and thank you! Your donation and membership is greatly appreciated. Members e-mail your contact information to be kept up to date!
“The simple act of planting a tree, which is in itself a practical deed, is also the symbol of a far reaching ideal, which is creative in the realm of the Spirit, and in turn reacts upon society, encouraging all to work for the future well being of humanity rather than for immediate gain. ” Richard St. Barbe Baker
“We forget that we owe our existence to the presence of Trees. As far as forest cover goes, we have never been in such a vulnerable position as we are today. The only answer is to plant more Trees – to Plant Trees for Our Lives.” ~ Richard St. Barbe Baker
Trembling Aspen grove [in 2016] Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, CA
It was the summer of 2017, did you see it?
The Populus tremuloides (Trembling Aspen or Quaking Aspen) groves were struggling, and suffering tremendously. The defoliation caused by the Tent Caterpillar Malacosoma disstria was so severe, that combined with the severe drought, the vigour and vitality of the Aspen Trees was greatly reduced. 2017 saw the fourth year of the Tent Caterpillar infestation in Saskatoon. When healthy trees that are completely stripped of their leaves are able to refoliate their leaves after the caterpillars have feasted, however the second growth is smaller and, indeed, may be inadequate to compensate for the damage caused. The attack of the caterpillars may even kill the top of the tree, side branches and even the whole tree may expire with multi-years of excessive defoliation.
Trembling Aspen Leaf with dew drops, Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. Saskatoon, SK, CA
Native species, Trembling Aspen or Populus tremuloides, quaking aspen, trembling aspen, American aspen, Quakies, mountain or golden aspen, trembling poplar, white poplar,, Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. Saskatoon, SK, CA
James J. Worrall et al, explains that drought, tent caterpillars and other factors contribute to the decline of Trembling Aspens. Severe drought precipitates the most drastic decline, followed by foliage stripped by tent caterpillars year after year. Aspen stands cannot recover from such shocks to the system on a multiyear basis, without relief.
“It’s almost as if nature has forgotten how to rain in parts of Saskatchewan,[9]” said David Phillips, senior Climatologist with Environment Canada, who goes on to explain that, “It really does show you the kind of climate you have: a desert — dry, semi-arid, almost like Pheonix, Ariz. — where the days can be very hot, and in this case bone dry and not a cloud in the sky. All that heat from the day radiates into space … It left the nights relatively cool.[2]” Saskatoon received only 243.6 millimetres [9.6 inches] of precipitation, bringing 2017 into the top five driest years for the city.
Not only was 2017 setting records for the driest years in history books, the problem for the Trembling Aspen was compounded as being the worst for the Tent Caterpillar plague. “We’re in a boom period for the tent caterpillar,” [10] ” said Tyler Wist, Field crop entomologist for Agriculture and AgriFood Canada. The tent caterpillar has a natural predator in birds, as well as the eggs of the sarcophagid fly.
Effects on overall health of aspen. Repeated defoliation by forest tent caterpillar may not allow trees to recover to a normal state of health, which can lead to decline. ~ Natural Resources Canada“
Trembling Aspen grove [in 2016] Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, CA
Following two or more years of severe feeding there is a general decline in tree health, including twig and branch dieback. After three or four consecutive years of being stripped of their leaves trees can be weakened and may be more susceptible to insects, such as wood borers, and stem disease. Following forest tent caterpillar infestations the incidence of hypoxylon canker, a fungal stem disease, may increase and cause extensive damage in aspen forests. “~ Forestry Branch
Late spring frosts kill buds leading to early, mass larval stravation. Alberta Government.
“When populations are low, the egg masses on small plants can be removed by hand and destroyed between July and the following spring. Hand picking can inflict significant larval mortality.
Destruction of occupied tents by hand or with a brush leads to colony collapse. Pruning to remove egg masses, tents, or groups of larvae must be done sparingly to avoid injuring the plant. Using fire to accomplish this is not recommended as it damages the plant more than the defoliation.”~Forest Health Protection
The trembling aspen is known to grow as a clonal colony in which the stems [trunks] arise from one huge conjoined root system. Whereas the tree stems of the Trembling Aspen may be determined by its tree rings, the roots may be much older than that of the tree trunks. In the semi-arid regions of the west, Trembling Aspen are more likely to establish new trees via suckering from an established root system rather than from seed. It is intriguing to learn that the Aspen Tree is really only a small fraction of a much larger organism. Malcolm F. Squires reports that clones of Aspens may have sprouted following the Pleistocene era after the retreat of the great ice age, creating the oldest organisms in the world. One can tell one Aspen clone growth from another, as leaves will emerge in the spring and turn to yellow in the fall in the same clone, and a neighbouring clone will exhibit a different time scale.
If a clone of Aspen trees from the same root is even aged, and has thrived in near to full sunlight, is severely attacked and stripped of its leaves by tent caterpillars causing some of the Aspen trees to die back. The Aspen roots, in some cases, if the soil is healthy, be able to regenerate from suckers. Young saplings will rise from the roots in the openings, or these young trees may take advantage of thin crowns. The Aspen stand will show this uneven age structure, until the remaining tree trunks die off, and all the tree stems become even aged.
“Jack Schultz, a Pennsylvania State University entomologist… discovered that aspens react chemically to insect attack. Soon after the caterpillar start chewing, the trees’ remaining leaves produce bitter-tasting phenol compounds to discourage further eating” [5]
In 2017, it was seen that the Trembling Aspen stands lost their leaves, and a second smaller growth was seen coming late in the summer season. Watch if and how the Aspen stand recovers in 2018. It will be also interesting to note if 2018 again succumbs to a double whammy of drought and tent caterpillar. Saskatchewan is a province of cyclical weather alternating between drought and years with a high water table [perhaps even flooding]. The tent caterpillars well, their cycle lasts between three to seven years, and they normally re-occur in 15-20 year intervals.
The round leaves turning golden in the autumn months, quivering, and catching the light as the breeze tosses the golden discs this way and that, give the Trembling Aspen the appearance of being a “Money Tree” as its branches dance in gold.
Silviculture is the practice of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health, and quality of forests to meet diverse needs and values. The name comes from the Latin silvi- (forest) + culture (as in growing). Richard St. Barbe Baker attended Cambridge University, graduating as a silviculturist.
“Enroll your body, soul and spirit and engage your time to do what you know best. Dedicate yourself to the work at hand and you will be rewarded by the fruits you will bear!”― Israelmore Ayivor, The Great Hand Book of Quotes
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SE 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063 Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map Where is the George Genereux Urban Regional Park (Afforestation Area)? with map
Please help protect / enhance your afforestation areas, please contact the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. (e-mail / e-transfers )
Support the afforestation areas with your donation or membership ($20.00/year). Please donate by paypal using the e-mail friendsafforestation AT gmail.com, or by using e-transfers Please and thank you! Your donation and membership is greatly appreciated. Members e-mail your contact information to be kept up to date!
“St. Barbe’s unique capacity to pass on his enthusiasm to others. . . Many foresters all over the world found their vocations as a result of hearing ‘The Man of the Trees’ speak. I certainly did, but his impact has been much wider than that. Through his global lecture tours, St. Barbe has made millions of people aware of the importance of trees and forests to our planet.” Allan Grainger
“From the forest and wilderness come the tonics and bark which brace mankind…A town is saved, not more by the righteous men in it than by the woods and swamps that surround it…”
-Henry David Thoreau
“This generation may either be the last to exist in any semblance of a civilised world or that it will be the first to have the vision, the bearing and the greatness to say, ‘I will have nothing to do with this destruction of life, I will play no part in this devastation of the land, I am determined to live and work for peaceful construction for I am morally responsible for the world of today and the generations of tomorrow.'”
Richard St. Barbe Baker
What a question in the middle of winter ~ “Where are the frogs?” indeed.
“Stewards of Saskatchewan” is a voluntary program of the provincial group Nature Saskatchewan. With this program, volunteer stewards collectively monitor population data on various at risk species. One of these is the Northern Leopard Frog, (Lithobates pipiens or Rana pipiens) designated as Special Concern in Canada.
Where might be one of the places in the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area where a Northern Leopard Frog could be sighted?
The Chappell Marsh, the permanent wetlands of the West Swale contain water all the time. But where are the temporary wetlands located? This is exactly where the frogs are singing their merry songs. This area for the lands east of Chappell Marsh in the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is marked as a yellow oval on the attached map. The Northern Leopard Frog, sings just to the west of the southwest off leash recreation area.
Northern Leopard Frog, Rana Pipiens Map
Just as farmers watch the weather; “In dry years, arable agriculture can fail over large parts of the province, whilst in wet years, flooding has caused widespread damage to rural and urban infrastructure.” “(Pomeroy, 2005)
So, too, do the frogs seem to watch the weather. During dry years such as those experienced 2015, 2016, and 2017 there were no frogs heard at the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. However in 2013 and 2014 frogs were a delight to the years, especially as the Northern Leopard Frog is a species of Special Concern. As the weather cycles in the province, it can be expected that another year of flooding may follow the very dry years experienced 2015, 2016, and 2017. The newspapers report the flooding damaging crops, basements and highways however the glorious thing which is missed on the years of high water tables, is that the frogs come back!
Rana_pipiens Northern Leopard Frog
Northern Leopard Frog
Chappell Marsh. West Swale Wetlands. Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. Saskatoon, SK, CA
There are definitely other areas, such as where the old grid road is being swallowed up by Chappell Marsh near the road turn off to Chappell Marsh Conservation Area. The old grid road is partially submerged, making it the perfect habitat for frogs [and ducks] as well.
Now then, it would be a very intriguing for a herpetologist, volunteer ‘Steward of Saskatchewan’ or conservation officer to engage in a project to walk with a GPS app which records altitude. This project would scan the entirety of the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and ‘George Genereux’ Urban Regional park for altitude levels similar to the altitude of the meadow west of the South West Off Leash Recreation Area. Other areas which provide a rich habitat for the Northern Leopard Frog could be identified in this method for the areas west of Chappell Marsh and in ‘George Genereux’ Urban Regional park. In this way during years of flooding the Northern Leopard Frog could be surveyed and counted in identified Frog zones. And accordingly in the years of drought, the environment could remain undisturbed awaiting their safe return. 🙂
Perhaps, just perhaps, this would be a way to ensure the Northern Leopard Frog’s survival. An altitude test may just help to find the temporary wetlands conducive to the frog’s habitat, and could then be protected from development. Either that, or developers would need wait until years of high water tables before developing land to determine the habitat for frogs.
Saskatchewan cycles through years of drought and high water tables. The years 2013, and 2014, saw very, very high rain levels, spring run off and flooding. Chappell Marsh itself washed out a grid road, and water pumps were allocated to try to divert the flooding away from Saskatchewan Highway 7 west of the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, and CN Chappell Yards. The cycle of very wet conditions was also seen historically over the years 2005, and 2006. (Garnet, 2012)
July 13, 2014, Emily Chan reported “In Saskatchewan, it’s estimated that a total of up to 3 million acres, including some farmland, have already flooded.” “Highways closed and communities declared states of emergency …, ” reports the Canadian Press on June 30, 2014 due to a deluge of rain.
“From too much rain to not enough — and everyone baking in the heat — communities smashed weather records in July across Saskatchewan.”(Climenhaga, 2017) Whereas, in direct contrast to the years of 2013 and 2014, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada reported that 2016 was the hottest year on record, replacing the record set in 2015. In 2017, “Saskatchewan farmers say drought conditions in some parts of the province are the worst they have seen in decades “(Bridges, 2017) “Record-breaking temperatures and extremely low rainfalls across Western Canada are causing chaos for farmers and firefighters this summer as they grapple with the worst drought in more than a decade.” {Sikierska, 2015) Drought also ravaged Saskatchewan over the years 2001 to 2002. (Garnet, 2012)
“Nowhere else in Canada does the lack or excess of water cause such widespread concern, nor are there many Canadian environments subject to greater seasonal change in precipitation and surface-water storage.”(Pomeroy, 2005)
Drought years have been recorded as 1961, 1967, 1979, 1980, 1985, 1988, 2003, 2009. Whereas, the flood years are reported as 1965, 1977, 1986, 1991, 1993, 1999, 2005, 2010. (Garnet, 2012)
Taiwan is privileged with the humid and rainy habitats favorable for frogs, and the profuserain providing the frogs a long reproduction stage makes Taiwan one of the best places for frog-watching.”{Government of Taiwan} And it follows, that in Saskatchewan, the frogs, also fare better during the years the province cycles into a year with a high water table, rain and humidity. Just as the Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris) is native to marshes, fens, ditches and wet woodland in temperate regions, the marsh marigold does not raise its yellow head in the years of drought, nor do the Northern Leopard Frogs sing merrily in the wetlands. In the case of frogs, and marsh marigolds, both flora and fauna await seasons of moisture, and hunker down when drought and desert-like conditions appear.
“The trees and vegetation which cover the land surface of the Earth and delight the eye, are therefore performing vital tasks incumbent upon the vegetable world in nature. The glorious rich, colourful, quilted covering of vegetation is not there merely to feed and please us. Its presence is essential to Earth as an organism. It is the first condition to Earth as an organism. It is the first condition of all life; it is the ‘skin of the Earth, for without it there can be no water and, therefore, no life. ” Richard St. Barbe Baker.
Pomeroy, John, Dirk de Boer and Lawrence Martz. Hydrology and Water Resources of Saskatchewan. Centre for Hydrology Report #1. Department of Geography, University of Saskatchewan February 2005.
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SE 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063 Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map Where is the George Genereux Urban Regional Park (Afforestation Area)? with map
Please help protect / enhance your afforestation areas, please contact the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. (e-mail)
Support the afforestation areas with your donation or membership ($20.00/year). Please donate by paypal using the e-mail friendsafforestation AT gmail.com, or by using e-transfers Please and thank you! Your donation and membership is greatly appreciated. Members e-mail your contact information to be kept up to date!
“St. Barbe’s unique capacity to pass on his enthusiasm to others. . . Many foresters all over the world found their vocations as a result of hearing ‘The Man of the Trees’ speak. I certainly did, but his impact has been much wider than that. Through his global lecture tours, St. Barbe has made millions of people aware of the importance of trees and forests to our planet.” Allan Grainger
“We forget that we owe our existence to the presence of Trees. As far as forest cover goes, we have never been in such a vulnerable position as we are today. The only answer is to plant more Trees – to Plant Trees for Our Lives.” ~ Richard St. Barbe Baker
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. George Genereux Urban Regional Park. 