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As a Forest Scientist, fire is the friend of the forest. There are different types of fires, and different trees tolerate different levels of fire. It is essential that the patterns of nature be allowed to continue as the environmental area (biome) has adapted to. For example, new trees and food plants for animals cannot grow in many mature forests, unless they are permitted to be burned naturally (by lightening) periodically. Fires recycle nutrients; remove build up of limbs and debris that if allowed to develop to large levels of dead fuel, result in conflagration fires that destroy the larger trees that survive smaller, more frequent fires. A half inch of bark (~1cm) protects most trees against smaller fires that do not reach into the canopy. Redwood forests are an example of forests designed to tolerate frequent fires to keep the understory thinned, and allow the remaining trees to grow to mature size. (The cambium must reach 140ºF to kill the tree). In some species of pine forests, conflagration fires are required for seed release and germination. These require all the above canopy removal. These trees are filled with resins, which ignite and burn fiercely, to destroy other species of trees nearby. Their seeds then fall and germinate in beds of ash nutrients with no shade overhead. They grow quickly, as do broadleaf plants and grasses, without which animals such as deer cannot survive, as there are no sources of food for them in such mature pine forests, where too little light reaches the forest floor. New growth of grasses and many hardwoods can only occur in places where the canopy overhead is removed periodically. Fires generally burn the forest in irregular shapes, without a whole large area being destroyed, as wind, topography, and bodies of water form a giant jig-saw puzzle like pattern when seen from far above. This leaves behind trees to reseed, and cover for hiding in, as well as standing dead trees; the primary source of habitat for most woodpeckers, squirrels, owls, and insects. Diseases are also kept in check by these fires. Only the healthiest trees survive in many instances, depending on the species. People are attracted to build houses in these beautiful places. It is sad when human life, houses, and pets are lost to fire. Natural fire is essential. Careful planning and knowledge of Foresters is essential in choosing which areas are best for construction, and which are not. Too frequently, this is not taken into consideration. Ideally, very little fire-fighting should be needed if building was done wiser. Native Americans also set fire regularly to keep the undergrowth in areas cleared out for walking, hunting, removal of poison ivy, and insect pests. Without this regular burning, many areas I could travel through freely as a child 50 years ago are now solid poison ivy, wind-blown trees, and impenetrable undergrowth. Fire is more of a forest friend than an enemy. Human forest cutting for housing and shopping centers is a greater danger to the forest, and animals that live there than is natural fire, which keeps the environment healthy and renewed. Rev. Scotty, MTh, MWPS, Member of The National Forestry Honor Society.

The Moraceae, or ficus, family is a large group with more than 500 species of tropical trees, shrubs and vines. Ficus microcarpa "Nitida" thrives in USDA hardiness zones 9 and 10. Also known as Indian laurel, Indian laurel fig and Chinese banyon, under ideal conditions Ficus nitida grows into a 50- to 60-foot-tall evergreen tree with a 60- to 75-foot spread. Used as a street tree in Florida, Arizona and California, Ficus nitida is planted in several of California's coastal cities including San Francisco and San Luis Obispo. 1 Select a well-draining, sunny location where shade is desired. The Ficus nitida tree grows into a large tree that provides heavy year-round shade when it reaches maturity. 2 Dig a planting hole three times the width of the tree's root ball. Set the tree in the center of the hole, untangling any encircling roots. Backfill with the original soil and tamp. Water thoroughly. 3 Surround the tree with 4 inches of mulch, pulling it back 6 inches from the tree's trunk. Mulch keeps the soil moist and inhibits weed growth. 4 Water when the soil is dry to the touch. Ficus nitida is a tropical tree and requires consistently moist soil. 5 Fertilize with a balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer only if the tree is planted in sandy or poor soil. Ficus nitida generally doesn't require fertilizer when planted in soil that is rich in organic matter. 6 Prune to shape the tree into a multi-stemmed or single trunk according to your garden's design. Examine the tree after winter storms, and remove weak or damaged branches. 7 Monitor Ficus nitida for pests such as thrips and aphids. Spray the tree with a neem oil product or spinosad insecticide to control thrips. Pruning thrip-infested branches is effective if only a small portion of the tree is infected. Aphids are easily knocked off the leaves and branches with a strong stream of water.

For making cuttings, take about the top 3-4 inches of a growing shoot in the spring, with a sharp razor blade, or better yet, a new case cutter, trim off the bottom few leaves at an angle, leaving a bit of the petiole (leaf stem), and dip in rooting hormone available in most large stores, like Home depot, Lowes, or order rooting hormone from online. A tiny bit goes a long way! Root-Tone was available last time I bought some. Dip the end into the powder, and make a trench with a spoon about 1/4" wide and 1" deep into your prepared potting soil mixture. Place the dipped end into the soil, and gently use the spoon to close the trench without compacting the mixture too much. Close the soil gently without packing or leaving large air spaces. Containers the size of small drinking glasses are good to start with. You can put two per container, and pull apart when transplanting. Remember to put holes, rocks, then some sand in the bottom before the soil mix. The best soil is 1/4 sand, 1/4 mulch-decayed plant matter, 1/4 air, and 1/4 water. Mix well by pouring back and forth into buckets till solids are well mixed, and after adding cuttings or seeds gently pour water till some comes out of the bottom. Do not let dry out totally, especially when making cuttings! Do not overwater. Start in mostly shade, and every few days move into more light, so after 3-4 weeks the seedlings are in full light. If making many cuttings, you may keep moist by using plastic wrap to make a tent. (If you make a sealed tent, do not place in full sun, as you will cook the plants) and let the water drip from the plastic back into the soil. You may not need to water much, if you keep the water from escaping the system. If you are using pots or small tubs, drill holes in the bottom, and add small rocks to let water drain out. Water staying trapped in the bottom of the container will cause root rot. Let the top 1/4" of the soil dry, and then add water. You should usually water every 2-3 days. If the plant outgrows the container (in a very small container, maybe a month), transfer to a medium sized container. The faster the plant grows, the faster you will need to transfer, or just put it in a large container. You can tell if you really need to transfer by (on the day to water) you hold the plant between your fingers, turning the container upside down, and pull out of the container. If the roots are visible in many places, transplant. Also observe the dryness. If too damp, you are watering too much. If very dry, get a bigger container, and water on the same schedule, but more water each time. If you only see one or 2 roots, you can wait a while before transplanting. If roots are everywhere, you should take a knife and carefully cut the roots from top to bottom about 1/4" deep and 2 " apart to keep the roots from choking each other, as they will now transplant and spread out better.

Forest trees have the ability to tap into nitrogen found in rocks, boosting the trees’ growth and their ability to pull more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Given that carbon dioxide is the most important climate-change gas, the nitrogen in rocks could significantly affect how rapidly the Earth will warm in the future, the researchers say. If trees can access more nitrogen than previously thought, that could lead to more storage of carbon on land and less carbon remaining in the atmosphere, according to a new study published in Science. “We were really shocked; everything we’ve ever thought about the nitrogen cycle and all of the textbook theories have been turned on their heads by these data,” says Benjamin Houlton, assistant professor of terrestrial biochemistry at University of California, Davis and co-author of the study. Straight from the Source Read the original study DOI: 10.1038/nature10415 “Findings from this study suggest that our climate-change models should not only consider the importance of nitrogen from the atmosphere, but now we also have to start thinking about how rocks may affect climate change.” Nitrogen’s importance Nitrogen, found in DNA and protein, is necessary for all life, is used worldwide as a fertilizer for food crops, and is the nutrient that most often limits plant growth in natural ecosystems. It was previously believed that nitrogen could only enter ecosystems from the atmosphere—either dissolved in rainwater or biologically “fixed” or assimilated by specialized groups of plants and other organisms. Because the amount of nitrogen in these atmospheric pathways is limited, it was thought that most ecosystems could not get enough to facilitate plant growth at maximum rates. Following this line of thought, it was estimated that the nitrogen contribution from rocks in Northern California was on the same order as atmospheric nitrogen sources, made available through fixation and deposited via rainwater. “To put it in perspective, there is enough nitrogen contained in one inch of the rocks at our study site to completely support the growth of a typical coniferous forest for about 25 years,” says co-author Randy Dahlgren, professor of soil science. “This nitrogen is released slowly over time and helps to maintain the long-term fertility of many California forests,” adds Dahlgren. “It is also interesting to consider that the nitrogen in the rocks from our study site originates from the time of the dinosaurs, when plant and animal remains were incorporated into the sediments that eventually formed the rocks.” Forest fertility The new study, led by Scott Morford, a graduate student in the department of land, air, and water resources, focused on measuring the nitrogen in rocks, soils, and plants, and found that rocks enriched in nitrogen have a profound effect on the fertility of forests. Data from the study indicate that the amount of carbon stored in forest soils derived from the nitrogen-rich bedrock was nearly twice that of sites associated with nitrogen-poor rocks in Northern California. Furthermore, inventory of forest growth data from the National Forest Service showed that this was not just a localized effect—in fact, the productivity of forests growing on nitrogen-rich rock was approximately 50 percent higher than the productivity of forests growing on nitrogen-poor rocks throughout Northern California and into Oregon. “We were all stunned when the data showed that the nitrogen in the trees was extremely high in forests that were living on the rocks with high nitrogen,” says Morford. To confirm the link between the nitrogen in the trees and that in the surrounding rock, the researchers traced the nitrogen from the rocks using the different isotopes of nitrogen. They found that the nitrogen isotopes in the rock matched those of the soils and trees, confirming that the nitrogen was coming from the rocks. “It was like a fingerprint; we found the culprit, and it was the nitrogen in the rocks,” Morford says. Out-of-balance budgets Since nitrogen tends to be elevated in rocks of sedimentary origin, which cover roughly 75 percent of the Earth’s land surface, the discovery that bedrock nitrogen has the potential to stimulate forest productivity and carbon storage has tremendous global significance, the researchers say. “The stunning finding that forests can also feed on nitrogen in rocks has the potential to change all projections related to climate change,” says Houlton. “This discovery may also help explain several other studies that have found that the nitrogen ‘budgets’ of forests are out of balance, the nitrogen accumulation in their soil and plants being substantially greater than the apparent nitrogen inputs.” Nitrogen is becoming increasingly important in climate-change studies, and researchers have begun to incorporate nitrogen in their climate-change models. Some models indicate that the nutrient could cause an additional increase in global temperatures of up to one degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit), as it limits the amount of carbon dioxide that plants around the world can extract from the atmosphere. If more nitrogen is available than predicted from the traditional nitrogen-cycling pathways, it could lead to more carbon storage on land and less carbon remaining in the atmosphere. The researchers say further studies in other parts of the world are needed to determine if nitrogen in rocks affects forests outside of the Pacific Northwest. In continuing his research, Morford has collected more than 800 rocks from Oregon to San Diego in the past year to determine how fast nitrogen is released from rocks under the varying environmental conditions in California and beyond. This study was funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Packard Foundation, and the Kearney Foundation for Soil Science. More news from UC Davis: http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/

An interesting and dangerous plant has recently been invading the states of New York and Pennsylvania. This plant is known as the Giant Hogweed. It is taller than a person and if some of the sap gets on your skin, it will severely burn you and cause extreme blistering. It does this by putting a chemical in your body that deactivates your bodies ability to protect itself against sunlight. Thereby causeing extreme sunburn.

So what do you like about plants?

Soon here in the northeast, we will expirience fall. The hibernation of the plants we love. However, the trees will not go without a final hurah. With the spectacular imagery of yellows, reds, and firery mixes, the fall season is one that we will expirience less than 70 times... Enjoy!

With spring comes the awaking of the plants from their winter sleep. What are some specific plant species that people look forward to see this year?