[NatureNS] two trees to buy a pizza or would we rather a car with

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Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2016 15:47:07 -0400
From: Nicholas Hill <fernhillns@gmail.com>
To: "naturens@chebucto.ns.ca" <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
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 you guys back in the EC Smith days covered the province...
Oxford's R Phillip, Meander, Kennetcook, Gaspereau
Salmon...we can go on and we should

Wherever it was fertile



On Mon, Feb 8, 2016 at 3:25 PM, David & Alison Webster <dwebster@glinx.com>
wrote:

> Hi Nick,
>     Where were floodplains converted to agriculture in NS ? A smattering
> in NB but none is NS that I am aware of. Some Salmon River floodplains we=
re
> mined for gravel when the 100 series highways were built near there and I
> think some floodplains near Oxford were mined.
>     Floodplains are enriched by the silt deposited by floodwaters each
> year; e.g. Nile, Tigrus not by trees which may take advantage of the
> enriched soil.
> Yt, DW
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Nicholas Hill <fernhillns@gmail.com>
> *To:* naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
> *Sent:* Monday, February 08, 2016 2:53 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [NatureNS] two trees to buy a pizza or would we rather a
> car with the same two trees?
>
> Hey John
> yes tree roots are purported to be amazing N and P pumps and can take up
> nutrients before they reach waterways..90% range according to Maltby who
> was working on big rivers of Europe.
> when you lose trees you lose these pumps and go to lower functional state=
s
> and herbaceous plants arent a lick on trees.
>
> The tree was an engineer of floodplains in big ways and we lost a lot of
> that when we converted floodplain for agriculture. This floodplain forest
> is what supports a good group of the Appalachian Deciduous Forest
> species..bloodroot, blue cohosh Canada violet (?) wild coffee, Canada Lil=
y,
> wild garlic, yellow violets, toothwort, Solomon's plume..and this is the
> habitat we need right now to let us preserve the diversity that is
> expanding northward and may be eliminated from Kentucky in time. I'm
> looking forward to being able to eat pawpaws, crush spicebush leaves and
> swing on forest grape vines in my nineties in Nova Scotia but first we ne=
ed
> to secure and restore floodplain habitat.
>
> must be midwinter
>
>
> On Mon, Feb 8, 2016 at 2:05 PM, David & Alison Webster <dwebster@glinx.co=
m
> > wrote:
>
>> Hi John & All,
>>     Any deep-rooted plant will move nutrients to the surface if that is
>> what you mean. Grasses are in general better than trees because their fi=
ne
>> roots can penetrate the pores of rigid soils not accessible to tree root=
s.
>> This is why Agropyron repens (Couch) is such a vigorous weed. And why th=
e
>> fertility of Prairie soil is immense.
>> Yt, DW
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> *From:* John and Nhung <nhungjohn@eastlink.ca>
>> *To:* naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
>> *Sent:* Monday, February 08, 2016 12:06 PM
>> *Subject:* RE: [NatureNS] two trees to buy a pizza or would we rather a
>> car with the same two trees?
>>
>> When I was a CUSO volunteer in Northeast Thailand, thirty-odd years ago,
>> our country Director (a soil scientist by training) called trees =E2=80=
=9Cnutrient
>> pumps.=E2=80=9D
>>
>>
>>
>> Made eminent sense in an area with terrible soils, with minimal organic
>> content.
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [mailto:
>> naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] *On Behalf Of *Nicholas Hill
>> *Sent:* February 8, 2016 11:44 AM
>> *To:* naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
>> *Subject:* Re: [NatureNS] two trees to buy a pizza or would we rather a
>> car with the same two trees?
>>
>>
>>
>> Trees have been called environmental engineers as they make habitat and
>> set up the food web. We are very lucky to have neighbours that let us wa=
lk
>> and bring kids through their woods that are in good condition with large
>> mature trees of pines and hemlock. We saw the strips of tree felling fro=
m
>> the microbursts that we called the Berwick Blow of a few winters ago tha=
t
>> took out some 200 year old hemlock but we also see blow down along a lin=
e
>> between two properties where still another neighbour has clearcut and it
>> has made it not possible to ski in the adjacent uncut property over a 40=
m
>> width due to blow down.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Feb 8, 2016 at 11:06 AM, David & Alison Webster <
>> dwebster@glinx.com> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Dusan,
>>
>>     Yes and no. A sufficiently high wind can mow a swath through
>> undisturbed forest. And counting Dec 13, 2010 (ignoring Juan because it =
was
>> local) we have had two high winds recently; one even in May, 2013 (?). A=
nd
>> many winds which finish the job or start fresh ones.
>>
>>     The Kentville ravine is a good example; the 2010 wind felled a
>> significant area of Hemlock/hardwood. In my woods more Poplar went over
>> than 5 households could use both as 'scattered' trees of up to 6 in one
>> domino and two areas (~1 acre & 2 acres) where nearly every tree went
>> down. Most large Spruce which survived 2010 were taken in 2013.
>>
>>
>>
>>     I think we are in a new era of damaging winds. Note that Juan took
>> large trees and spared medium trees. With regard to canopy protection th=
is
>> no doubt helps but if trees grow with space they are better anchored tha=
n
>> trees which grow crowded.
>>
>> Yt, DW
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>>
>> *From:* Dusan Soudek <soudekd@ns.sympatico.ca>
>>
>> *To:* naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
>>
>> *Sent:* Monday, February 08, 2016 9:28 AM
>>
>> *Subject:* Re: [NatureNS] two trees to buy a pizza or would we rather a
>> car with the same two trees?
>>
>>
>>
>> =EF=BB=BF    To Donna, David, et al;
>>
>> one of the obvious way trees in a forest cooperate is protection against
>> strong winds. A solitary tree is unlikely to withstand windstorms, a for=
est
>> with an intact canopy usually does. But, on the other hand, there is bru=
tal
>> competition for sunlight in a forest. Taller trees inhibit the growth of
>> smaller trees, often their conspecifics and even their own descendants. =
Of
>> the millions and millions of seeds a mature tree will produce over its
>> lifetime, on the average only one will reach maturity...
>>
>>    Dusan Soudek
>>
>> On February 8, 2016 at 8:21 AM David