#ecosystemmanagement

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From May to mid-August, four intrepid seasonal interns worked steadily to combat an alien pest that is ravaging park forests. The diminutive Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) was officially documented in Philadelphia in 2016. Our native ash trees have no resistance to this insect, so they are rapidly succumbing to the voracious feeding by the beetle’s larvae all over the city. Over the next several years, all 200,000+ of the City’s ash trees are likely to be killed by this pest. 

The only trees that are expected to survive are those that are chemically treated to resist the EAB. In 2015 and 2016, the first round of treatments was done on ash trees that would become hazards if they die— large trees near roads, parking lots, buildings— and on excellent specimens to preserve. Curtis Helm, then at Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, developed the program to identify trees to treat and implement treatments.

Since treatments are effective for only 2-3 years, 2018 was the next “window” for re-treating the previously treated trees. This is where the seasonal interns come in. In May, Parks & Rec hired Christopher LeClair, Alec Miller, William Sheirer, and Kendall Topping. Their job was to inject an insecticide called Arbormectin into ash trees to protect them against EAB.

After a week of training, the four of them divided into two teams, and they were off and running. The following is a partial list of obstacles they overcame in the course of their work:

Poison ivy (multiple infections)

Deer ticks (2 cases of Lyme disease)

Stinging insects, including yellow jackets (multiple) and saddleback caterpillar (1)

Equipment malfunctions (multiple)

Data errors (several)

Lacerations (1)

Car accidents (1) and mechanical problems (3)

Pollen allergies (2, for many days) 

Steamy work conditions (many days + 1 case of heat exhaustion)

The interns also fielded many questions from curious park users, such as, “Are you killing that tree?” Many trees had poison ivy vines that needed to be cleared before treatments could be done. On August 20, they emerged from the woods victorious. 1,379 ash trees were treated this summer, ranging in size from 7 inches DBH (diameter at breast height) to 60 inches DBH. The average diameter of the treated trees was about 26 inches, so many large trees were saved. The teams injected 200 quarts of Arbormectin in total.

Though we will continue to lose many ash trees, these treatments will ensure that at least some populations of white and green ash remain in our parks. Hopefully, some will serve as seed sources for new trees in the future. Since many of the treated trees would be considered hazards if they died, the treatments helped prevent hazards and/or the cost of removing them.

Philadelphia Parks & Recreation (PPR) has selected the forests surrounding the Horticulture Center, one of the jewels of the Philadelphia park system, as the focal point for a major restoration effort. The Horticulture Center facility and grounds, which include an arboretum, are historic and provide the setting for horticultural excellence in our park system. The facility features a conference center, indoor gardens and greenhouses, and is a destination for ceremonies, including weddings, corporate events, and holiday celebrations.

Unfortunately, the native forests surrounding the site are being lost. The forest canopy is dominated by a large number of invasive tree species, and portions of the canopy are over-run by invasive woody vines, which are tearing the forest apart. The understory is dominated by a limited number of non-native species of saplings and shrubs, and the native herbaceous layer (wildflowers, ferns and grasses) has disappeared. This forest is on a trajectory to become dominated by a limited number of invasive trees, shrubs, and vines, with little aesthetic appeal, diminished wildlife habitat and minimal diversity. Without intervention, the future forest will provide an unfortunate example of neglect and lost potential.

The Horticulture Center Forest Restoration and Protection Project includes three distinct project areas, identified as Lansdowne Glen (12.8 acres); Montgomery Creek (10.7 acres), and Michaux Grove (5.9 acres), totaling approximately 29.4  acres in size. The project sites each abut the Horticulture Center and grounds. The current project will demonstrate to our many visitors that carefully planned restoration can transform a degraded forest into a diverse and functional ecosystem.  

Why are our forests dying? Urban forests are subject to a wide range of stressors that do not commonly afflict non-urban or "wildland" forests. The cumulative effect of these stresses is too slow to be observed but over time, the impacts become obvious. The native trees and shrubs are replaced by non-natives, rampant woody vines tear off limbs and encroach into the canopy, regeneration (i.e., seedlings and saplings) disappears, diversity diminishes, and eventually, the forest is lost.

One of the most significant stressors, surprisingly, is an over-population of white-tailed deer.  Deer are a native animal; however, the abnormally high population that roams our park system takes a huge toll on the native forest. These herbivores selectively and continuously consume almost every native tree or shrub seedling growing within the forest floor. The "carrying capacity," or ability of our native forest to provide sufficient food for the deer herd, has been overwhelmed. In addition, these same deer also prefer to consume the native plants rather than the non-native or invasive plant species, which have become increasingly common throughout Philadelphia's forests. This is because that over the millennia, our native deer co-evolved with our native plants and as a result find the native plants far more palatable and nutritious than the non-natives. In addition to herbivory by deer, our forests have become overrun with non-native plants. The Philadelphia region has a high diversity and abundance of invasive plants due to our rich history of botanical introductions and horticultural plant promotion. These two factors– deer browse and invasive plants– will, over time, result in the replacement of our native forest with a degraded landscape dominated by a few species of non-native trees, shrubs, and vines.

Unlike most wildland forests, urban forests must be maintained and stewarded if they are to survive.

Project overview

The goal of this forest restoration project is focused on the removal of non-native species of plants (trees, shrubs, and vines) using traditional forestry equipment in order to prepare the sites for planting and to promote the regeneration and establishment of native plants.  

Following the removal of the undesirable vegetation, each of the sites will receive targeted herbicide treatment and then be protected with eight-foot (8') height deer exclusion fencing. Deer fencing is visually unobtrusive, and the fence will include multiple pedestrian gates so as not to impede access by park users. A new walking trail for education and passive recreation will be constructed within the Lansdowne Glen project area.

While performing clearing, the contractor will be "topping" a number of the undesirable trees that are being removed as part of this project. Standing dead trees are referred to as "snags," which provide valuable wildlife nesting and feeding opportunities. The contractors must also leave large logs or "habitat logs" laying onsite. These provide habitat and help return nutrients back to the soil as they decay.

In fall 2019, PPR will plant the site with thousands of native trees and shrubs. Some of these plants will be purchased from local native plant nurseries; however, many will be grown from locally-sourced seed at PPR’s Greenland Nursery (off of Ford Rd. near the Organic Recycling Center).

PPR Ecosystem Management Staff is gearing up to hire three interns who will be working to remove climbing vines throughout the major watershed parks this summer. Philadelphia parks have been subject to disturbance since their establishment in the mid to late 1800′s. This has resulted in the introduction of numerous species of invasive plants, including many woody vines. Several of these vines, in particular Asiatic bittersweet, porcelainberry, English ivy and wisteria have become very damaging to park forests. These vines climb into tree canopies, causing shading and additional weight. The shading reduces photosynthesis which stresses and weakens the tree, and the added weight and surface area of the vines can result in catastrophic failure, especially during wind storms or snow and ice events. These vines also overwhelm and kill tree seedlings and saplings that would otherwise become the future forest.

The PPR Urban Forestry & Ecosystem Management (UFEM) team is completing the restoration of the 23-acre Haddington Woods site, a valuable component of our Cobbs Creek watershed park. This site had been long neglected and was badly in need of attention as it included impenetrable expanses of degraded forest, a sea of invasives overrun with vines, illegal encampments, and mountains of trash.  During winter 2014/2015, the degraded forest was cleared of invasives and trash was removed. Tree trunks were left onsite to provide wildlife habitat, and tops were fly-chipped to maintain organic matter onsite. Immediately following the clearing effort, the site was seeded with a variety of warm and cool season grasses to stabilize soil, and deer fencing was installed to prevent future browse and buck rub. In October, approximately 5,000 trees and shrubs were planted as needed to restore the lost forest canopy and increase plant diversity.