Got Nature? Blog

Purdue Extension-FNR now has another expert-reviewed video to help spread awareness of invasive plant species in Indiana. This video discusses the callery pear, an exotic tree from East Asia that is moving from ornamental plantings to fields and woodlands.

Check out Invasive Plant Species: Callery Pear to learn how to identify the callery pear and how you can join the fight to stop it from spreading further. To learn more about invasive plant species, check out the videos covering oriental bittersweet and wintercreeper, or visit the Invasive Species section of the Purdue Extension website.

Resources:
Invasive Plant Species: Callery Pear – The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center
Invasive Plant Species: Oriental Bittersweet – The Education Store
Invasive Plant Species: Wintercreeper – The Education Store
Invasive Species – Purdue Extension
Indiana’s “Most Unwanted” Invasive Plant Pest List – Indiana Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS) Program

Danny Thomas, Purdue Extension-FNR intern
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

Lenny Farlee, Sustaining Hardwood Extension Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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Children today spend an average of 20 minutes outside. Since the dawn of television, video games, and other indoor activities, children are spending more and more of their time indoors and missing out on the many benefits of interacting with nature. Various studies have shown that engaging with nature improves concentration, coordination, creativity, and more. Hands of the Future, Inc. is a nonprofit organization started to educate children about the beauty of nature and help them connect with it.

Hands of the Future, Inc. has several programs for kids to get involved with. The Junior Nature Club is a free after school program for children in pre-kindergarten through the eighth grade that meets every three weeks to learn about nature through games, crafts, and other activities.  The Living Schoolyard Program is a partnership with Indiana schools bringing bits of nature to schools in the forms of “outdoor classrooms” like butterfly gardens and raised bed veggie gardens. A Children’s Forest is even being discussed as Hands of the Future, Inc. becomes more and more successful.

For summer fun sign up for Hands of the Future program! Registration is free.

Volunteers & Interns:
Older students and adults can apply to be a volunteer. Volunteers are always appreciated, no past experience necessary. If you love nature and kids you will enjoy this program. Internships are available for college students, contact Zonda Bryant.

This month’s Junior Nature Club theme is soil, and is taking place on June 21st for pre-kindergarteners to second graders, June 23rd for third to fifth graders, and June 28th for sixth to eighth graders at the Lilly Nature Center at Celery Bog. Look forward to upcoming themes including “Monarch Madness” and “Floating on Air!”

For more information, please check out the Hands of Future, Inc. and Junior Nature Club websites listed below.

Resources:
PK-12 Programs – Purdue FNR Extension

Zonda Bryant, Director
765.366.9126
director@hands-future.org

Purdue Extension Contact:
Rebecca Busse, Extension Associate
Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources
busser@purdue.edu

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What you do on your property is your choice first and foremost. I commonly get questions or comments related to the need to manage one’s property rather than setting the land aside and let nature take its course. One is not necessarily better than the other, but the outcomes will likely be very different. Certainly keeping land in a more ‘natural’ state provides better habitat for wildlife compared to a parking lot – both scenarios above achieve this. However, there are several reasons why you should at least consider a more active management approach.

The way our landscape is configured now is different from long ago so we can’t expect processes to function the same way as they once did. Setting land aside for preservation often has the goal of letting the land return to pre-settlement conditions. While looking into our past can help inform management decisions, it doesn’t make much sense biologically to completely rely on this approach. At what point in time should it be? Remember, part of the Indiana was covered by glaciers and flocks of passenger pigeons (now extinct) numbering in the billions used to call Indiana home. Just think about what your car looks like after parking under a tree occupied by a few dozen starlings – imagine what billions of birds roosting do to tree limbs and the soil nutrient levels. Moreover, natural processes, or wildlife responses to them, may not be desirable. For example, having too many deer or raccoon may be problematic.

Invasive species have also completely changed the way we view habitat management. Their control requires regular monitoring and appropriate control measures, preferably before they become overabundant.  Simply letting nature take its course can have unintended, and undesirable, consequences. Setting land aside is certainly one option to consider.  Just don’t be mistaken that approach is best for wildlife and our natural resources.

I would argue it is better to inventory what you have on your property, identify what you want out of your land out of potential options, and then determine the approach that meets these objectives.

To learn more about this active style of property management, read Wildlife Extension Specialist Brian MacGowan‘s publication “Assessing Your Land’s Potential for Wildlife.”

Resources:
Assessing Your Land’s Potential for Wildlife – The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center
Woodland Wildlife Management – The Education Store
Managing Forest & Wildlife Resources: An Integrated Approach – The Education Store
Forest Management for Reptiles and Amphibians: A Technical Guide for the Midwest – The Education Store
How to Construct a Scent Station – Purdue FNR Extension

Brian MacGowan, Extension Wildlife Specialist
Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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When you hear about endangered species, most of us think about the plights of our furry or feathered friends.

This article describes the plight of some of the less cuddly members of the endangered species list.

Indiana is home to a number of endangered and threatened tree species. In this multi-part series, we will identify some of these tree species and describe some of their unique characteristics.

Our second species is the Butternut (Juglans cinerea), known also by lemon-nut, oil nut, or white walnut. It is a close relative of the more common black walnut. Butternut is a small/medium sized tree that most often reaches a maximum height of 60 to 90 ft., although some trees as tall as 120 ft. have been reported. This short-lived tree often has a forked or crooked trunk and wide-spreading branches, although it can grow straight in forest settings. It rarely reaches 75 years of age or greater than 24 in dbh. Butternut trees are easily grown and have quickly developing fibrous root systems. Butternuts produce both male and female flowers on the same tree and have bright green compound pinnate leaves (alternate) that extend to between 15 and 25 inches.

Butternut trees are more valued for their nuts than for lumber as the nuts are sweet and prized as a food source by both humans and wildlife. In fact, these trees served as one of the primary mast species for numerous woodland species prior to its sudden population decline. The average seed-bearing age for butternut is 20 and becomes optimal between 30 and 60 years. Heavy crops occur every 2 to 3 years but nuts are produced each year after seed-bearing age is reached. Butternut is able to naturally hybridize with several other walnut (Juglans) species. The nuts collected from most Juglans spp. including butternut can vary in size and shape however, distinctive differences among species can be noted.

Similar to black walnut, the roots of butternut trees release a chemical known as juglone. Juglone (5 hydroxy-1, 4 naphthoquinone) is toxic to a number of plant species. Planting ornamental plants such as azaleas, lilacs, peonies, and rhododendrons, or fruits and vegetables like blueberries, eggplants, peppers, potatoes, and tomatoes near butternut trees is discouraged, as juglone from the butternut roots may kill them or stunt their growth. The toxic zone around walnuts extends 60 to 80 ft. from the base of the trunk, or about twice the size of the crown, and it is likely the same for butternut. Juglone has never been shown to harm humans, but butternut husks exude a strong dye that stains clothing and skin.

Butternut was once a common tree in North America. Its range was expansive; in Canada from Manitoba east to Quebec, south to Georgia and west to Arkansas. In the past, the states with the most robust butternut timber trades were West Virginia, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Tennessee. Butternut trees are found almost exclusively in mixed hardwood forests composed primarily of basswood (Tilia spp.), black cherry (Prunus serotina), beech (Fagus grandifolia), black walnut (Juglans nigra), elm (Ulmus spp.), hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), hickory (Carya spp.), Oak (Quercus spp.), red maple (Acer rubrum), sugar maple (A. saccharum), yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), white ash (Fraxinus americana), and yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis), although in the northernmost portions of its range it can also be found with sweet birch (Betula lenta) or white pine (Pinus strobus). Typically, a stand only contains a few butternut trees as they thrive best among mixed forests.

The ranges of butternut and black walnut (Juglans nigra) are similar, however butternut is found farther north and at higher elevations (1500 m) than black walnut. Unfortunately, butternut tree populations have declined significantly throughout the majority of its former range. Conservative estimates have indicated that roughly 13,000 trees remain in Ontario and between 7,000 and 17,000 in New Brunswick. The Forest Service estimated that greater than 77 percent of butternut populations in the southeastern United States had succumbed to the fungus twenty years ago. Today, those estimates approach 90 percent nationwide. A subset of these remaining trees are nearly dead and carrying heavy infection loads, while most of the remaining trees are not reproducing.

A fungal disease known as butternut canker has decimated populations of butternut trees throughout their native range. The causal agent of butternut canker is Ophiognomonia clavigignenti-juglandacearum. The speed at which butternut populations have disappeared has led many to believe that butternut canker was yet another introduced pathogen. The primary hallmarks of butternut canker disease are numerous branch and stem cankers. These lesions are typically elliptical in shape and have sunken centers with a dark brown or black exudate stain that can be easily seen against butternut’s ashy grey bark.

Aside from butternut canker disease, butternuts are also in danger from a host of insect pests such as bark beetles, the butternut curculio, defoliators, husk flies, lace bugs, nut weevils, and wood borers. Unlike the American chestnut (Castanea dentata), the tree described in our first blog entry on trees at risk, the great majority of butternut do not sprout after stem death. Butternut is now rare everywhere, but most of the few populations that still exist are found in riparian areas. At present, insufficient knowledge about management of butternut and how to regenerate butternut seedlings in natural forest stands has hindered strategies for conservation. Some butternut trees have survived; these paltry few trees may show some resistance to butternut canker, but that is still being evaluated. A Japanese Juglans species, Japanese walnut (Juglans ailantifolia), appears more resistant to butternut canker than is butternut, so researchers in Tennessee have begun butternut restoration using hybrids between Japanese walnut and butternut. A breeding strategy using these hybrids, known by the common name buartnut or buarts, may be a promising avenue for the restoration of a butternut-type tree to the eastern forest. Backcrossing buarts to butternuts and development of a disease screening technique could be a step towards restoring this species, however progress towards this goal has been slow.

Resources:
Surviving Butternut Trees Benefit From Better Sites Rather than Disease Resistance – USDA Forest Service
A Forest Manger’s Guide to Butternut – USDA Forest Service
Butternut Profile – USDA Forest Service
Endangered Trees of Indiana: Part 1 – American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) – Got Nature?
The Morton Arboretum 

Shaneka Lawson, USDA Forest Service and HTIRC Research Plant Physiologist & Adjunct Assistant Professor
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

Keith Woeste, Adjunct Professor Emeritus, USDA Forest Service and HTIRC Research Plant Physiologist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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Question: I have two White Ash trees growing in my front yard along the street. One is 8″ in diameter and the other 12″. Large roots are growing out of the ground horizontally away from the trees. Should I try to cut these roots and risk hurting the tree or should I try to mound dirt over them to allow grass to grow? The roots are unsightly and ruining my lawn.

Answer: Trees provide many benefits including clean air and water. Also, they can provide up to 10% greater property value by keeping trees on your site healthy. First, make sure they are treated against Emerald Ash Borer to prevent from losing them to the pest.

Tree roots can grow a great distance from a tree, sometimes two to three times the height of the tree. These are very important for stability and health. Cutting tree roots can be a very risky choice as well as covering them with soil. When you cover existing tree roots with soil the results are similar to smothering the tree by not allowing gas exchange between the roots and the air above.

I would suggest not doing anything to the roots within the drip line of the tree. Outside of this critical root zone area is less risky and changes can be made with minimal risk. The best option under the drip line would be to add a light layer of two to three inches of hardwood mulch creating tree rings to help the tree, reduce mowing and cover the roots.

Resources:
When Tree Roots Surface – Purdue Extension
Emerald Ash Borer in Indiana – Purdue Extension
Mechanical Damage to Trees: Mowing and Maintenance Equipment – The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center
Why Is My Tree Dying? – Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources
Tree Owner’s Manual – Indiana Department of Natural Resources

Lindsey Purcell, Urban Forestry Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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Ornamental plants provide many environmental and ecological benefits to landscapes and urban areas. They can be aesthetically pleasing, reduce stormwater runoff, lower carbon dioxide and pollutants, alleviate the urban “heat island” effect, and provide habitats to pollinators, birds, and mammals. Unfortunately, a few of these landscape species can escape into wild areas and create ecological problems in unintended areas such as forests and woodlands.

The Indy Star shares article titled, “Bradford pears and other backyard bullies to avoid in Indiana” listing some of the invasive species that are taking over Indiana woodlands. If you are planning on adding trees or shrubs to your property this spring, you will want to view this article before planting.

Author:
Cara Anthony, cara.anthony@indystar.com
Release date of article April 2, 2016.
IndyStar

Resources from The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center:
Commercial Greenhouse and Nursery Production: Alternative Options for Invasive Landscape Plants
Invasive Plant Species in Hardwood Tree Plantations
Invasive Plant Species Fact Sheets: Poison Hemlock
Mile-a-minute Vine
Native Trees of the Midwest
Shrubs and Woody Vines of Indiana and the Midwest: Identification, Wildlife Values, and Landscaping Use

Videos:
Invasive Plant Species: Callery Pear
Invasive Plant Species: Oriental Bittersweet
Invasive Plant Species: Wintercreeper

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Arbor Day is always the last Friday of April in Indiana and it falls on April 29^th this year. Many of us are familiar with the tradition of planting a tree in celebration of this holiday, but have we stopped to count the benefits and reasons why we celebrate planting trees? In honor of Arbor Day, here are 10 reasons to remember why we love and plant trees:

1. Public health: Research shows that trees planted in the city make people happier! The result is a reduction in stress levels, crime rates, and improves patient recovery time.
2. Beauty: Trees are a great way to soften the often harsh city environment. A tree with vibrant fall color, interesting branch structure or bark patterns in the winter, flowering in the spring, or providing shade with its lush, green leaves in the summer will always provide a pleasing distraction from the urban environment.
3. Clean air: Trees are an important source of life-giving oxygen in the air that we breathe. They filter out harmful particulate matter and other pollutants common in the urban or suburban areas that would otherwise make it into our lungs.
4. Clean water: Trees help filter the water we drink. The leaves of a tree slow rainfall on the ground, preventing soil erosion and pollutants from washing into our water sources.
5. Energy conservation: Trees shade our houses from the sun and provide insulation and create windbreaks, keeping heating and cooling costs during the extreme temperatures of summer and winter lower.
6. Property Value: Benefits of trees include lower energy costs and beauty and are recognized and reflected in higher property values where trees are strategically placed.
7. Wildlife: Trees provide shelter and food for wildlife that we love to watch, such as songbirds and squirrels.
8. Beloved landmarks: City trees properly cared for will provide years of memories for residents. They can serve as a place to gather and as a source of civic pride, as well as a way to mark the changing of the seasons and progression of time.
9. Global warming: – Trees are a major factor in carbon sequestration. CO₂ is a major contributor to global warming and tress put it to good use rather than causing harm in the atmosphere.
10. Our children: Every day, many trees are cut down to allow for our continued growth as populations expand. We must work to replace them if we want our children to receive the same benefits from them in the future that we enjoy today.

We have our 10 reasons, now where will we get our 10 trees? For a $10 contribution you can become a member of the National Arbor Day Foundation and receive a gift of 10 trees through the mail. Also with your membership, you will receive discounts on over 100 other varieties of trees and a free guide to planting and care called The Tree Book.

To become a member, you can join online at the Arbor Day Foundation website.

Resources:
Membership – Arbor Day Foundation
Indiana Arborist Association
Tree Installation: Process and Practices – The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center
Importance of Hardwood Tree Planting – The Education Store
‘Twas The Day Before Arbor Day – Got Nature?

Amy Wetzel, Former Urban Forestry Student
Lindsey Purcell, Urban Forestry Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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With spring comes planting of trees and shrubs along with questions of best practices to ensure success. This 20-page publication titled “Planting Forest Trees and Shrubs in Indiana” provides an abbreviated 10-step approach to successfully plant and establish healthy, productive forest and conservation plantings in Indiana. It discusses types of plantings, site selection, site preparation, how to obtain seedlings, planting methods, and care after planting. You will also find resources with further planting details, how to increase wildlife on your properties, along with how to contact a professional forester.

To order a hardcopy for $5.50 visit Planting forest Trees and Shrubs in Indiana in The Education Store. It is also available as a free download.

Resources:
Planting & Care of Fine Hardwood Seedlings, Indiana Department of Agriculture Forest Service
Woodland Wildlife Management, The Education Store
Shrubs and Woody Vines of Indiana and the Midwest: Identification, Wildlife Values, and Landscaping Use, The Education Store

Ron Rathfon, Regional Extension Forester-Southern Indiana Purdue Agricultural Center (SIPAC)
Purdue Department of Forestry & Natural Resources

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The Department of Forestry and Natural Resources’ extension team have received four Purdue Extension Issue-Based Action Team (IBAT) awards out of seven. These new initiatives have been chosen from 30 submitted proposals. In an ever-changing world, Purdue Extension is launching big ​ideas to identify and address priority issues to enhance quality of life as well as the efficiency and/or effectiveness of organizations through research-based education.

Congratulations to the following FNR teams that are moving the world forward:

ENHANCING THE VALUE OF PUBLIC SPACES: HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND DESIGNING THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Project Overview: Expand upon the existing Enhancing the Value of Public Spaces program to include a health component — building community capacities for accessible means for physical activity. $50,000.

Team: Michael Wilcox, Assistant Program Leader for Community Development Extension, Purdue Center for Reginal Development; and Kara Salazar, Sustainable Communities Extension Specialist, Department of Forestry & Natural Resources; Donna Vandergraff, Extension Specialist, Nutrition Science; Lisa Graves, Assistant Program Leader and Extension Specialist, Nutrition Science; Melissa Maulding, Director, Nutrition Education Programs; and Steve Yoder, Extension Educator, Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR), Tippecanoe County.

MARKET BASKET 360
Program Overview: A wealth of resources on a website, educational workshop agendas, certification programs, uniform materials for cooking demonstrations, and more for Farmers’ Market Masters, producers, and consumers. Market Basket 360 centralizes, streamlines, and enhances existing farmers’ market resources available through Purdue Extension, Indiana State Department of Health, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, and other industry organizations.

Team: James Wolff, Extension Educator, Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR), Allen County; Julie Gray, Central District Director, ANR; Morgan Roddy, Extension Educator/Health & Human Sciences (HHS), ANR, Henry County; Curt Campbell, Extension Educator, ANR, Wabash County; Jodee Ellett, Local Foods Coordinator, Purdue Extension; Vickie Hadley, HHS Extension Educator/CED, ANR, Allen County; Nancy Manuel, HHS Extension Educator, ANR, Adams County; Gail Peitzmeier, HHS Extension Educator, Crawford County; Tim Vining, Development Educator, ANR; Teresa Witkoske, HHS Extension Educator/CED, Wabash County; Kwamena Quagrainie, Aquaculture Marketing Director and Associate Professor, Department of Forestry & Natural Resources and Agriculture Economics; Bob Rode, Aquaculture Research Lab Manager and Extension Specialist, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources.

NATURAL RESOURCES LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
Program Overview: Expanding Extension’s capacity to develop and deliver statewide natural resource programs and enhance decision-making for implementation at the community level. $30,000.

Team: Kara Salazar, Assistant Program Leader for Community Development and Sustainable Communities Extension Specialist, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources/Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant; Angie Tilton, Extension Educator, Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR), Hendricks County Team; Lenny Farlee, Sustaining Hardwood Extension Specialist, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources; Liz Jackson, Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Center (HTIRC), Engagement Specialist and Executive Director of the Indiana Forestry and Woodland Owners Association and the Walnut Council; Steve Yoder, Regional Extension Educator, Community Development

THE NATURE OF HEALTH
Project Overview: A multifaceted approach to engaging families in nature-learning opportunities that will utilize emerging research to connect Health and Human Sciences and Agriculture and Natural Resources using curriculum developed by Rod Williams titled “The Nature of Teaching.” $20,000.

Team: Rod Williams, Professor of Wildlife Science, Department of Forestry & Natural Resources; Angie Frost, Extension Specialist-Healthy Living, College of Agriculture; Stephanie Woodcox, Extension Specialist-Health & Wellness, College of Health and Human Sciences; Deb Arseneau, Extension Educator, Agriculture Natural Resources (ANR), Newton County; Jay Christiansen, Extension Educator, ANR, Vigo County; Jan Dougan, Extension Educator, ANR, Dubois County; Molly Hoag, Extension Educator, ANR, Wells County; Molly Hunt, Extension Educator, ANR, Delaware County; Gracie Marlatt, Extension Educator, ANR, Rush County; Kelsie Muller, Extension Educator, ANR, Benton County; Lindsey Pedigo, Extension Educator, ANR, Howard County; Katie Zuber, Extension Educator, ANR, Lawrence County.

View the College of Agriculture Strategic Plan and the Purdue Extension Annual Report for more information on Purdue Extension.

For extension resources on Forestry and Natural Resources view Purdue Extension-FNR​ website.

Diana Evans, Extension and Web Communications Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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Biomass harvesting refers to harvesting where more woody material is gathered than in a traditional sawtimber harvesting. Material down to four inches in diameter is harvested along with large trees for veneer logs and saw logs. Small trees and tops are chipped and used for paper pulp and boiler fuel.

During October of 2012, a biomass harvesting project was started by harvesting a 100 acre tract of hardwood timber at the Southeastern Purdue Ag Center (SEPAC). The tract was divided into several treatment areas demonstrating various forms of harvesting including traditional clearcutting, biomass harvesting, and areas left uncut. The goal of this project was twofold: to determine the volume and value of the products produced using biomass harvesting compared to the traditional methods, and to gain a more thorough understanding of what happens to a harvest site following biomass harvesting when restoration practices are used.

The harvest site has experienced a rapid recovery of new vegetation. Forbs, shrubs, tree seedlings, and sprouts densely covered the ground and began providing new wildlife habitats and the beginnings of a new diverse forest area.

The new Extension video “Woody Biomass Harvesting at Purdue University” explores this process in further depth, showing the harvest as well as the aftermath and regrowth. It also introduces a Purdue Extension – FNR developed web application called the Woody Biomass Calculator. This calculator can be used by landowners, foresters, and wood products harvesters and managers to estimate the volume and value of several different wood product groups and tree species, including woody biomass. Before harvesting, consider using this tool to evaluate if biomass harvesting is a better choice than traditional sawtimber harvesting for you.

Resources: 
Woody Biomass Harvesting at Purdue University – Studying the Advantage Over Traditional Harvesting – Purdue Extension
Woody Biomass Calculator – Purdue Extension – FNR
Harvesting Biomass: A Guide to Best Management Practices – IDNR Division of Forestry
Woody Biomass Feedstock for the Bioenergy and Bioproducts Industries – IDNR Division of Forestry
IN Wood Industry Facts – Purdue FNR Wood Research Laboratory

Lenny Farlee, Sustaining Hardwood Extension Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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