🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <q4H76.6052$jM3.237467@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net>,
PMDavis <pmdlandarch@earthlink.net> wrote:
>The best way to find out which plants will thrive on a site is to observe
>similar sites and see what grows there naturally.  The natural plants are
>the ones which have evolved in that specific climate, soil type, wind
>patterns, aspect, pathogen environment, and so forth.  That's why those
>trees are already there rather than something else.  Cutting down the
>native vegetation and replacing it with something else without a compelling
>good reason is a poor land management practice, and is generally poor
>economics, also.

Thanx for the advice that I snipped and will pursue.  On your above
statement, while I generally agree with it, neighboring national
forest, less than half a mile away, does have some deciduous trees at
higher altitudes and at my altitude in riparian areas, I just don't
know what species they are.

The particular evolved species on my site may have won the evolutionary
battle but may not be the best adapted for current conditions.  With
the islands of green separated by high mountain desert here in New
Mexico, selection may have been for fast recolonization after fires and
for survival of fires.  Of course, we supress fires in neighborhoods
now (most of the time), and my ridgetop now has riparian areas around
my roof eaves and septic mound.  I've tried to preserve my ponderosa
pines by trimming the understory and reducing the fuel accumulation so
that the flames won't reach the crowns, I even have a notch in my roof
for one of the ponderosas.  Their crowns are so high, that I fear that
my house is more of a fire threat to them than they are to the house.

Encouraging deciduous trees in my "riparian" areas would have other
environmental benefits besides reduced the albedo in winter.  It could
reduced my heating energy use in the winter and cooling energy use in
the summer.  I assume that deciduous trees do less transpiration in the
winter, so ground water would also be conserved.

                            -- thanx again, Martin
-- 
Personal, not work info:         Martin E. Lewitt             My opinions are
Domain: lewitt@swcp.com          P.O. Box 729                 my own, not my
Hm phone:  (505) 281-3248        Sandia Park, NM 87047-0729   employer's.