Getting Wild In The Big Apple - PTFS

Asiatic dayflowerasphalt in parking lots. Alienplants such as porcelainberry(Ampelopsis brevipedunculata),mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) andAsiatic dayflower (Commelinacommunis) have run rampantin meadows throughout the city,making it virtually impossible fornative species to keep a toe-hold.We have little idea how otherssuch as purple loosestrife (Lythrumsalicaria) affect the diversityof our native insects and birds.Overall, in the last 50 years manyof our natural areas have becomedominated by a handful of nonnative generalist species, creatinga landscape of sameness.As a result, we are losing thediversity that is characteristicof New York City. In order tohelp combat this invasion andpreserve native plant species,we urban scientists needed someweapons of our own: an inventoryof what plants once lived herebut are now gone (extirpated),and a comprehensive list of whatremains (extant). In the past twodecades, my colleagues and I havecompiled a list of more than 2,100New York City plant species,1,369 (65%) native plants and 739(35%) non-native. New York Cityis home to about 60% of the nativespecies ever recorded in NewYork State—an area 150 timeslarger. Pockets of native plantsstill thrive in New York Citybecause some of the finest naturalareas were set aside as parklandGreat Lobeliabeginning in the mid 19thcentury, including Central Parkin Manhattan and Prospect Parkin Brooklyn. Most of the Bronxparks were established in 1888as part of New York City’s firstenvironmental movement, whosemotto was "More Parks Now!" Bythe late 19th century, clubs andorganizations with strong interestsin plants and wildlife had beenestablished. These included theTorrey Botanical Club (1867), theAmerican Museum of NaturalHistory (1869), the LinnaeanSociety of New York (1878), theStaten Island Institute of Artsand Sciences (1881), the New YorkBotanical Garden (1891) and theWildlife Conservation Society(1895). Today, we have a good ideaof what plants and animals werepreviously found in each boroughbecause of the collections, notesand writings made by members ofthese organizations.Since the first comprehensivestudies began, native herbaceousplants such as wildflowers, sedgesand grasses have been most abun5From the digital collections of the New York State Library.

Helleborine orchiddant. Approximately 30% of ourbotanical diversity comes fromjust three families of plants whosemembers generally prefer muchsunshine. These include asters andgoldenrod species (Asteraceae),grasses (Poaceae), and sedges(Cyperaceae). The abundance ofspecies in these and similar sunloving plant families indicatesthat from the 19th to mid 20thcentury, most of New York City'snatural areas were composed ofopen fields and meadows. Closedcanopy forests were rare. Sincethe Second World War, we havelost nearly half of our nativeherbaceous species. By comparison,only about a fifth of woody shrubsand trees have become extinct inNew York City. Certain groupsof our native plants have beenparticularly prone to extinction.Gone are the majority of our nativeferns, violets, sedges, grasses, andpondweeds. We have lost 24 of the30 species of native orchids everfound here. All 21 of the nativeorchids once found on ManhattanIsland have been eliminated.Nine entire plant families (allcomposed of herbaceous species)have been extirpated from NewYork City. Sadly, here in the BigApple, native herbaceous plants,especially wildflowers, appearto have a dim future for a varietyof reasons.Pockets of nativeplants still thrive inNew York City becauseof its magnificent parks.Half of all the plantsever catalogued inNew York State, arefound in the city.In our parks in the last 75years, development for landfills,highway expansion, baseball fields,buildings and water treatmentfacilities has caused a net loss ofopen space for living things. Nativeherbaceous plants are forced toexist on ever smaller parcels ofland. Many sun-loving native plantspecies are being shaded out as theforest around them has matured.In the few remaining meadowsand fields, our native species arelosing the war of competition withaggressive non-native plants.Increased use of city parks has hada negative effect too, especiallyon erodible slopes and sensitivewetlands. Perhaps the mostimportant lesson to be learnedfrom New York City is that thedesignation of an area as a parkis not sufficient to ensure thepreservation of its native plants,or to prevent the invasion of nonnative species. This is most evidentin Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx,the second largest park in NewYork City. Since 1947, at least 145native plant species have beenextirpated, while 136 non-nativespecies became established duringthis same time frame. Everyhabitat in that park has a greaterpercentage of non-native speciesthan just a half-century ago.6From the digital collections of the New York State Library.

View of Central ParkNew York State Conservationist, December 2007From the digital collections of the New York State Library.7

In each New York City borough,a wave of extinction threatensour native flora. Not surprisingly,Manhattan and Brooklyn, thetwo boroughs that developed thefastest in the 19th century, havebeen affected most. They have theleast amount of parkland and havelost approximately 70% of theirnative species. Even Queens, wheremost parks were established fromthe 1920s through the 1960s, lostroughly 62% of its native flora. Analarming trend is clearly evident:in every borough except StatenIsland, more native species havebeen eliminated than still exist. Ifother boroughs are any indication,the same trend is going to happento native plant species diversity onStaten Island in the coming years.Being a true-blue scientist withear pressed to the ground, I amalways listening for solid ideasto help save New York City’sremaining plant diversity andprevent further degradation ofour natural areas.Perhaps collecting seeds ofnative plants for propagation andtranslocation, or removing acresof non-native plants that carpetour parks could stop the loss ofnative species. Such endeavorsare part of the solution, but wecan't forget to preserve one ofour most important habitats:the classroom. Growing therenow are young New Yorkers inwhose eyes I can read two fundamental questions: Why shouldwe care if our native species goextinct? Why is preserving ourdiversity important?These are good questions, andones that people throughout theworld are trying to answer. Inthe last decade, urban naturalistsfrom as far as Italy and Russiahave documented the remainingplant species of their cities, foundrare native plants and publishedscientific papers about changes inlocal biodiversity. Closer to home,the "Chicago Wilderness" movementhas sparked public support andfueled a wave of enthusiasm tosave or restore pockets of nativeplants and animals in the urbanenvironment. In more than oneCalifornia city, people are workingto transform abandoned landfillsinto meadows, wetlands and forests.Perhaps a new perspective isneeded, too: besides restoring parksat street level, green space canWoodland, Central Park8New York State Conservationist, December 2007From the digital collections of the New York State Library.

Garlic mustardbe created for native species atopbuildings, especially in industrialareas. In New York City, just suchan idea is taking root. Almost600 acres of warehouse roofs arebeing planted with hardy, droughtresistant grasses and wildflowersfor climate control. These andsimilar solutions, especially if theyinvolve young people, are music tomy ears.Right now in New York City,a renewed environmentalmovement is afoot to preserveour remaining wild plants andplaces. Naturalist foot soldiersare combing our parks, continuingto note species new to the city.Graduate students from cityuniversities are conductingecological studies of urban oases.Reporters from the Village Voiceand even the New York Timesare reminding everyone thatgood things can still be found inour town. However, the futureof New York City’s remainingbiodiversity depends on more thanthe efforts of naturalists, scientistsand concerned citizens. We needto ignite the imagination of allNew Yorkers, from school kids totaxi drivers to Mayor Bloomberghimself.Who cares about the 2,100 plantspecies that compose New York’sparks, yards and city streets? Whyis biodiversity important? I don’tknow, but I can hear the flowersthinking.Urban ecologist Dr. Robert DeCandidowas born and raised in the Bronx. Hehas studied bird migration, night huntingperegrine falcons, Gotham's nesting owlsand American kestrels, and flora of theBig Apple.Cardinal flower9From the digital collections of the New York State Library.

Youme?!atlookinIn late summer, whitetail bucks remove velvetfrom their antlers by rubbing them on bushes andsmall trees. Once their antlers have "hardened off,"bucks will challenge each other in ritualized wrestlingmatches called "sparring."Unlike rams who charge eachother in headlong rushes, buckswill carefully intertwine their antlersfirst, then begin to push and shoveto determine who is stronger.If antlers come apart, the bucks will often pause,re-align their antlers, and begin anew in an almostcourteous fashion.When does are in heat, sparring becomes much moreserious. Aggressive activity increases as mature bucksfend off any would-be competitors. A subordinate buckwill usually turn away. If he does not, fights can beintense, involving great strength and neck twisting.Given enough force, this twisting will sometimes resultin a broken antler tine.Antlers can be splayed out slightly by the two buckspushing against each other, only to spring back whenone or both deer relaxes and releases the tension.10From the digital collections of the New York State Library.

tine after timeby mike raykoviczLast fall during archery season, I was luckyenough to take a nice buck on my friendJonathan’s farm in Owego. When I got the deer,my hunting partner Dave remarked that it wouldhave been a nice rack if two of the tines weren’tbroken off. Although he was right, I hesitated toadmit it. I thought it was a pret

Now, this great magazine is even better. This issue of Conservationist contains a number of enhancements, including myriad design changes and the inaugural issue of Conservationist for Kids, an exciting new magazine full of environmental facts and fun outdoor activities for schoolchildren across New York State.