2013 strawberry creek filling the weed shaped hole poster

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Filling the weed-shaped hole: Determining an effective planting palette for Strawberry Creek Lauren Hallett, Nathan Bickart, Lawrence Fernandez and Katharine Suding Department of Environmental Science, Policy & Management, UC Berkeley Every year over 500 undergraduates care for Strawberry Creek by pulling the invasive ivy that blankets its banks. Without planting new species, this may create a “weed-shaped” hole that ivy can refill. Our goal was to select and plant species that limit ivy re-invasion. What we did: Species with similar traits to ivy – such as similar growth rates and shade tolerance – should be more competitive. We measured the traits of 40 species to identify plants that can compete with ivy. Roots Shoots Specific leaf area: Thick leaves last longer and are more drought tolerant Chlorophyll: Higher leaf chlorophyll content increases photosynthesis rates and growth Conductance: Low conductance means less water is lost during respiration Height: Greater height is associated with faster growth Specific root length & Proportion of fine roots : Thin roots have more surface area but are more fragile Rooting depth: Deep tap roots increase drought avoidance Root:shoot ratio: Higher root to shoot ratios decrease susceptibility to drought Species that clustered near ivy in multivariate trait-space are functionally similar to ivy. We grew these functionally- similar species in the Strawberry Creek nursery. And then planted them along Strawberry Creek. 800 plants With the help of 250 volunteers We will keep an eye on these plants over the next year to assess how successfully they compete with ivy. Thanks to: Jesse Fried and Martin Alexander for long hours measuring traits, Tim Pine and the Strawberry Creek Restoration Program for guidance and planting support and Katherine Walsh for logistical help. Ivy Ivy

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A 2012 TGIF Funded Project

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Filling the weed-shaped hole: Determining an

effective planting palette for Strawberry Creek Lauren Hallett, Nathan Bickart, Lawrence Fernandez and Katharine Suding

Department of Environmental Science, Policy & Management, UC Berkeley

Every year over 500 undergraduates care for Strawberry Creek by pulling the invasive ivy that

blankets its banks. Without planting new species, this may create a “weed-shaped” hole that ivy

can refill. Our goal was to select and plant species that limit ivy re-invasion.

What we did: Species with similar traits to ivy – such as similar growth rates and shade tolerance – should

be more competitive. We measured the traits of 40 species to identify plants that can compete with ivy.

Roots Shoots Specific leaf area: Thick leaves

last longer and are more drought

tolerant

Chlorophyll: Higher leaf

chlorophyll content increases

photosynthesis rates and growth

Conductance: Low conductance

means less water is lost during

respiration

Height: Greater height is

associated with faster growth

Specific root length

& Proportion of fine

roots : Thin roots

have more surface

area but are more

fragile

Rooting depth: Deep

tap roots increase

drought avoidance

Root:shoot ratio: Higher root to shoot ratios

decrease susceptibility to drought

Species that clustered near ivy in multivariate

trait-space are functionally similar to ivy. We grew these functionally-

similar species in the

Strawberry Creek nursery.

And then planted them along Strawberry Creek.

800 plants With the help of 250 volunteers

We will keep an eye on these plants over the next year to assess how successfully they compete with ivy.

Thanks to: Jesse Fried and Martin Alexander for long hours measuring traits, Tim Pine and the Strawberry

Creek Restoration Program for guidance and planting support and Katherine Walsh for logistical help.

Ivy

Ivy