Sliver of Nature in a Sea of Concrete

If you want to know what’s happening in the natural world, you have to spend time there, as much

time as possible.  As I approached my observation site for the first time, an empty lot at the edge of

town, I found myself feeling forced to be there.  Now after many weeks of dedication, I have begun

to actually enjoy this time.  I have started to, in a way, connect with the plants and creatures that

inhabit the lot and developed a method for constructing my natural history of this intriguing space.  

Coming from a rural setting in Southern Maryland, I have been lucky enough to grow up with nature

first hand.  But having moved to a town for my college education, I’ve had the chance to observe

how nature also makes a showing in urban settings.  As a result, I’ve come to understand how

different, yet how similar, these two places are and can be.  On both my farm back home and the

empty lot here in Salisbury, familiar species of trees, birds, and insects are all around me.  Red

Maple, Red Oak, American Holly, and Loblolly Pine in particular have found their way from the

rural landscape of my childhood to this neglected corner of Salisbury. These trees in no sense make

up a “forest” as we think of it normally, yet many of the climax species found in mature hardwood

forests stand here and due to the low total number of trees involved, we see higher species diversity

in some of these areas (Nowak Pg. 4-5).  The main difference is that the rural forest allows ample

room for all sorts of living things to grow freely and unrestricted, while the space before me is

limited to an extremely small, enclosed portion of land inside of a big, dirty town.  The fact that life

on the lot is so successful and thriving is a true monument to the adaptability of these creatures. 

            One of the relationships I have come to treasure in my observation involves how trees and birds depend upon on another, form ecological bonds with one another.  Some trees on the lot offer benefits to birds; the tree I took most interest in was an American Holly (Ilex opaca).  Hollies offer multiple benefits to birds, protection and food being at the top of the list.  Birds and trees have a mutualistic relationship.  This means that both parties in this situation work together and both receive benefits.  Mourning Doves were one of the frequent visitors to this holly and after some research I came to find that they are one of at least eighteen species of birds that consume the tree’s fruit. They are able to use hollies as a year round food source, which is a major benefit during the winter months when everything else is dormant (Cubie).  In turn for the constant food, birds offer trees like the holly the ability to disperse.  The seeds are consumed and excreted by the creature that ate them and, if dropped in a suitable habitat, will allow the seeds to take and grow.  After learning this, one thing that popped into my head was the idea that most of the trees on my lot probably found their way there in this fashion. Obviously we will never know for sure but there is a pretty good chance. 

Trees like this are also a safe haven for birds particularly in cities due to the widespread lack of

suitable habitat; a major benefit of the holly in this regard is that it is an evergreen so its benefits are

year round.  Yet the presence of the holly here is complicated.  This holly in particular is not a good

example of your typical holly.  It is not growing, as it has evolved to do, in the understory of a

mature hardwood forest.  Out in the open on this lot, this particular holly has become massive with

an unnatural amount of leaf coverage.  But this is good news here.  Birds are able to hide inside the

canopy, which has almost become a fortress from the outside world.  Over the weeks of my

observations, I could not help but notice how many birds took refuge in this tree, especially when it

was cold and snowing early in the year.  This was also not restricted to one species of bird, but it

seemed that the holly welcomed a broad spectrum species: American Robins, Boat-tailed Grackles,

European Starlings, Northern Blue Jays, and many more species are included in this list, but one

thing they all have in common is their ability to use the holly to survive (“Birds of Maryland”).

            After doing some research on the holly tree and why it was such a good example of habitat for birds, I found some pretty intriguing information.  First as I said earlier, since hollies are evergreens, they offer protection from the elements almost all year round.  Wind, rain, snow, and even heat are fended off if birds can find the shelter of a holy branch.  Also, hollies are able to grow in a high variety of soil and light conditions so can be found pretty much anywhere, from a mature hardwood forest to an empty lot in the middle of Salisbury.  This provides them the capacity to spread all over the east coast, expanding their habitat range as far as the birds may need it (Grelen). 

            Why did I come to enjoy this project so much?  I think it has a lot to do with the concept of the lot being an empty space in the middle of a cluster.  As I said earlier, I grew up in an environment that was mostly undisrupted.  It was always a shock to me to go into a city and see how altered the landscape was and even the green space that could be found was put there by man and maintained constantly.  This lot is a small oasis; somewhere nature was able to live on while everything around it was being disturbed.  This lot in no way produces the same ecosystem services as would a natural forest, but there is a positive benefit to the community by having this lot remain empty.  Ecosystem services are any positive benefit that an “ecosystem” provides to humans.  In the instance of my lot, there is a much smaller service than in a natural forest but to us as natural historians, this is a whole thriving ecosystem that has survived through much more difficult circumstances.  Even though to most humans this lot is unused space, it is providing many services that some ecosystems could not.  With no disturbance, the lot is able to grow in whatever way suits it best and this will ultimately end up providing exactly what this environment needs.  It is an island of natural growth in a sea of concrete.  Even though the services are not as significant or it happened exactly like it was supposed to, this lot is a great exhibit of how nature adapts to its environment.  Studying it gives us a view into how certain species of plant and animals deal with the limitations and compare this information to a natural forest to see the difference between how the two environments vary.

 So how is it possible to show such disrespect to such an important specimen of nature?  People do it

all the time, whether it is to build a house or just to make some room in the backyard, people do not

see the impact they have when they cut down even just one tree.  Large, mature trees are being cut

down in cities everyday to make room for someone or something, but never left stand for the birds.  

These specimen trees are the homes of many different animals and usually offer some of the best

habitat due to their structural elements, but they are almost useless if they are cut down.  The

removal of these trees, and trees in urban settings in general, not only degrade the ecosystem that

exists here already but also reduces the diversity of the tree population in the area.

-  Gahr Lessner

Worked Cited

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