When water needs plants...

Many of us have heard that one of the benefits of protecting forests is for cleaner air.  That's because trees take in carbon dioxide, and through the process of photosynthesis, trees exchange carbon dioxide with oxygen, which we need in our air in order to breath.  Protected natural lands like forest preserves help ensure that we have spaces for trees and flowers to grow so that we can reap the benefits of cleaner, fresher air.  But did you know forests and other ecosystems also help to clean our water? 

The various plants that grow in forest preserve woodlands, prairies, wetlands, and other natural areas help to soak up billions of gallons of rainfall every time we have a major rainstorm.  According to the National Audubon Society, inland wetlands alone provide over $1.6 annually in water-quality protection in the United States! 

Plants, like all living things, need water.  Without water, plants and other living organisms would dehydrate and loose their ability to maintain necessary body functions.  Plants however, do us another favor by soaking up rainwater during storms, reducing flooding and erosion of soil.  In wetland areas, plants and microorganisms naturally living in the water and soil help to break down dirt, chemicals and other pollutants that wash in from farmlands, manicured lawns, shopping malls, highways and other developed areas.  In other words, the results of the daily activities of plants and microorganisms leave us with cleaner water!  One could perhaps think of our forest preserves as a giant "sponge" helping to soak up access rain while filtering our waterways and drinking water resources. 

In an effort to mimic this natural "forest sponge" effect, the Forest Preserves of Cook County has an ongoing plan to manage and reduce urban stormwater within our landholdings.  At Sand Ridge Nature Center in South Holland for example, you'll notice that the parking lot median has been planted with dozens of native wildflowers blooming in a linear-shaped depression, known as a "bioswale."  The bioswale traps runoff from rain and snow events and allows water to infiltrate into the ground more slowly while native forbes and herbs filter out sediment and automobile fluids.  Runoff that normally would race right into the nearest stream or lake instead makes its way into this artificiality constructed feature. 

On your next nature walk or bike ride, take a few moments to breath in the fresh air that the trees around you help to provide, and stay hydrated with water that likely originated from a clean lake or stream that had some help from natural areas like your Forest Preserves of Cook County.

Learn more about your Forest Preserves stormwater management efforts:
fpdcc.com/conservation/floodplain-stormwater-management/

Alex Palmer
Naturalist, Sand Ridge Nature Center

Figure 1:  Bioswale in the parking lot of Sand Ridge Nature Center, Forest Preserves of Cook County

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Windy City Cactus: Eastern Prickly Pear Cactus

Image
When you think of Chicago, you probably don't think of sand dunes, prairies, or large oak trees.  Yet despite Chicago being the third largest city in the United States and heavily impacted by urban sprawl and industrial blight, there remains thousands of acres of greenspace with wetlands, open woods, sandy beaches...and some rather surprising flora. The pictures below were not shot in Arizona nor in Southwest California, but were in fact taken at the 63rd street beach on a recently restored sand dune near Hyde Park in Chicago, Illinois.  They are the eastern prickly pear cactus ( Opuntia humifusa ) . Figure 1:  Eastern prickly pear cactus, a native plant to the Chicago region and the only native cactus to the Great Lakes area.   The genus Opuntia is much more common out west where they have many different species, but in the Great Lakes and Midwest regions, the eastern prickly pear is the only native cactus.  It tends to be a little bit smaller than its western counterp
Read more

Natural Notes: Animals of the Night

Image
Are you a night owl?  If you're an Illinois wildlife species, than chances are, yes!  However, many animals besides owls are active at night.  In fact, the majority of wildlife species in Illinois are hunting, gathering mates, establishing territories, and moving about during the nighttime hours! A daytime walk on a trail through a forest preserve might yield some common wildlife sightings such as gray squirrels ( Sciurus carolinensis ) or sparrows.  Most animals that people see around Illinois are active during the day, or   diurnal.   Humans are a great example of a diurnal animal.   Other animals though are most active active at different times of the day (figure 1).  Late in the afternoon or early in the day, many folks encounter white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ).  Deer are a great example of a wildlife species that is crepuscular , or active at dawn or dusk. Figure 1:  In Illinois, most wildlife species are more active at certain times of the day.  For thos
Read more

Virginia Pineapple? The fascinating family of Bromeliaceae

Image
Who hasn't tried pineapple before?  It always seems to end up in fruit salads at family reunions, there's always someone in the crowed ordering "Hawain pizza", and the grocery stores always seem stocked full with showy pineapples displaying their rough-textured, compartmentalized skin with bizarre green leaves on top (Photo A).  To most people living in temperate regions such as most of the lower 48 United States, pineapples are nothing short of exotic and unusual - and not like anything we have growing in the wild on our landscape...or do we? Photo A:  A pineapple grows wild along a woodland edge in a tropical park in  Ecuador, South America. Pineapples are in the family Bromeliacea, which includes a large group of mostly tropical plants that are primarily  epiphytes - plants that grow on top of other plants (see photo B). Photo B: Bromiliads, shown in the center of this photo, are a common group of tropical epiphytes throughout rain forests and
Read more