Benefits of Native Lawn Alternatives in Preserving Remnant Canopy Trees
Date/Time
Thursday, October 14, 2021
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Categories
This presentation will be held via Zoom Video Conference.
Rod Simmons will review how environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional lawn and turf cultivation benefit remnant canopy trees. These alternatives help with tree preservation as well as other native vegetation, soil microorganisms, and insects and pollinators.
Rod will also discuss the great diversity of upland oaks (and often associated hickories) that occur in the greater D.C. region and their importance in the natural landscape. He will also address tree identification and which tree species are resistant to the effects of climate change.
Old-age Acidic Oak-Hickory Forest grove on south-facing, gravelly colluvial slope at Barcroft Apartments, Arlington County, VA. Pignut Hickory (Carya glabra), Sweet Pignut Hickory (Carya ovalis), and Mockernut Hickory (Carya tomentosa) are all co-dominant canopy trees of the grove. Poverty Oatgrass (Danthonia spicata), woodland carices (Carex spp.), and a host of diminutive wildflowers comprise the “no-mow,” low maintenance, chemical-free turf. Photo by R.H. Simmons.
Rod Simmons is a plant ecologist who has worked extensively in the fields of natural resource management and ecological restoration for nearly 30 years. He is a member of the Virginia Botanical Associates and works closely with the Virginia and Maryland natural heritage programs. He is a member and a past president of the Botanical Society of Washington, a past president of the Maryland Native Plant Society, and serves on the board of the Virginia Native Plant Society, the VNPS Potowmack Chapter, and is a regular field trip leader for all of these organizations. Rod is the Natural Resource Manager and Plant Ecologist for the City of Alexandria, Virginia.