Be a tree hugger like me
OAKSThe fossil record indicates that the oak woodland habitat has been here for around a million years. The native Chumash depended on this habitat and it's acorns for 9000 years. The acorns were one of their main carbohydrate sources; they venerated these fine trees. Our civilization has been here for about 250 years; we have not been kind to our native oaks. There is very little of the native vegetation left on Nipomo Mesa. The Nipomo Native Garden which is located at the junction of Pomeroy Road and Camino Caballo Road is an attempt to show the original vegetation of the Mesa. Nature hike are conducted here by volunteers the first Saturday of each month --everyone interested in learning is welcome. Call Larry at 929-6710 for details. The oak woodland exhibits high species diversity (biodiversity). Oak woodland provides habitat for 2000 species of plants, 170 species of birds, 100 species if mammals, 60 species of amphibians and reptiles and over 4000 species of insects. Eagles, owls, raptors, bobcats, foxes and more than 300 of other vertebrate species alone depend on oak habitat during breeding seasons. The coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) is the dominant, climax tree of the Central Coast--it belongs here. It and the maritime chaparral are often covered with lichen---indicative of the coastal fog belt in which we live. It is well adapted to our specific climate. There are a few other kinds of oak locally: Blue Oak (Quercus douglassi) found to our east on dry slopes, Valley Oak (Quercus .lobata) the large trees found in valleys but biologists are worried about the Valley Oaks as they are NOT reproducing and most are on private land. Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties both attempted to establish an oak-protection ordinance. People concerned about the lack of laws protecting these fine natives collected over 20,000 signatures for the ACORN initiative. The vineyard promoters came up with a counter-initiative, confused the voters and neither passed; a tactic used in the past when slowing growth was proposed in San Luis Obispo County about 1991. Eucalyptus were introduced from Australia about a century ago. They are amazing trees. They grow so fast--great for biomass production. I like them for firewood after they have dried out which takes about a year. They have the same BTU's (heat production) as oaks. I urge their use for BBQ's instead of oaks---our oaks will last longer this way. They crack easily and are not good for construction purposes. In Australia there are over 300 species of eucalyptus. They come in all sizes and shapes. That is where they belong. The entire Nipomo Mesa was once covered with oak woodland habitat. A 1975 Cal Poly study indicates that about a century ago nearly 90% of the charcoal used, mainly for gunpowder, came from the Central Coast--much of it from Nipomo Mesa. After the mesa was denuded of its fine oaks the blue gum eucalyptus (E.globulus) was planted in rows from seeds from Australia. This is a mono-culture with very low biodiversity; drought and freezing easily kill them and then fire rages through. The insect pests that attack the eucalyptus in Australia have finally arrived on the Central Coast (and no, I didn't introduce them). When you walk in a eucalyptus forest you seldom see other plants or birds. It is very unstable, it is a mono-culture and on the verge of collapse. To me "eukes" are like crab grass---just a bit bigger. When I moved into my home in Nipomo in 1962 I planted acorns. Today, these acorns have become large, mature trees, so large I can hardly reach around the biggest. Oaks are not fast growers but with plenty of sun, a little extra water and NO eucalyptus to compete with they should do well. The time to plant acorns is December after you have collected in September and stored in your refrigerator under moist conditions (stratification). I do not recommend planting seedlings from a pot as the tap-root has not had a chance to go down three feet which is important for survival during the long, dry summer. Another thing which I do is plant in the shade of a coyote bush; the Chumash called them "nurse plants" as they provided shade for the growing oak seedling. Plant acorns for your grandchildren. The native oaks are adapted to fire which periodically burned the chaparral. It always amazes me to see the oak trees recover after a fire. One problem we have here is over-protection from fire which can cause a BIG wildfire which will kill the mature oaks. The next time you enter the oak woodland (like Nipomo Native Garden) just sit quietly for awhile and listen to all the life and observe all the different kinds of plants and animals. Feel the spirit of the Chumash that were here for so long. Take time to wrap your arms around an oak, you will feel "grounded" to Mother Earth----you will then be a true "tree-hugger" like me and your life will be enriched. |
