#CandelariaNaturePreserve celebrates four years of restoration

"Just because a species is non-native does not make it an invasive one, and some non-native species function to support restoration."

by Emmett Di Mauro and Elijah Ritch
February 7, 2025

"On Jan. 31, the Candelaria Nature Preserve in #Albuquerque hosted a tour of its ongoing #rewilding project. The public tours are given on the last Friday of every month from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and cover the preserve’s efforts to restore the 90 acres of former farmland in the North Valley, according to the Ciudad Soil & Water Conservation District website.

"Partnering with the City of Albuquerque Open Space Division, the Ciudad Soil & Water Conservation District provides an annual report on some goals for the Candelaria Nature Preserve, including plans for soil health. The project is in the fourth year of its 20-year span. The 2023 report can be found on its website.

"The guided tours are led by volunteers from the Friends of the Candelaria Nature Preserve, like Ruth Salvaggio.

"'What we’re showing here is restoration,' Salvaggio said.

"One example of this restoration is the addition of logs, which were brought in to create habitat, Salvaggio said. This invites #wildlife to make use of the land again. She also said the nature preserve planted several varieties of plant life for #butterflies and created an entire field dedicated to #pollination.

"The process of rewilding at the Candelaria Nature Preserve entails “transitioning the Preserve from non-sustainable agriculture to a mosaic of habitats that will support diverse native wildlife: wet and dry areas, hedgerows, grasslands, upland #shrublands, #ConservationBuffers, and #forage for wildlife,' according to the Friends of Candelaria Nature Preserve’s website.

"Just because a species is non-native does not make it an invasive one, and some non-native species function to support restoration. The workers carefully considered the place of certain #InvasiveSpecies, such as #ElmTrees.

"'They provide a canopy for birds,' Salvaggio said. 'They’re serving a purpose.'

"However, part of the project is to prevent new elms from growing, according to Salvaggio.

"#Teff, a type of grass native to Ethiopia and similar to #millet and#quinoa, was implemented in the preserve. Teff roots are shallow and the plant dies upon releasing its seeds, meaning teff is beneficial to the soil, Salvaggio said. In this way, teff acts as a natural mulch and a '#NurseCrop' that will support native plants in the future.

"Many #NativePlants are found in the preserve, too, including #amaranth, #BlueGrama, #sacaton, #mesquite, #saltbrush and #nightshade.

"One of the destinations on the tour was the nursery, where many native plants begin their lives. Later, they are taken and planted in select areas, including the mosaics — plots designed to be flooded — Salvaggio said. Dispersed wildlife such as #Mesquitetrees and #SacatonGrass grows in these areas.

"The work takes place on plots of former farmland separated by historic #acequias. An end goal is to meld the former farm plot zones to allow for the cohesive spread of the wildlife and return the land to its pre-farmed state, Salvaggio said.

"Bringing the land to its #PreFarmed state also includes careful land #terraforming in select areas, Salvaggio said. This is meant to carve out the original, natural #arroyos of the area.

"The guided tours are currently the only way for members of the public to see the Candelaria Nature Preserve. However, anyone can volunteer at the preserve from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. every Monday and Friday."

https://www.dailylobo.com/article/2025/02/candelaria-nature-preserve-celebrates-four-years-of-restoration
#SolarPunkSunday #Rewilding #NewMexico #NonNativeSpecies

#Rewilding #Iceland #NonNativeSpecies

N.B. This update is 2 years old.

"We've decided to plant non-native species in Iceland - here's why #shorts" [ ± 1min]
by Mossy Earth

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NcVurNbmLR8

Quote by ME:
"2023, Feb 3
ICELAND TREE PLANTING NEWS
As you all know, Iceland is a big focus for our reforestation efforts this year. Birch woodland is the only native woodland ecotype found in Iceland and is composed with over 95% Downy Birch and a small scattering of tea-leaved willow, rowan and aspen. This means the natural composition is close to being a monoculture which has a hugely reduced capacity for supporting biodiversity. This has presented us with a conundrum of finding a balance between planting native species and increasing the biodiversity of Iceland’s forests.
I’ve been doing some research into different strategies for improving the ecological capacity of the forests. To start with, I looked back into Iceland’s geological history and fossil pollen records which show Iceland used to support tree species including Pines, Alders and Larches up until the more recent glacial periods. This pattern can be seen across much of northern Europe but due to the spatial isolation of Iceland, natural recolonisation has been incredibly slow. If we look across to Scandinavia, particularly Southern Norway, which closely matches in climate to Iceland, we can see that it supports a greater species diversity.
We can use this to predict which species are suitable for Icelandic climate. Grey Alder (Alnus incana) and Black Alder (Alnus glutinosa) are naturally found in birch woodland throughout Europe and are excellent pioneers of degraded soils because they form nitrogen fixing root nodules that increase nitrogen availability in the soils for all surrounding species. This makes it an excellent candidate for increasing Icelandic forest diversity with the added benefit of improving nutrient availability for other species.
However, as it’s been around 500,000 years since Alders last naturally seeded in Iceland, they are now classed as a non-native species. As a general rule, we try to avoid using non-native species in our projects but there are a few cases, such as this one, where a non-native species can add considerable ecological value. This is recognised in the EU Taxonomy for Sustainable Activities which states the use of non-native species should be excluded unless it can be demonstrated that their use leads to favourable and appropriate ecosystem conditions. Non-native species are already used in forestry regeneration with the Icelandic Forestry Service planting Lupins which also carry out nitrogen fixation but the Lupins are becoming invasive and outcompeting other species (see our video on “Iceland’s deserts are turning purple”).
Alder poses virtually no risk of turning invasive as we can see that it forms balanced, healthy birch woodland in the similar climate of Southern Norway. Iceland already has some established Alder which will allow us to use local seed stock in our planting mix, further reducing the disease transmission risks associated with non-native species. Cheers, Ellie (Conservation Biologist at Mossy Earth)
If you would like to become a member and support our rewilding and reforestation efforts then be sure to check out -> mossy.earth/ <-

#TakeCareForLife #TakeCareForEarth
#StopBurningThings #StopEcoside
#ClimateBreakDown #StopRapingNature