If you have ever merged from the CA I-5 North onto the 1-14 towards Lancaster and taken a look out your window, I’m sure you’ve noticed the beautiful hills that engulf the Angeles National Forest.
As you catch sight of the beautiful chaparral that covers the rolling foothills, you might think that it’s nothing more than a vast hillside covered in sparse vegetation and dry brush, but if you take a deeper look, you’ll discover a thriving ecosystem beaming with wildlife.
From the California quails and scrub jays, to the dusky-footed woodrats and gopher snakes, all of the surrounding fauna rely on native plants to provide them a habitat and food.
A “native plant” is defined by the U.S. Forest Service as an “Indigenous terrestrial and aquatic species that have evolved and occur naturally in a particular region, ecosystem, and habitat.”
All surrounding species from mammals to insects in any region have co-evolved with this native flora, relying on them as their main source of livelihood. For example, a single native California oak tree can support up to 300 different species of animals.
Native plants not only play a key role in homing and feeding species but are also important to the soil’s health. Depending on the species, many of these native plants grow extensive roots that go deep into the earth in search of groundwater. While doing so, they stabilize the soil preventing erosion, and their roots break up heavy clay soils, allowing water to penetrate and disperse throughout the soil.
To talk more about the importance of native plants, I interviewed Carol Bornstein who is a highly respected native plant specialist in Southern California that worked at the Santa Barbara Botanical Gardens as Director of Horticulture for 28 years, and Director of the Nature Gardens at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County for 8 years.
I asked her: “What role do native plants play in an ecosystem?”
Bornstein explained, “Animals rely on plants for food, shelter, and nesting material, and in return, they help to pollinate and transport plants from one place to another. These mutual or symbiotic relationships have been seriously compromised by the loss of habitat due to urbanization, farming, grazing, and the spread of invasive plants and animals. This has led to huge loss of biodiversity around the world, which in turn threatens the health not just of the plants and animals directly but also human beings because we depend upon these living things for our own livelihood.”
During the past century, the U.S. alone has lost 150 million acres of habitat and farmland to urbanization. This, along with the wide spread of invasive plants that are now competing with native plant species, has led to the huge loss of biodiversity.
In fact, the Center for Biological Diversity published a document stating, “U.S. wildlife conservation reveals that 40% of animals, 34% of plants and 40% of ecosystems nationwide are at risk.” With these high numbers, not only does this affect the wildlife and ecosystems around us, but it also directly impacts us.
Bornstein added, “For example, if bees and other pollinating insects succumb to diseases or pests, that dramatically affects their ability to pollinate up to 70% of the plants that we eat. Or, when an invasive grass like Arundo donax is introduced to a region where it isn’t native, it can rapidly spread and overwhelm the local native plants. This typically happens in creeks and rivers, which then affects the flow of water and eventually, all of the wildlife that depends upon a healthy aquatic ecosystem.”
It’s easy to feel pessimistic with all this negative news, but there’s a simple solution, plant native! I highly recommend using the Calscape website. Click on their “find native plants” option and search up your city to find what is native to your area.
Next, find a native nursery. A great place to buy native plants is the Theodore Payne Foundation. They offer a wide variety, and I guarantee you’ll find something worth buying.
Not only does planting native offer many benefits, such as saving water and being low maintenance, but they will also support and bring an array of species, adding life and movement to your garden. Imagine waking up to the sound of songbirds singing as they feast on the seeds that your native flowers produced, or watching the metamorphosis of a monarch butterfly as their eggs hatch into caterpillars on the native milkweed you planted.
Native plants have been here long before us keeping the ecosystem healthy and alive, a world without them is a world devoid of life, so it’s important to conserve and keep these native species here with us for many years to come!
