Post contributed by David from Conservation Corps Youth Outdoors Crew 2:
Have you strolled along Como Lake
recently and seen some black patches in the grass? Well fear not that wasn’t
the work of some pyromaniac prankster, but rather a prescribed burn done for
the benefit of the plants. Many of the plants found along the Como lake
shoreline are native wildflowers and grasses that occur naturally in areas that experience
burns every 3-5 years. Since it would be unsafe to allow fires to occur
naturally in a city park, we get to come in and administer a prescribed burn to
give those plants just what they need but in a safe, controlled environment. Burns are beneficial for many reasons;
some of which being that they quickly return nutrients to the soil, remove dead
plant matter that could choke out new growth, and kill back non-native plants
that just can’t handle the heat.
While preparing for the burn we also ran into the DNR’s local non-game
wildlife specialists. They were at Como Lake setting up turtle traps for a
future educational activity. Animal traps are often set up by wildlife
scientists to help them learn what animals live in the area. As they set up the
traps they used sardines as bait and as soon the sardines hit the water we saw
turtles peaking up on the surface.
We also
have continued to plant more trees down along the Crosby Lake floodplain. This
week we planted 500 black walnut and burr oak trees. Black walnuts are
interesting trees because they produce a natural herbicide in their roots called juglone. Juglone is an example of an allelopathic
compound that inhibits plant growth, meaning the black walnut tree has
found its own natural way to beat back competition! Although black walnut is a native
tree and in this case its allelopathic effect works in our favor, other less
desirable plants, such as garlic mustard have shown to also create their own
allelopathic compounds. This is one reason why when garlic mustard is
introduced to an area it can quickly take over in huge mats. That’s where our
strong arms come in to pull them out!
