EcoStewardship: Tree Planting to Support Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change
A group of 14 Rotarians from the Rotary EcoClub and Minneapolis City of Lakes Rotary Club joined with Mississippi Park Connection and the National Park Service to plant 1000+ trees at Crosby Farm Regional Park along the Mississippi River in St. Paul. This is part of the Adaptive Silviculture (def: the growing and cultivating of trees) for Climate Change project, where a variety of species will be planted and studied over the course of the next 20 years. It is intended to reforest the river bottoms, especially in light of all of the ash trees that have been removed in recent years.
Four large circular areas have been cleared for the tree planting as part of a 30 year research project. The four different plots are described as follows:
1) Passive – No planting, but instead allow to grow naturally
2) Resistance – Planted for resistance against pests and pathogens
3) Resilience – Planted for resilience to climate change
4) Transition – Planted for transition of growing zones
Our crews helped place species flags in the designated plots, planted some trees, and then helped put the trees to "sleep" for the night. Bundles of trees had just been delivered before our group arrived on Wednesday and they couldn't all be planted in that amount of time, so we helped place them in mulch piles so they can stay damp until they are placed in their forever home.
Socially Distanced Silviculture