Accent on Natural Landscaping

Donna VanBuecken

What’s Happening to Land Use?

The first formal study of erosion took place under the Soil Conservation Act of 1935. Through the years, it has been updated by many Acts. The Rural Development of Act of 1972 implemented a land inventory and monitoring program, which generally follows a complex sampling of five-year increments. For 35 years, the NRCS (USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service) has been collecting information on the status and condition of land, soil, water, and related resources on the nation’s non-federal lands. It covers erosion, agricultural, rangeland, forestry, wetlands, and other lands. It covers 49 states (Alaska is excluded), Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands to assess resource quantity and quality.

Developed Land

The National Resources Inventory (NRI) is a statistical survey of natural-resource conditions and trends in the United States. Non-federal land includes privately owned lands, tribal and trust lands, and lands controlled by state and local governments. The 2020 report shows that about 44 million acres of land were developed between 1982 and 2017, bringing the total to about 116 million acres. This represents a 61 percent increase during the last 35 years. However, the developed land has been increased less and less proportional to population change. This results in less land available for agricultural, rangeland, and forests. Loss of rural land will have an impact on wildlife and native landscaping.

The NRI collects data on natural resources, soil and water conservation practices, irrigation, and many other farming practices. For 35 years, NRCS has been collecting information on the status and condition of land, soil, water, and related resources on the nation’s non-federal lands.

The Report

Taken from “What’s Happening on America’s Lands, Soils, and Waters?” by Bob Sowers, NRCS.

“The 2017 report shows trends from 2012 to 2017,…Conclusions from the report will take years to evolve as people study the data, but we can already see that cropland acreage increased, erosion rates stabilized, and the expansion of developed land decreased. Some highlights include:

  • Cropland acreage increased by 5.6 million acres between 2012 and 2017, continuing a trend since 2007. Eighty percent of that increase came from land coming out of the Conservation Reserve Program, which decreased during that time.
  • Forest land continued to steadily increase over the last 35 years, with an increase of 1.1 million acres between 2012 and 2017. The increase was mostly from conversion from pastureland, counterbalancing losses to developed land.
  • Rangeland continued to steadily decline over the last 35 years with a reduction of 1.2 million acres between 2012 and 2017. Most of that reduction was due to losses to cropland and developed land.
  • Palustrine* and estuarian** wetlands saw no change overall between 2012 and 2017.
  • Cropland erosion rates remained stable despite the increase in overall cropland, indicating that new cropland does not have a higher likelihood of erosion.

The report also gives a statistical perspective on natural resource and environmental conditions for these lands, with the specific goal of supporting agricultural and environmental policy development and program implementation. It serves as the foundation for critical analytical efforts for USDA and other agencies and groups.”

*Palustrine wetlands include all non-tidal wetlands dominated by trees, shrubs, persistent emergent plants, or emergent mosses or lichens, as well as small, shallow open water ponds or potholes (called swamps, marshes, potholes, bogs or fens.)

**Estuarine wetlands are tidal wetlands that are usually semi-enclosed by land but have open, partly obstructed or sporadic access to the open ocean, and in which ocean water is at least occasionally diluted by freshwater runoff from the land (where a river flows into the ocean).

For the complete report, see the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service’s What’s Happening on America’s Lands, Soils, and Waters?

Hummingbird exchanging pollen for nectar from this Cardinal Flower. Photo by Larry Master masterimages.org

Conclusion

The net change of rural land into developed land has averaged 1.6 million acres per year over the last 25 years. This results in reduced agricultural land, rangeland, and forests. This loss of rural land — compounded by climate change — leads me to think that our environment and the extreme weather caused by climate change will result in a loss of wildlife and native landscaping.

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Thanksgiving Day 2020

I could tell by the sunrise, that it was going to be a beautiful fall day. The weekend would be just as beautiful and sunny. No wind. Just right for wildlife seeing, but not deer season. I wish I could have been there at the cabin. Next time I will be there!

During these trying times, we still have much to be grateful for. We will get through this. Once the election is decided. Once the vaccine is distributed to everyone. Once the environment can be at the forefront.

Be grateful for your family, your old friends and new friends, and your entire community. May you have a good Thanksgiving Day!

 

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First Snowfalls

One of my readers from Austria, Grete Blacha, wrote that she wanted to see the first snowfall. These are snowfalls that I definitely call my “first” snowfall.

Here are some photos of the sunset, the moon rise and sunset.

No Two Snowflakes Are Alike

It is unlikely that two complex snowflakes would look exactly alike. All snowflakes are unique, because each ice crystal has a unique path to the ground. They will float through different clouds of different temperatures and different levels of moisture, which means the ice crystal will grow in a unique way.

Temperature and humidity — moisture in the air — impacts the shape of ice crystals. At 23 degrees, ice crystals take longer, and they are more like needles or pillars. At 5 degrees, they are flatter, like plates.

Since snowflakes are made of water, their molecular structure is H2O (two hydrogen and one oxygen atom). The water molecules look like Vs, and the snowflakes are hexagons — which means they have six sides or arms. When they line up and freeze together, they will line up in a hexagon shape. As more water molecules are added, they continue to add to the hexagon in an even way. So, the hexagon doesn’t change its basic shape, it just grows bigger! (Dickinson County Conservation Board)

 

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American Witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana)

Photo taken November 7, 2020. American Witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is likely the only native woody plant in the U.S. to have blossoms, seed hulls, and next year’s leaf buds on its branches all at the same time.

While visiting Mandy Ploch’s cabin recently, I noticed the American Witchhazel was blossomed out two weeks ahead of time. I looked again the following weekend, and the plant was just about blooming. A couple of days to go, just when it was supposed be.

Witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana)

One of the latest flowering shrubs of the year, American Witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is a hiker’s delight when spotted late in the fall. Native to both the Northeastern and Southeastern U.S., the plant’s fragrant bright yellow blossoms appear late in the autumn after all the leaves have fallen from the other woodland species.

The extraordinary flowers are bright yellow, with four very slender bright yellow petals measuring from 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch long. The spicy fragrance of the flowers is so welcome in the late fall. The American Witchhazel leaves are large with uneven teeth, alternate, simple, broadly ovate, 2-1/2 to 6 inches long, unequal offset leaf base and with the upper surface dark green and the lower surface a paler green. It is considered a “service berry.”

What Pollinates the Witchhazel?

A Winter Owlet moth known as a Sallow. These moths have a remarkable ability to heat themselves by using energy to shiver, in order to fly in search of food, thus raising their body temperatures by as much as 50 degrees. Other pollinators include flies and maybe some bees.

The fruit of the Witchhazel blossoms goes dormant during the winter, developing into a seed during the following growing season. Once the seed is fully developed, it is expelled some 20 or more feet in the autumn. Although minuscule, the seeds are edible and high in fat and protein. Witchhazel is the host plant for the Spring Azure butterfly,

Often called water-witch, early settlers observed Native Americans using forked twigs of the American Witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana) to find underground sources of water. The well at our hunting property was driven where the dowsing branch pointed for my father and the well digger.

Wicke Hazel

The most interesting use for the plant has been the use of its forked limbs as dowsing or divining rods. Early European settlers observed Native Americans using American Witchhazel to find underground sources of water. This is where the common name witchhazel came from. “Wicke” is the Middle English for “lively” and “wych” is from the Anglo-Saxon word for “bend.” American Witchhazel was probably called Wicke Hazel by early white settlers because the dowsing end of the forked branch would bend when underground water was detected by the dowser. Dowsing became an established feature of well-digging into the 20th and even now in the 21st century.(U.S. Forest Service)

The Astringent

The astringent called “witch hazel” is made from the leaves and bark of the witchhazel shrub. It is used to treat a variety of ailments from acne to insect bites, and for more aesthetic uses from aftershave lotion to tightening baggy skin.

Just Right for Turkey Hunting

As you might expect, seeing this lovely American Witchhazel shrub blossoming during my turkey hunts is something I look forward to every fall. The shrub prefers semi-shaded habitat, so it is found along the edges of many of the wildlife trails I use for scouting. The plant likes rich, moist soils, so it is right at home along the edges of the hardwoods. I love going to my hunting property!

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