Category Archives: Plant Life

After the Fire, Life

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Filed under Fire, Philosophical Musings, Plant Life

AfterTheFireIt’s always interesting to me to see how quickly nature responds to fire scars. Where once there appeared to be, quite literally, “scorched earth,” plants begin to return the ecosystem to something more like “normal,” if that is a concept that even applies. In reality, fire is a part of “normal” as we seem to finally be discovering in this desert state of ours.

So I was happy to see that the fire scar on the Montini Preserve, about five acres, was already beginning to rebound with life (see picture). It’s possible that the tiny bit of rain that we received recently inspired some plants to send out new shoots. Whether that was the impetus or not is kind of beside the point, as whatever the reason it’s just nice to see the plants coming back.

As we endure bigger and worse fires due to the impacts of global warming, it wouldn’t hurt to remind ourselves that as much as we may be devastated by seeing our beautiful forests burned, there is still hope and renewal to be found. 

The Beginning of the End

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Filed under Invasive Species, Italian Thistle, Plant Life, Stewardship, Yellow Star Thistle

We’ve been working well over a decade to get to this very day.

We’ve worked that long to control, and eventually eradicate, Yellow Starthistle. This year, for the first time ever, we’ve pulled every single plant we could find, no matter how small (see picture).

It’s frankly hard for me to describe what this means to me. It has been a long fight, and one, in recent years, that I’ve spent a great deal of time on during thistle season (January to August). The only thing thing in the last few years that has kept me from doing this activity, frankly, is hiking with friends and travel. If I don’t have a hike scheduled with my wife or a friend, or travel, I’m out there pulling either Italian thistle (the season which has ended), or Yellow Starthistle.

This year is no different in that regard, but it is very different in terms of what is left. We are, finally, reaching the end of life for Yellow Starthistle on the Sonoma Overlook Trail and Montini Preserve.

After going out to all the areas that used to have Yellow Starthistle, and repeatedly checking them, I can finally say, for the very first time, that it is completely gone this year — at least as completely gone as is humanly possible.

Let’s just say that when it comes to Yellow Starthistle this year, it’s the beginning of the end. Finally.

Coming in Hot

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Filed under Invasive Species, Land Maintenance, Seasons, Stewardship, Summer, Yellow Star Thistle

You guessed it, yet another invasive species post. You can check out right now if this doesn’t appeal. I would be the last person to fault you for it. For those of us who do it, we recognize it as the obsession that it is. We don’t expect anyone else to be so afflicted Like, EVER.

If you’re still here, this is what’s happening. I’m laser-focused on pulling all of the Yellow Starthistle I can possibly find, as it is blooming now, and racing into seed. And yet we have a window of opportunity to make a serious dent in it this season. We are down to just some areas along Norrbom Road, and after hitting it hard last year, the impact is very evident. I’m finding much less than last year in these areas. 

This affords us the opportunity, for the first time ever, of potentially pulling every single plant we see. 

That’s why I’m fired up, and going out there every day I can, and pulling every single plant that I can, no matter how small. Because that’s how you reach your goal. Because that’s what it takes to completely eradicate an invasive species from 200 acres of public lands.

If you can’t do what’s required to come in hot, then you have no business taking this on in the first place. Just trust me on that.

Tree Communities in the Montini Preserve

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Filed under Plant Life, Trees

Tree Communities in the Montini Report with cover_Page_01Recently we were gifted with a scientific report, “Tree Communities in the Montini Open Space Preserve,” by Greg Perrier, a retired biology professor. In this report, he thoroughly reports on the variety of tree communities on the Perserve, thus greatly expanding our knowledge of this important local ecosystem.

As Professor Perrier writes:

There is little in the literature about the geology, soils, tree communities and grasslands at Montini. For example, the USDA soils map (USDA,1972) shows the hills above the valley plain in Montini as one soil type (the goulding-toomes series), when at least five soils types can be identified there. Vegetation maps for this area (SCAPOSD, 2011) combine oak communities into one type (hardwoods), when at least three oak communities can be identified in Montini. A review of the literature shows the dynamics of these communities is complex and poorly understood. The low resolution of existing data limits the ability to effectively manage this landscape to sustain these plant communities and the values derived from them. 

The purpose of this study is twofold. First, to fill in some of the gaps in our understanding of the ecology of Montini to allow for better management of the preserve. And second, to provide baseline data for monitoring changes in the vegetation at Montini over time. 

In his report, he identifies three distinct tree communities:

The tree communities are the blue oak – California buckeye woodland, the blue oak – California bay laurel woodland, and the coast live oak – California bay laurel forest. 

His accompanying data provides a key snapshot of this ecosystem that future researchers can build upon as essential “benchmark” data. Thank you, Professor Perrier!

Sending in the Child Soldiers

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Filed under Invasive Species, Italian Thistle, Plant Life
Child soldiers, sent into the breach.

The season for eradicating Italian thistle can begin as early as December, or as late as early or even mid-January. For at least four months after that, we essentially pull and drop it, as it isn’t yet going to flower, let alone seed. But now it is flowering, and some is even going to seed, so we must bag it up and carry it out. We use contractor debris bags from Friedman’s, which last for multiple years.

The contents of the bag are emptied into a pile beside a dumpster in Mountain Cemetery, and eventually the City of Sonoma hauls it all away.

In this period of the thistle pulling season we pull out other tools, such as weed whackers, in our desperate attempt to keep the thistle from fully going to seed. Let’s just say it’s an act of total desperation, as the thistle can still put on blooms, which means we need to weed-whack it again later.

It’s also the season when Italian thistle ups its game, and sends its child soldiers into the battle, just like Nazi Germany went both up and down the age range of males to send into battle toward the end, to try to win the war, in a total act of desperation.

These are truly tiny plants (see picture), which barely clear the soil and go directly to bloom, which of course makes them hard to see, challenging to pull, and frustratingly difficult to eradicate. This is part of what makes Italian thistle the hardest invasive species I’ve yet battled — far harder than Yellow Star thistle, which is all but eradicated except along Norrbom Road.

The only good angle on this is that since they are so low to the ground, it’s not all that likely that they will spread their seeds a long way. At least unless there is a strong wind. Oh, right, we’ve never had a strong wind in Sonoma Valley. 😦