| July 2024 Promote using mountain cedars and other nature-based solutions to regenerate degraded Texas limestone karst country. WHAT'S NEW? Juniper Symposium Talks are Online! Biodiversity Works has edited and uploaded presentations from the 2-day event. Project Bedrock gave one presentation (video #7) and participated in the panel discussion (video #27). Click, watch, and learn, then send us your suggestions and questions. Not All Junipers Are Green Gasoline Plants. Out west there's a growing movement to "Junk Your Junipers." For decades, it was common practice to plant highly cultivated, ornamental juniper bushes, such as 'Sea Green' Chinese Junipers, around one's home. They were especially popular as foundation plants. But these days, in order to make communities more fire safe, states such as Colorado and Nevada are supporting the push to remove foundation juniper bushes and other highly flammable ornamentals. These types of junipers are called gasoline plants or green gasoline. Unfortunately, in the June 20 edition of Bloomberg Businessweek + Green, the magazine thought the movement applied not only to ornamental bushes, but to all junipers in the wild. This view was confirmed by the reporter, Kyle Stock, when he proclaimed, “ Juniper trees are ecological marvels…it is, however, time for them to go," then said they are known as green gasoline. Stock then explained that juniper trees "blanket Canada" and extend into the United States, further inferring that junipers in the wild are the same as ornamental juniper bushes. But all junipers are not the same. A study conducted on our Texas karst country junipers revealed these trees are only moderately flammable (unless they're dead--then they are highly flammable). Another study recorded the burn time and also found it to be moderate. Bill Armstrong with the Kerr Wildlife Management Area reported the trees are difficult to ignite when their foliage is at least 60 percent hydrated, and can be used as fire breaks if at least 70 percent hydrated. Where our junipers grow inside old-growth forests they help sustain a more humid microclimate that helps reduce fire risk. City of Austin wildlands firefighter Justice Jones, confirmed these points during his presentation at the Ashe Juniper Symposium (presentation video #15). Addressing the Generational Landowner As mountain cedars on Texas karst country began reclaiming hillsides and quickly spreading into degraded rangelands in the 1930s, landowners were told by state and federal agencies to clear out all the cedars. A few years ago, this message changed when Texas A&M researchers discovered mountain cedars increase rain infiltration and improve limestone porosity. These actions can increase soil health and groundwater storage capacity while decreasing erosion and flooding. Being told that the cedar clearing you've been doing may not be the best solution for Texas karst country is a difficult pill to swallow. Even more so if your family has been doing this for generations. Even if you observe more spring flows and grass after clearing, the hard fact is these strategies produce short-term fixes, not long-lasting, more resilient results (our next newsletter will address why springs can increase following cedar clearing). Project Bedrock works to find strategies to use mountain cedars to speed up the regeneration of degraded areas or to improve and sustain old-growth populations. Many opportunities will remain to clear mountain cedars, but it will never be all of them or all at once. VISIT OUR WEBSITE |
Promote using mountain cedars and other nature-based solutions to regenerate degraded Texas limestone karst country. | |
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Juniper Symposium Talks are Online!
Biodiversity Works has edited and uploaded presentations from the 2-day event. Project Bedrock gave one presentation (video #7) and participated in the panel discussion (video #27). Click, watch, and learn, then send us your suggestions and questions.
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Not All Junipers Are Green Gasoline Plants.
Out west there's a growing movement to "Junk Your Junipers." For decades, it was common practice to plant highly cultivated, ornamental juniper bushes, such as 'Sea Green' Chinese Junipers, around one's home. They were especially popular as foundation plants. But these days, in order to make communities more fire safe, states such as Colorado and Nevada are supporting the push to remove foundation juniper bushes and other highly flammable ornamentals. These types of junipers are called gasoline plants or green gasoline.
Unfortunately, in the June 20 edition of Bloomberg Businessweek + Green, the magazine thought the movement applied not only to ornamental bushes, but to all junipers in the wild. This view was confirmed by the reporter, Kyle Stock, when he proclaimed, “Juniper trees are ecological marvels…it is, however, time for them to go," then said they are known as green gasoline. Stock then explained that juniper trees "blanket Canada" and extend into the United States, further inferring that junipers in the wild are the same as ornamental juniper bushes.
But all junipers are not the same. A study conducted on our Texas karst country junipers revealed these trees are only moderately flammable (unless they're dead--then they are highly flammable). Another study recorded the burn time and also found it to be moderate. Bill Armstrong with the Kerr Wildlife Management Area reported the trees are difficult to ignite when their foliage is at least 60 percent hydrated, and can be used as fire breaks if at least 70 percent hydrated. Where our junipers grow inside old-growth forests they help sustain a more humid microclimate that helps reduce fire risk. City of Austin wildlands firefighter Justice Jones, confirmed these points during his presentation at the Ashe Juniper Symposium (presentation video #15).
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Addressing the Generational Landowner
As mountain cedars on Texas karst country began reclaiming hillsides and quickly spreading into degraded rangelands in the 1930s, landowners were told by state and federal agencies to clear out all the cedars. A few years ago, this message changed when Texas A&M researchers discovered mountain cedars increase rain infiltration and improve limestone porosity. These actions can increase soil health and groundwater storage capacity while decreasing erosion and flooding.
Being told that the cedar clearing you've been doing may not be the best solution for Texas karst country is a difficult pill to swallow. Even more so if your family has been doing this for generations. Even if you observe more spring flows and grass after clearing, the hard fact is these strategies produce short-term fixes, not long-lasting, more resilient results (our next newsletter will address why springs can increase following cedar clearing).
Project Bedrock works to find strategies to use mountain cedars to speed up the regeneration of degraded areas or to improve and sustain old-growth populations. Many opportunities will remain to clear mountain cedars, but it will never be all of them or all at once.
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