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Site Selection: Resource Reports

Bio-Swales

Bio-swales are stormwater retention ponds designed to control floods and remove pollutants. Groundwater elevation, soil type, and land/space availability are researched to determine what construction method would be best for a specific site . An average local bio-swale is 10 to 20 feet in width by 100 feet in length. A bio-swale can account for 30-80 percent of the removal of pollutants, which include decreases in total suspended solids, total phosphorous, total nitrogen, floating trash, heavy metals, biological oxygen demands, bacteria, greases, oils, and turbidity. Water flows into the ponds and pollutants stick to the plants or else drop out of the water. Bio-swales need maintenance to work properly.[i]

Ecological Footprinting

The ecological footprint is a tool for ecological resources that translates into areas of productive land requires providing resources and assimilating waste products. This measuring device calculates the sustainability of our life-styles. Energy and agriculture for food supply are large components of the footprint.[ii] An average American uses 24 acres to support his or lifestyle, where as a Canadian lives on a footprint of 17 acres, which is 30 percent smaller. An Italian lives on only 9 acres.[iii] There are ethical implications within the footprint, for thee-quarters of the current consumption goes to 1.1 billion people who live in affluence, while the rest remains for the other 4.6 billion people. Such individual life-choices as housing, transportation, food, energy and water consumption, all influence the ecological footprint. With regard to site selection , we can reduce the institution’s ecological footprint with the proper site that does not promote further environmental harm.

Fragmented Landscap

Fragmented landscapes or habitats occur when native vegetation is cleared by humans to give way to cities, roads, agriculture, or other forms of development. This clearing of vegetation breaks once contiguous habitats into smaller and fragmented sections. Extensive clearing within a small geographic area results in small islands or fragments of the remaining habitat. Smaller populations of organisms are generally found living in habitat fragments which are not capable of supporting the extent and diversity of life found in larger contiguous habitats.[iv] These smaller populations of organisms are more susceptible to the possibility of extinction. Additionally, small populations which have become isolated from each other because of fragmentation are susceptible to different evolutionary pressures.

Habitat fragmentation creates problems for the remaining plants and animals that are actually able to survive in the small habitats. Wildlife has a higher risk of predation because they may have to travel away from the available cover to find food, or they do not have enough places to hide in the smaller habitat. Similarly, generalist predators, or predators that do not specialize on a certain species, tend to have higher populations in habitat fragments than in habitats that are large and contiguous.[v]

Plants and animals are both affected by an increase in the edge effect around habitat fragments. The edge effect refers to the fact that the edges of habitats contain different climate and different species of plants and animals than the interior of the habitat. Interior dependent species are more susceptible to population declines and extinction when the landscape is fragmented.[vi]

Lastly, fragmented habitats are more susceptible to the introduction of exotic species.[vii] Exotic species are plants or animals not growing in their native region. Exotic species can often overtake the environments they have invaded, because they are able to out-compete the species native to that area. Exotic species do not have any natural predators in their new environment , and are therefore better able to survive.

Master Development Plan

The master development plan is a plan that directs how any new development related to the college or university will be conducted. It dictates what types of projects are allowed to happen as well as what kinds of projects are prohibited from happening. An example is the SJU Arboretum’s land management plan. This plan spells out how the land on the SJU campus has been used in the past and how it will be used and maintained in the future. The plan has seventeen goals that spell out exactly how the land is intended to be used. Periodically land managers do an audit of their practices to make sure they are following the goals set forth in the land management plan, and identify areas within their practice that need more focus.

Restored Native Ecosystems

Restored native ecosystems are ones that prevent and eliminate invasive species in an ecological context. This prevention, treatment, conservation, and restoration can restore ecosystem resilience and enhance biodiversity .[viii] The goal of restoration is to initiate the process of reestablishing species diversity and improving interaction between all ecosystem components. Restoration can benefit native ecosystems in several ways, such as improving ecological health, increasing habitat for rare plant and animal species, diversifying plant and animal species, improving soil productivity, and cleaning the air and water.[ix]

Site Disturbance

Site disturbance is any alteration of the landscape at and around a building/construction site. This can include clearing of vegetation, soil compaction, and changing grade.[x] During the building process, the building site is often stripped of native or existing vegetation by construction equipment and digging activities related to construction. The decrease in the amount of vegetation around the site drastically increases the rate of erosion on the site, which can create problems wherever the sediments end up. One of the problems arises from the increased rate at which nutrients are moved from one place to another. Nutrients, such as phosphorus contained in the soil, can end up in nearby waterways where they decrease water quality and promote excessive growth of nuisance aquatic plants.[xi] Similarly, the loss of the nutrients from the building site reduces the amount of nutrients available for re-growth of vegetation on the site.

Soil compaction is also a problem around building sites. Compaction can result from the use of heavy machinery and vehicles, and even foot traffic. Compacted soil inhibits root growth and proper function by making the soil denser, altering the movement of water and gas exchange in and out of the soil. The result can be loss of organic matter within the soil, as well as increasing the clay content of the soil.[xii] This can change the composition enough to discourage the re-growth of native vegetation, thus altering the site from its original state. Trees are especially sensitive to soil compaction, especially around their roots. Trees that are native to this area, such as oaks, have very low tolerance of soil compaction.[xiii]

Trees are also very sensitive to a change in soil depth, which is often done around building sites to obtain the desired grade. The roots of mature trees have a hard time tolerating changes in soil depth, and removing soil from above tree roots is one of the most common and severe types of site disturbance .[xiv] If established trees around the building site are intended to be kept, care must be taken when digging foundations to not damage the tree’s roots. Also, digging foundations may alter the water table enough to cause the tree to die.[xv]

Similar to removing soil to obtain proper grade, raising grade or adding soil over the top of tree roots can also negatively impact the tree. Roots that are located within the top six inches of soil are used to uptake air, and if they are covered from the raising of grade, the tree may suffocate.

Virgin Native Ecosystems

Ecosystems that are native to the place they are found and have not been altered by the action of humans are virgin native ecosystems. Human disturbances such as converting land to agriculture and urban development are serious threats to virgin native ecosystems because once they have been altered they can no longer be considered virgin. Virgin ecosystems are important habitats for wildlife as well as for remembering what the land was like prior to development. They are important as models for what native habitats of a region should look like and how they should function, and by studying virgin ecosystems we can better understand how to restore the land to its native state.[xvi]

Xeriscape Landscaping

Xeriscape is a landscaping method that conserves water and incorporates seven principles: planning and design, soil preparation, use of plants suited to the soil and climate, creating practical turf areas, use of mulches, efficient irrigation, and proper maintenance. Planning and design is using maps and drawings to show existing buildings and vegetation.[xvii] CSB and SJU already have these maps available online for public use.[xviii] The second principle is limiting lawn areas by avoiding hard-to-maintain shapes, and choosing the best grass for the area that is drought-tolerant. An efficient watering system should be used so that plants can be grouped together with similar water needs. Low-volume, low-angle heads and drip systems should be used. Figuring out the soil’s nutrient content can determine whether the soil is alkaline or acidic that will determine the quality of the soil. Using mulches reduces water loss, minimizes erosion, and improves the soil. Finally, xeriscape landscapes need minimal maintenance. These simple principles can greatly improve the quality of a landscape.[xix] Rock gardens can also be an easy way to xeriscape, for they are used to dry, windy places, and therefore perform well in less than ideal situations. Some perennials are drought resistant; such as plants with a silvery foliage, for these are usually drought-tolerant (examples are Artemisia, catmint, and perovskia/Russian Sage). Plants that use less water and require sun are: Baby’s breath, Black-Eyed Susan, Butterfly weed, Coneflower, Coreopsis ‘Moonbeam’ and ‘Sunray’ Daylily, False Indigo, Liatris Gayfeather, Bearded Iris, Penstemon, Peony, Oriental Poppy, Sedum, Spurge, Yallow. For shady spots: Bleeding heart, Candytuft, Columbine, Gas Plant, Harebell, Lady’s Mantle, Monkshood, Obedient Plant Violet.[xx]

[i] Growing Solutions, “Growing Solutions News,” <http://www.growingsolutions.org/sb_street.html> (15 April 2004).