By: Allison Hunt, Max Gradisher, and Haley Esterdahl
By: Allison Hunt, Max Gradisher, and Haley Esterdahl
The emergence of closely shorn grass lawns in 17th century England had a profound effect on biodiversity. The idea of manicured lawns brought forth modern landscaping practices that many believe are aesthetically pleasing. However, these practices negatively affect the wildlife and landscapes in which they’re established, and create problems such as a reduction in plant, insect, and microbial diversity, habitat loss, and the loss of native wildflowers.
Habitat loss
Invasive species
Land use practices
Pollution
Climate Change
Over-Harvesting
Fragmentation of Habitats
Lack of Awareness
Altered fire regimes
Disease and pests
Cities and Neighborhood Home Owners Associations (HOA), place restrictions on planting wildflowers due to:
Aesthetic
Property Values
Weed Control
Maintenance Challenges
Allegories and Pollen Concerns
Fire Hazards
Local Ordinances and Regulations
Community Consensus
Monoculture lawns
Invasive plant species (planted for landscaping)
Overuse of pesticides and herbicides
Excessive fertilizer use
Removal of deadwood and fallen leaves
Artificial water features
Over pruning and shaping
Impervious surfaces
Lack of native planting
Habitat fragmentation
IMPACTS
Unpractical land use and urban sprawl takes away from land for native wildflowers. Designed greenery in urban areas is hardly focused on native wildflowers. The loss of wildflower areas decreases habitat for important insects and wildlife. Due to the diminishment of these natural spaces, many global issues arise.
Nationally there has been an increase in urbanization. Due to this, more neighborhoods are implementing bylaws, or HOA's. Some HOA's require certain landscaping practices, preventing homeowners from having a more natural yard with wildflower growth.
The Sustainable Agriculture Project’s land is continuously improving. There have been previous attempts to implement wildflowers into the landscape, but none have been kept afloat. In order to keep the mission statement of the SAP alive, the overgrown or weedy area of the SAP should be switched to wildflower fields. It would improve the whole system, starting at the bottom and blossoming up to the top through many foreseeable benefits.
This is a great example of implementing wildflowers into a college campus to promote diversity within the ecosystem. More than 100 native species flourish here!
Timeline to Implement Wildflowers at the SAP
Budget for Implementing Wildflowers at the SAP
Total Cost: $285
All of the areas circled are where we would plant these wildflowers. It would promote pollination of the plants around the SAP, as well as create greater biodiversity. The budget should give us enough coverage for 2,000 square feet of wildflowers around the SAP.
Triple Bottom Line
Our ecosystems provide us with services that are necessary for survival, such as pollination. Without habitats for pollinators there would be no pollination. Giving back to our environment by creating wildflower habitats will create a positive feedback loop, which will greatly impact humans. The production of our food relies heavily on this ecosystem service, and restoring native wildflowers will help establish better food security.
Our planet is suffering from loss of biodiversity. An easy way to promote regeneration of biodiversity in many different ecosystems is to add more of the basics to each ecosystem. Wildflowers are an important foundation in many ecosystems and wildflower groves provide habitats for more wildlife to thrive. The planting of wildflowers would help combat the global problem of biodiversity loss.
The long term benefits that come from maintaining a successful wildflower habitat are unending. The addition of wildflower areas at the SAP would benefit their profits because the additional pollinators would contribute to the success of produce growth, which would positively impact the harvest. On a larger scale, wildflowers have the potential to combat many global and local problems.
Feltham, H., Park, K., Minderman, J., & Goulson. (2015). Experimental evidence that wildflower strips increase pollinator visits to crops. Ecology and Evolution. 5 (16). 3523-3530. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.1444
Helen V. Smith Woodland Wildflower Garden at Matthaei Botanical Gardens at University of Michigan. (2023). Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nicholas Arboretum. Retrieved November 14, 2023, from https://mbgna.umich.edu/matthaei-botanical-gardens/gardens/hv-smith-woodland-wildflower-garden/
May, E., Isaacs, R., Ullmann, K,. Wilson, J., Brokaw, J., Jordan, S., Gibbs, J., Hopwood, J., Rothwell, N., Vaughan, M., Ward, K., & Williams, N. (2017). Establishing Wildflower Habitat to Support Pollinators of Michigan Fruit Crops. Michigan State University. https://www.canr.msu.edu/uploads/resources/pdfs/establishing_wildflower_habitat_to_support_pollinators_of_michigan_fruit_crops_-_e3360.pdf
McCullough, C. (2020). The effects of wildflower plots and diverse landscapes on ecosystem services, bee communities, and on-farm tick abundance. Virginia Tech. https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/98733
Pierce, D. (2023). 45 Common Types of Michigan Wildflowers Including Photos. Mich Wildflowers.
https://michwildflowers.com/michigan-wildflowers/
Ten Steps to a Successful Wildflower Seeding. (2014). Michigan Wildflower Farm.
https://www.michiganwildflowerfarm.com/ten-steps/
Thiele, R. (2023). Why some home owners are choosing to replace their lawns with native plants. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2023/08/22/1195172505/why-some-homeowners-are-choosing-to-replace-there-lawns-with-native-plants
2023 Species list. Michigan Wildflower Farm.
https://www.michiganwildflowerfarm.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2023-Species-List.pdf