Urbanizing Flora of Portland, OR

The Urbanizing Flora of Portland, Oregon is an ongoing project documenting the impact of urbanization on the floristic composition of the region. Since 1806, wetlands have been reduced by 97%, coniferous forest by 92%, prairie/savanna by 90%, and riparian forests by 58%. Over the past 200+ years, 1,553 species representing 126 families have been documented. Since 1925 there has been a loss of 50% of the common native plants, and a three-fold increase in the common exotic species. Much of the credit for the documentation of exotic plants goes to the diligent collection efforts by botanists working in the late 1800s and early 1900s who regularly explored the ballast piles deposited by ships arriving from around the world.

You can download a copy of the 2009 edition here: Download PDF