Protecting and conserving plants and their ecosystems has always been the heart of the Missouri Botanical Garden’s work, and with plant diversity disappearing at an alarming rate, that work has never been more important. Environmental protection takes many forms; here are just a few of the ways the Garden works to preserve biodiversity here at…
Tag: ecological restoration
Endangered Bats Highlight Biodiversity at Shaw Nature Reserve
Proper safeguarding and stewardship of our flora has the very intended effect of also benefiting our fauna. Just like humans, animals depend on plants for things like food and shelter. And plants often rely on animals for pollination and seed dispersal. Protecting plant habitats allows these beneficial relationships to occur as nature intended. Monarch butterflies…
A Partnership to Prevent Blight
Chinese chestnut blight has decimated North American members of the genus Castanea, which includes American chestnuts, Allegheny chinkapins, and Ozark chinquapins. The Missouri Botanical Garden’s Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development (CCSD) and Horticulture Division are working with the Ozark Chinquapin Foundation (OCF) on a project that will reveal how well individual Ozark chinquapin trees…
It’s Complicated: Trees and Ecological Restoration
The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now. -Anonymous Addendum: That is, unless the tree will grow just fine without your help or the tree doesn’t really belong there. In that case, the best time might be never. Planting a tree is rejuvenating. It gets you…
Shaw Nature Reserve’s Dark Diversity
There are almost 3000 species of vascular plants in Missouri. Which ones should we conserve at Shaw Nature Reserve? One of the most challenging questions in restoration ecology is what species should live in a restored habitat? When we assist ecosystem recovery by removing invasive species or applying prescribed fire, for example, some plant species…