Think Biodiversity
By ELAINE K. DELCUZE

(Above) The deep maroon flower of the sweet shrub is very aromatic, smelling like cinnemon. It makes a good sized shrub.

As more and more of the mountain landscape turns into backyard acreage, homeowners play an increasingly critical ecological role. What once was a natural area grows smaller and more isolated from other natural areas, and with this habitat fragmentation comes a serious blow to genetic diversity. With increasing urban sprawl we begin to see less and less of the forest that once blanketed the area.

Natural areas grow ever smaller and more isolated from one another. Oak and hardwood forests which support native plants and natural habitats for man and animals have given way to patches of lawn with a lonely oak or two ringed with begonias or manicured gardens. When biodiversity is threatened, the natural checks and balances fail, and the invasive grasses and plants and insect pests overtake the native vegetation or weaken them. The forest service and park managers struggle constantly to control these invasive pests. With manicured gardens, the genetic variation that enabled native flora and fauna to cope with the adverse effects of changingconditions, global warming, and disease are compromised.

The beautiful wild azelea ranges in color from light orange to flame, and like other native plants, hard to recognize when it isn't blooming.

Experts have estimated that 100,000 of the world's flowering species could be gone in the next few decades, including about 20% of this country's native speciesplants that are critical food... and habitat to people and animals.

Cultivating our regions' native plants supports pollinating birds and insects which in turn help bolster diminishing gene pools. By creating habitat gardens, we can improve the plight of many plants and animals, enabling species to form mutually beneficial relation-ships with other plants and animals that allow them to survive, adding to biodiversity over time.

Native plants once supported this country's population with food, medicine, and shelter and many of these plants still exist on your property. Before you build, landscape, or redesign your property, look around. What nativeplants and trees exist there? Will you be retaining these plants in your plan, or will you be substituting others? If you plan to replace the native plants, contact a plant rescue team member so the native plant can be moved to a public garden and preserved. If you decide to work with the natural landscape, a plant rescue team member can recommend a preservation option at your site. Call Glen Henderson 706-745-1840.

Plant rescue is a free service sponsored by the Preservation Committee of the Community Council, University of Georgia Mountain Research and Education Center, Blairsville.

Think biodiversity!