Native Plants in Landscape Architecture Assignment
Added on 2020-04-21
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Native Plants in Landscape Architecture1NATIVE PLANTS IN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTUREAuthor NameClassProfessorSchool NameCity and StateDate
NATIVE PLANTS IN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE2IntroductionAlmost every construction project has an impact on its site. To some extent, some of themrequire a modification to the landscape. A landscape forms the integral and the highly visible section of the built environment. This feature establishes the main reason behind a thoughtful design and maintenance of all the aspects of the project. It is a call for the architects to be conscious of the various benefits of native plants. Unlike the invasive plant species that have adverse effects on a site’s ecosystem, designers should view native plants as beneficial considering their survival nature. This study explores the need for the conservation of the native plants. It also explores the various features of native plants that enable them to survive harsh climatic conditions. The Current Literature on Native plant and LandscapingThe recent ecological study of (Chong et al., 2014) found that various landscaping choices can have an impact on biodiversity. The US Environmental Protection Agency also reported that there is the extensive replacement of native plants with non-native plants (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2015). The report stated that this replacement in managed landscapes is an increasing problem for various organisms that depend on the diminishing native plants for food and shelter. The report went further to state that there is documentation of the negative effects of non-native plants on both insects and such as abundance and diversity of insects and herbivores. For instance, ornament plants cannot provide enough food for these organisms. The definition of native plants states that these are plants that have evolved together with both insects and herbivores that depend on them (Steiner, 2011). Therefore, both these plants andanimals that rely on them share an evolutionary history. On the other hand, exotic or non-native
NATIVE PLANTS IN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE3plants are those plants species that people take from their original evolving places and introduce them to new areas (Steiner, 2011).There was another observation that that creates a clear understanding what how landscaping can be detrimental especially with the introduction of exotic plants (Chong et al., 2014). The work of (Janz, 2011) first gives this insight by stating that plants and insects share a co-evolution. This relationship creates an adaptation that serves the leading role of acting as a defense. When landscaping removes these native plants, it takes away the adjustment and the primary host of these organisms. Similarly, (Martin and Murray, 2011) studied the impact of landscaping and conservation of native plants and found a close link between native plants and the diversity of organisms such as spiders, reptiles and mycorrhizal fungi. Where landscaping eliminates native plants, the same takes away the native species of these organisms through food-web dynamics or other non-predictable mechanisms (DeVore and Maerz, 2014).Many states have come up with ways of blending native plants with landscape architecture. For instance, the US federal and state agencies together with conservation groups have launched campaigns for the conservation of biodiversity in urbanized areas (Hostetler, Allen, and Meurk, 2011). Also, other countries like Australia and New Zealand have strategies for national biodiversity and conservation planning for the conservation of native plants and threatened species. It is advisable that landscaping artchitects to keep watch of the principles laidout for the conservation and also study the plants before taking them to the garden. In the United States, there are organizations such as the Native Conservancy, the National Wildlife Federation, and government bodies such as EPA that take the work of overseeing the conservation of native plants.
NATIVE PLANTS IN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE4However, there are hurdles to efficient use of native plants in the landscaping. One major challenge is the ornamental plants seems to be both economically viable and ecologically functional. Another problem is the economic factors. There is a need to introduce native plants tothe market system the same way ornamental plants appear in the market. There should be some attention to local adaptability and genetic diversions where landscaping plants should also focus on meeting some consumer demands. It is more of a system where native plants would be delivering some profit as in horticulture industries. The same cost-effective and ecological functions like ornamental plants should come to the native landscaping plants. Statement of The ProblemThe timing of this study is relevant to both the society and the time. Understanding a local environment, the nature of the plants that grow in the region helps in forming and educated decisions towards creating an attractive landscape. Currently, humans have dominated most partsof the world. This dominance has come with a new landscape design that has also caused significant environmental disturbances (Jogiste et al., 2017). The combination of effects arising from privately developed landscapes is creating much influence on the habitat and other primary ecological attributes. People should now come up with innovative landscapes that aim at incorporating ecologically stable land patterns to prevent further ecosystem imbalance. Currently, people have destroyed the natural vegetation to create yards that are mainly turf lawn. These yards are contributing highly to most of the environmental problems. For instance, they require high fossil energy consumption during their preparation and chemical input such as herbicides, fertilizers, and pesticides (Aktar, Sengupta and Chowdhury, 2009). As a result, people start getting health
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