Title: Reading and Audio-Visual Assignments
Course: GFM 103 Exterior Environmental Management > Section: GFM 103 Exterior Environmental Management

Reading and Audio-Visual Assignments

Native Plants (1/2)
Native Plants and Xeriscaping: Understanding the Differences

Native plant is a term to describe plants endemic (indigenous) or naturalized to a given area in geologic time.

This includes plants that have developed, occur naturally, or existed for many years in an area (e.g. trees, flowers, grasses, and other plants). In North America a plant is often deemed native if it was present before colonization.

Some native plants have adapted to very limited, unusual environments or very harsh climates or exceptional soil conditions. Although some types of plants for these reasons exist only within a very limited range (endemism), others can live in diverse areas or by adaptation to different surroundings.

Research has found that insects depend on native plants.^[1]

Environmental conditions

An ecosystem consists of interactions of plants, animals, and microorganisms with their physical (e.g., soil conditions and processes) and climatic conditions.

Native plants form a part of a cooperative environment, or plant community, where several species or environments have developed to support them. This could be a case where a plant exists because a certain animal pollinates the plant and that animal exists because it relies on the pollen as a source of food. Some native plants rely on natural conditions, such as occasional wildfires, to release their seeds or to provide a fertile environment where their seedlings can become established.

Xeriscaping and xerogardening refer to landscaping and gardening in ways that reduce or eliminate the need for supplemental water from irrigation. It is promoted in regions that do not have easily accessible, plentiful, or reliable supplies of fresh water, and is gaining acceptance in other areas as climate patterns shift. Although xeriscaping may be an alternative to various types of traditional gardening, it is usually promoted as a substitute for Kentucky bluegrass lawns. Kentucky bluegrass is commonly used in American suburban landscaping. A cool-season grass, it is well suited to high foot traffic and recreation. However, it is difficult to grow in sandy or compacted soil as well as fast draining sites like slopes, especially those facing the sun. Kentucky bluegrass also requires more water use than usual in arid regions.^[1]

GreenScapes is: Multi-media EPA Initiative designed to promote a wide variety of environmentally beneficial landscaping and land management practices. Designed to provide cost-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions - improving both an organization’s bottom-line and the environment. Combines/Incorporates practices of ecological landscaping practices, pollution prevention/ waste reduction/ water conservation and Low impact development Originated in EPA’s waste program: Resource Conservation Challenge-RCC-and, since has become more integrated in all of EPA’s programs Goal: to promote practices and understanding about landscaping/land management practices that are both environmentally beneficial and cost saving practices It’s a way of taking traditional landscaping practices and adding cost effective and environmentally beneficial practices Combines/Incorporates practices of ecological landscaping practices, pollution prevention/ waste reduction/ water conservation and Low impact development Originated in EPA’s waste program: Resource Conservation Challenge-RCC-and, since has become more integrated in all of EPA’s programs Goal: to promote practices and understanding about landscaping/land management practices that are both environmentally beneficial and cost saving practices It’s a way of taking traditional landscaping practices and adding cost effective and environmentally beneficial practices