Sunday, April 24, 2016

Umbrella Species

An umbrella species is one in which their protection enables other species to be protected.

The world is full of ironies. One of them is that some of the most adamant protectors of the natural world are hunters and sport fishermen. Degrade the environment and their hobby becomes non-existent. Many hunters spend more time watching wildlife. The strongest wildlife preservation organizations in Georgia are those concerned with hunting.

Native bamboo such as Arundianaria gigantea (River or Giant Cane), Arundianaria tecta (switch cane), Arundianaria appalachiana (hill cane) used to form thickets that allowed many species to thrive. Work has been done to re-establish these in Panola Mountain State Park and Riverbend WMA in Laurens County. Grassland birds and butterflies as well as the notorious Canebrake rattlesnake will be provided more habitat.

 http://www.georgiawildlife.com/node/1640

In planting bamboo, invasive varieties such as the Golden bamboo are not good. Where I live, the suggestion to plant bamboo is considered foolhardy because of it's invasiveness.

http://namethatplant.net/article_nativebamboo.shtml


River Cane Goose Creek SP NC 8559 (3239220649)
River Cane - Goose Creek State Park, North Carolina courtesy of Wikimedia Commons



Switch Cane (10562026655)
Switch Cane in Hopkins South Carolina courtesy of Wikimedia Commons











1 comment:

  1. Interesting post. I love the look of bamboo but won't plant it in our garden due to its invasiveness. Our neighbour is constantly hacking it down and it just keeps on coming back.

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