Reconciliation ecology means that we “lean how to share anthropogenic [human-dominated] habitats with wild species” (Rosenzweig 2001, p. 5409).
In the Waterfront Seattle project just as in landscaping at any scale, design decisions can assist or exclude native wildlife.
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife supports snag creation in private yards
Even at the scale of single-family yards, thoughtful landscaping can support wildlife such as native bird species. Changing patterns of urban land use demonstrably affect what species survive in the area (Alberti & Marzluff 2004). The most important local decisions for birds are: to maintain or increase the number of native trees, especially conifers; to replace exotic groundcover and shrubs with native plants; and to provide structural complexity (Donnelly & Marzluff 2006). Structural complexity can be achieved with a diversity of plant types and species, with vertical structure provided by low-canopy and shrub-level layers of native bushes and small trees, and perhaps with woody debris in the form of a snag or a brushpile (Link 2003).
Another example where landscaping choices can provide urban wildlife habitat is for native pollinators. Urban gardeners and landscapers support pollinators by choosing a broad vareity of native-plant sources of pollen, nectar, and (in the case of butterflies) edible leaves for caterpillar forage (Xerces 2011).
References
Alberti, M; Marzluff, JM. 2004. Ecological resilience in urban ecosystems: linking urban patterns to human and ecological functions. Urban ecosystems, 7(3), 241-265. doi:10.1023/B:UECO.0000044038.90173.c6
Donnelly, R.; Marzluff, J.M. 2006. Relative importance of habitat quantity, structure, and spatial pattern to birds in urbanizing environments. Urban Ecosystems, 9(2), 99-117. doi:10.1007/s11252-006-7904-2
Link, RL. 2003. Landscaping for wildlife in the Pacific Northwest. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. ISBN-10: 0295978201
Rosenzweig, ML. 2001. Loss of speciation rate will impoverish future diversity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 98(10): 5404-5410. doi:10.1073/pnas.101092798
Rosenzweig, ML. 2003a. Reconciliation ecology and the future of species diversity. Oryx 37(02): 194-205. doi:10.1017/S0030605303000371
Rosenzweig, ML. 2003b. Win-win ecology: how the earth’s species can survive in the midst of human enterprise. NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN-10: 0195156048
The Xerces Society. 2011. Attracting native pollinators: Protecting North America’s bees and butterflies. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing. ISBN-10: 1603426957
page last modified April 2012
Seattle Urban Habitat 