Tree Thursday - Red Maple

Okay, it’s fall and even though it doesn’t really happen in South Florida, most of us are thinking of the leaf color up north so here’s a tree that can bring it to you in South Florida (a few months later).

Red Maple

Acer rubrum

Red Maple is a tree that you probably wouldn’t expect to see in South Florida but it is actually native to our area.  This is the same Red Maple species  you would see in Canada.  This tree species is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees in eastern North America.  It has adapted to a wide range of site conditions, from swamps to dry soils.  In South Florida, it grows much better in wet or irrigated sites.  I have seen quite large Red Maples in the north part of Broward County Tradewinds Park.  In the northern part of its range, many cultivars and varieties have been selected for  spectacular fall color displays.  The cultivars have names like Autumn Flame, October Glory, Red Sunset and Scarlet Sentinel.   Red Maple’s fall color can range from yellow, orange and red.  Unfortunately, in South Florida we do not get the spectacular color displays but in late fall early winter there is a little bit of red. 

The newly emerging leaves and red flowers and fruits signal that spring has come. They appear in December and January in Florida, later in the northern part of its range. The seeds of red maple are quite popular with squirrels and birds.

When planting the species Acer rubrum , select only those which have been grown from seed sources in your area.

Pictures below –  (1) Red Maples along a lake up north.  (2) Red Maple Leaf.  (3) Red Maple flowers

  

Great website with Red Maple photos - http://www.treetopics.com/acer_rubrum/gallery1.htm

Gene Dempsey, City Forester

Environmental Services

Office - (954) 828-5785  Fax - (954) 828-4745

GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov

Think before you print!

Check tire pressure monthly

One way to make your vehicle greener:

1.     Check tire pressure monthly.  This not only saves fuel but makes for a safer drive. 

Americans waste 4 million gallons of gas each day by driving on under-inflated tires. http://www.pumpemup.org/about.html 

Under inflated tires are responsible for automobile crashes that result in 660 fatalities and 33,000 injuries each year.

Under inflation can lead to tire failure. It results in unnecessary tire stress, irregular wear and possible loss of vehicle control or accidents.

A tire can lose up to half of its air pressure and still not appear to be flat. The best way to check tire pressure is with a properly working analog or digital tire gauge.

The U.S. Department of Energy reports that properly inflated tires can improve gas mileage up to 3.3 percent.
http://blogs.trucktrend.com/6205009/industry-news/checking-tire-pressure-can-save-lives-and-money-at-the-pump/index.html

Gene Dempsey, Parks Supervisor - City Forester
GDempsey@FortLauderdale.gov
954.828.5785 --- 954.828.5799 fax

THINK BEFORE YOU PRINT!

Half of all wetlands destroyed since 1900

Wetlands are a source of drinking water and provide protection against floods, but they have been damaged by unsustainable water use and pollution.

By Agence France-Presse

An alarming 50 percent of the world's wetlands have been destroyed in the last 100 years, threatening human welfare at a time of increasing water scarcity, a new report said.

Wetlands serve as a source of drinking water and provide protection against floods and storms, yet they have been decimated to make space for housing, factories and farms or damaged by unsustainable water use and pollution.

"In just over 100 years we have managed to destroy 50 percent of the world's wetlands," said Achim Steiner, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program.

"It is a startling figure," he said at a UN conference in Hyderabad.

The report, compiled by an ongoing research project entitled TEEB, or The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity, said coastal wetland losses in some regions, including Asia, have been happening at a rate of 1.6 percent per year.

"Taking mangroves as an example, 20 percent of total coverage has been lost since 1980, with recent rates of loss of up to one percent per year," said the report released Tuesday.

"We need wetlands because our existence, our food and our water is at stake," said Ritesh Kumar of the environmental group Wetlands International.

Wetlands are known to cover about 5 million square miles of the Earth's surface, and are a natural sink for Earth-warming carbon dioxide, act as fish nurseries and are important tourist attractions.

In the United States alone, wetlands are estimated to provide $23 billion worth of storm protection every year, the report said.

The report was released at a conference of the UN Convention on Biodiversity, where environment ministers will hold three days of talks from Wednesday to try and raise funds to stop the decline of Earth's natural resources.

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/stories/half-of-all-wetlands-destroyed-since-1900

Gene Dempsey, City Forester

Environmental Services

Office - (954) 828-5785  Fax - (954) 828-4745

GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov

Think before you print!

Clean Water Act turns 40!

Clean Water Act celebrates 40 years of water conservation

By Catie Leary   Thu, Oct 18 2012

Photo: Kelly Fike/USFWS/Flickr

The legacy of clean water

On Oct. 18, 1972, the United States passed the landmark Clean Water Act. Crafted with the goal of ensuring that all U.S. waters — including these coastal wetlands seen at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge in Newburyport, Mass. — are "fishable and swimmable," the ambitious act has seen its fair share of successes and shortcomings in the past 40 years.

Before the CWA passed, only a third of all water in the country was safe for swimming and fishing. With rivers catching on fire and a massive die-off of fish populations due to pollution, environmental activists and average citizens alike pressured the government to pass what is touted as one of the most successful environmental laws in the country's history.

Following its enactment, the CWA made major gains in cleaning up U.S. water by cracking down on industrial polluters and wastewater treatment plants. In addition to ensuring the safety and cleanliness of our water sources, the CWA heralded the redevelopment of waterfront property and boosted the energy of the growing environmental movement.

Regardless of its general success in cracking down industrial polluters, the CWA is still a major work in progress. The ambitious goal to bring the amount of polluted water down to 0 percent by 1985 has yet to be achieved — only 65 percent of all U.S. water is currently fit to swim and fish in today. In addition, the 40-year-old act is behind on the times in many ways, which enables tricky legal loopholes and ambiguities that could not have been predicted in the '70s.

Despite these shortcomings, there's no denying the invaluable progress the law has achieved in safeguarding one of the most vital resources on the planet.

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/stories/clean-water-act-celebrates-40-years-of-water-conservation

Gene Dempsey, City Forester

Environmental Services

Office - (954) 828-5785  Fax - (954) 828-4745

GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov

Think before you print!

Friday Funny

The Other Coast by Adrian Raeside

http://www.gocomics.com/theothercoast/2012/09/26

Gene Dempsey, City Forester

Environmental Services

Office - (954) 828-5785  Fax - (954) 828-4745

GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov

Think before you print!

Tree Thursday - Mangroves

Mangroves

Mangroves are one of Florida's true natives. They thrive in salty environments because they are able to obtain freshwater from saltwater. Some secrete excess salt through their leaves, others block absorption of salt at their roots.

Florida's estimated 469,000 acres of mangrove forests contribute to the overall health of the state's southern coastal zone. This ecosystem traps and cycles various organic materials, chemical elements, and important nutrients. Mangrove roots act not only as physical traps but provide attachment surfaces for various marine organisms. Many of these attached organisms filter water through their bodies and, in turn, trap and cycle nutrients.

The relationship between mangroves and their associated marine life cannot be overemphasized. Mangroves provide protected nursery areas for fishes, crustaceans, and shellfish. They also provide food for a multitude of marine species such as snook, snapper, tarpon, jack, sheepshead, red drum, oyster, and shrimp. Florida's important recreational and commercial fisheries will drastically decline without healthy mangrove forests.

Many animals find shelter either in the roots or branches of mangroves. Mangrove branches are rookeries, or nesting areas, for beautiful coastal birds such as brown pelicans and roseate spoonbills.

Worldwide, more than 50 species of mangroves exist. Of the three species found in Florida, the red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) is probably the most well-known. It typically grows along the water's edge. The red mangrove is easily identified by its tangled, reddish roots called "prop-roots". These roots have earned mangroves the title, "walking trees". This mangrove, in particular, appears to be standing or walking on the surface of the water.

The black mangrove, (Avicennia germinans) usually occupies slightly higher elevations upland from the red mangrove. The black mangrove can be identified by numerous finger-like projections, called pneumatophores, that protrude from the soil around the tree's trunk.
The white mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa) usually occupies the highest elevations farther upland than either the red or black mangroves. Unlike its red or black counterparts, the white mangrove has no visible aerial root systems. The easiest way to identify the white mangrove is by the leaves. They are elliptical, light yellow green and have two distinguishing glands at the base of the leaf blade where the stem starts.
All three of these species utilize a remarkable method of propagation. Seeds sprout while still on the trees and drop into the soft bottom around the base of the trees or are transported by currents and tides to other suitable locations.
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/habitats/mangroves.htm

Unless otherwise noted, photos are from George English Park in Fort Lauderdale.

White Mangrove with seeds             Prop roots of Red Mangrove                             Red Mangroves

Propagules of Red Mangroves               Black Mangrove with “pencil” pneumatophores (from web)

Gene Dempsey, City Forester

Environmental Services

Office - (954) 828-5785  Fax - (954) 828-4745

GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov

Think before you print!

Environmentalism is about our relationship with and to our world.

"As I tell my students at the University of Kansas School of Journalism, environmentalism is about our relationship with and to our world. And as we all know, the best relationships are the ones we work on. We are our eco-system. Everything we use—from energy to food to the stuff of our everyday lives—has an impact. "Going green" doesn't just mean buying more products. A good starting point is to buy different stuff (zero VOC paint, non-toxic cleaning products, reusable bags and bottles...) but, ultimately, we can't shop our way to sustainability. Reduce is the first edict of environmentalism, with Re-use and Recycle following close behind. It is our relationships—to the planet, to our stuff, to our communities—that contain the most potential for widespread change."

Simran Sethi, Environmental Journalist and Associate Professor of Journalism at Kansas University

http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/post-earth-day-manifesto.htm