Start Date
06/21/2022
End Date
06/21/2022
Description
In the evaluation of landscapes, a critical question is the contemporary ecological
health of the vegetation it supports, and Floristic Quality Assessment offers an
invaluable tool. It assigns a Coefficient of Conservatism (0-10) to each vascular plant
in the flora of a state or portion of a state. The higher the number, the less historic
human disturbance or alteration of historic environmental conditions that species
can tolerate. In this session Gerould Wilhelm, the botanist who co-developed this
now widely used system, explains how landscape practitioners can use it to better
understand the landscapes they are working in, set conservation priorities, select
species for restoration, and specify management protocols.
Distance Learning
Yes
Course Equivalency
No
Subjects
Horticulture / Plants
Site Planning
Health, Safety and Welfare
Yes
Hours
1.25
Learning Outcomes
1. Understand whether one’s proposed land change activity – either mechanical or through management/manipulation – involves a remnant landscape or an already-obliterated piece of land.
2. Understand that once aboriginal landscapes are changed, the changes in most cases are irretrievable; the system is inevitably simplified and too unstable to sustain its aboriginal vitality and ability to renew itself season after season.
3. Learn the unique value of the work of a field botanist, who can identify a sufficient proportion of the species of plants on-site to enable the application of floristic quality metrics.
Instructors
Gerould Wilhelm, PhD
Course Codes
Provider
New Directions in the American Landscape