Sudden Oak Life
As an artist drawing inspiration and materials from the forest, and as someone with a background in ecology, it’s imperative that part of my work not only gives back, but is actively in service to the ecosphere and combating the effects of climate change, biodiversity decline, and myriad others. My work in the forest is oriented to help preserve old growth trees, particularly oaks where I live on the Central Coast. Science has shown that old growth trees sequester carbon more efficiently than new plantings, thus making preservation of old growth stand a primary method in the struggle to adapt to and contain the effects of climate change.
Throughout the California coast line and beyond, oaks are in particular trouble from Phytopthera ramorum- colloquially called Sudden Oak Death (SOD). This psudo-fungus is a relative of the pathogen that caused the potato blight in Europe during the mid-1800’s that impacted Ireland particularly terribly. However like its cousin P. infestans, SOD is the catalyst for, but not the underlying cause of a great crisis. The ultimate root of both the Great Hunger in Ireland, and of SOD in California is colonialism.
When European-descended settler-colonizers invaded Indigenous lands, here and throughout the world, they disrupted thousands of years of ecological co-evolution that the peoples of those places had carefully and intentionally stewarded. In particular on the West Coast of Turtle Island- so called North America- this took the form of suppression of Cultural Burning practices, as well as natural fire patterns. This change from a fire-adapted landscape to a fire-vulnerable one has had profound effects, not only by encouraging catastrophic fires, but also changing the chemical and biological composition of the forest floor.
While much of the conventional conservation movement focuses on quarantining and not spreading P. ramorum, I choose to take a more proactive, holistic view, specifically in league with Dr. Lee Klinger of Sudden Oak Life whose work for the past 20 years has documented the success of a whole-system approach. The work of Dr. Klinger has amply shown that the absence of regular burning has pushed soil ph of West Coast forest floors towards a more acidic soil composition, locking up essential calcium which is the most important mineral in the bark of Western Coast oaks, as well as numerous other trees. Furthermore the absence of cleansing fires has allowed pathogenic fungi, insects, mosses, and lichens to get an advantage over oaks they previously did not have, and in the latter two cases further increasing soil acidification. Along with the decline in salmon populations that historically brought in thousands of tons of oceanic-borne nutrients each year, climate change, and two centuries of exploitative logging, these drastic changes to Western forests have left them severely malnourished, chemically altered, and susceptible to disease.
Our work as mindful stewards seeking to right the wrongs of the past and restore balance is to see to these tree’s essential needs and mimic the processes that fire produced by doing the following:
Ladder fuels removal; clear weedy undergrowth- burn when conditions allow- and remove excess moss/lichens from the trunk
Eliminate infections/infestations through “surgical” removal of said sites
Re-alkalize & re-mineralize the soil by spreading ground oyster shell and other minerals on the forest floor
Boost the soil food web by applying Actively Aerated Compost Tea
Lime wash the trunk to both feed calcium directly to the bark of the trunk, and to create conditions on the trunk hostile to diseases and insects. (THIS DOES TURN THE TRUNKS WHITE!)
If you have one tree, or acres of trees, I am available for consultation to assess your situation, develop a written analysis and recommendation, and estimate. My rates for initial consults depend on the scope, but in general range from $50-$150. I am available in the Monterey Bay, and Greater Bay Area. Beyond those watersheds involves a bit more travel arrangements which I am also available for.