Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Section 1 Restoring Reciprocity, Sustaining Sustenance 1
Introduction 2
The Farmer's Quandary 3
Two Human Paths 4
Who Is This Book For? 5
Chapter 1 A different Way 7
Tending the Wild 9
Eat Local 13
Chapter 2 Plants in Relationship 15
Plant Planet 16
Carbon and Soils 16
Temperature and Water 17
Wild Plants as Food 19
Wild Plants as Medicine 20
Chapter 3 Ecological Restoration 23
Mimesis and the Reference Ecosystem 23
Restoring Plants 24
Chapter 4 In Community with Nature 28
Communities 29
Belonging to an Ecological Community 30
Section 2 Learning Your Land 33
Chapter 5 Reading Geology, Soils, and Water 36
Soils and Geology 36
Water 37
Plants and Hydrology 39
Chapter 6 Land Use History 41
Land Use History and Habitat Quality 43
Post-Agricultural Soils 43
Natural Disturbances 48
Chapter 7 Reading the Story of the Land 51
Historical Aerial Photos and Maps 54
Analyzing the Landscape 55
Indicators of a Remnant 55
Indicators of Disturbed Habitats 57
Making Your Own Map 60
Tend or Mend 61
High-Quality Sites → Tend 63
Low-Quality Sites → Mend 64
Section 3 Plant Communities and Culturally Useful Plants 65
Chapter 8 Plant Communities 67
Plant Community: Riparian Forests 69
Plant Community: Rich Mesic Forest 72
Plant Community: Upland Oak Forest 76
Plant Community: Glades 78
Plant Community: Meadows and Grasslands 81
Plant Community: Forested Wetlands 84
Plant Community: Sunny Wetlands and Shores 86
Plant Community: High Elevation and Northern Forests 89
Plant Community: Sandy Pine and Oak Forests 92
Plant Community: The Seashore 95
Chapter 9 Plant Species 99
Section 4 Restoring Your Land 221
Chapter 10 The Reference Site 222
How to Find a Reference Site 222
Interpreting a Natural Area for Beginners 224
Chapter 11 Repairing Soils 226
Soil Amendments 226
Wood Chips 226
Leaf Compost 227
Mycorrhizal Fungi 227
Biochar 228
Decompacting Soil 228
Restoring Landscape Structure 229
Pit and Mound Topography 229
Structural Repair Methods 231
Chapter 12 Vegetation Control 232
Tillage 232
Smothering and Solarizing 232
The "Lasagna" Mulching Method 233
Herbicides 234
Chapter 13 Burning 238
Indigenous Fire 239
Transitions 239
Ecological Potential 240
Chapter 14 Deer Management and Exclusion 243
Protecting Plantings from White-Tailed Deer 244
Chapter 15 Introducing Plant Materials 246
Planting 246
Seeding 248
Post-Seeding Maintenance for Meadows 251
Meadow Maintenance 251
Conclusion: A Missing Link 252
Belonging to This Place 253
Appendix - Assessment and Monitoring Techniques 258
Assessment and Monitoring 258
Baseline Monitoring 258
Monitoring Methods 258
Photo Monitoring 258
Biological Inventories 259
Floristic Quality Assessment 259
Sampling Units 264
Endnotes 266
Index 282
About the Author 293
About New Society Publishers 294
