Landscape architects have a growing responsibility to contribute to the revival of biodiversity and ecosystem services. There is an increasing need to design landscapes that are more resilient to rapid environmental change and unpredictable extreme events. One strategy is using ecologically driven planting design that strives to enhance biodiversity at the genetic, species, community, and ecosystem levels.
While many practitioners understand the importance of increasing species and habitat diversity, I feel that there is still a lack of focus on the benefits of incorporating diversity below the species level into planting designs. For the long-term ability of urban and landscape designs to persist, with resistance and resilience to climate chaos, old and new diseases and pests, and the capacity to continue to evolve, this kind of multi-layered, or nested hierarchy of levels of diversity in plant assemblages is essential. This is true in both natural and constructed environments.
I carried out a study with Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects to understand how to incorporate more genetic or within-species diversity into the planting design of Pier 42, a waterfront redevelopment project in Lower Manhattan. In October 2021, the blog World Landscape Architecture published an essay that presents our study and proposes two strategies to counteract the reduced accessibility of genetically diverse planting material. You can read the essay HERE.
(Image: Plant nursery where landscape architects go to select trees for their projects.)
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