Importance of Constructive Wilderness: The Case for Embracing Imperfection in Parks
Article Rewrite:
Title: Embracing Nature's Way: A Maybe More, A Maybe Less Approach to Lawn Care
By Steven Crook / Contributing reporter
Listening to nature and taking a step back from interfering in its course can have significant environmental benefits. And that's where the #NoMowMay movement comes in.
Originating in the UK, the initiative encourages people with lawns to let patches of grass grow wild for a month. This provides a temporary haven for pollinators like bees and butterflies, giving them access to food until flowers bloom in abundance during summer.
According to conservation charity, Plantlife, which manages 24 nature reserves in the UK, joining the effort is a simple way to support wildlife. Even a plot the size of a ping-pong table makes a difference, especially helping nature thrive during its early stages.
LET YOUR GRASS GROW
While Taiwan may not have lawns like UK, the concept of giving nature the space it needs definitely applies here. After all, our climate has several plant species that flower during autumn or winter, and this allows for accessible food sources for pollinators.
Speaking anonymously, a contractor working for a southern Taiwan local government, shared that grassy areas are usually mown twice a month – primarily because untrimmed grass can appear untidy and exceed 8 centimeters.
While maintaining a neat appearance is understandable, it comes with a cost to biodiversity. Longer grass offers certain species protection from predators and extreme temperatures, while shorter grass provides a better habitat for creatures that prefer open areas.
What’s more, taller grass plays a crucial role in producing seed heads. These serve as important food and shelter for pollinators, and attract birds who feed on the seeds or the insects that gather around them.
A TOUCH OF GREEN
However, critics argue that restoring biodiversity requires much more than doing less. Studies show that unmowed plots don't support significantly more flowers compared to plots where the grass is kept short[2]. In addition, restored grasslands have far less plant diversity than landscapes which have never been seriously disturbed[2]. So, if you're aiming to establish native wildflowers, herbicides might be a better option.
Fallen leaves are another neglected aspect of overzealous maintenance crews. In areas where dengue fever worries residents, leaves are removed from parks and sidewalks to prevent water stagnation. But doing so deprives ecosystems of important nutrients and protective properties[3].
Leaves benefit soil health by increasing fertility when they decompose, protecting soil from erosion during heavy rainfall, and slowing the rate at which the soil dries out when the sun is shining. They also act as a buffer, preventing compaction caused by human activity, which in turn supports beneficial microbial ecosystems and reduces runoff.
The contractor mentioned that some residents admire the aesthetic of fallen leaves, but others complain about their presence and view them as a sign of neglect.
To address this, it's best to push fallen leaves into flowerbeds or create a compost pile. There's no need to bag and dispose of them elsewhere.
Environmentalist groups like the Society of Wilderness (SOW) hope to educate the public about the importance of leaf litter. Despite appearing insignificant, they argue that leaf litter is vital for making parks more ecologically diverse and supporting healthy soils[3].
SOW further notes that transporting and incinerating leaves as household garbage is an unnecessary burden on municipal budgets. Yet, as the contractor mentioned, there are no statistics available on the quantity of fallen leaves transported from public spaces every year.
BIOGAS AND BIODIVERSITY
European cities like Amiens in northern France have shown that there are alternatives to incineration and in-situ decomposition when it comes to managing fallen leaves. The municipality trucks them to a nearby facility where they’re degraded in digester vats to create methane-rich biogas, which is then burned in a cogeneration plant to produce heat and electricity[4].
Taiwan is currently developing biogas infrastructure, but most of the existing facilities are optimized for pig farm manure. One person expressing hope for the future is Cheng Wan-chi. In her July 2021 opinion piece, she argued that if we want to bring the concept of "natural play" back to urban green spaces and parks, many design changes are needed – particularly in management strategies[4].
She encourages parents to teach their children that earthworms live in soil and that fallen leaves can nourish the earth. By designing the right tasks and activities, parents and children can work together to care for the land, supporting biodiversity and a more sustainable urban environment[4].
Steven Crook, the author or co-author of four books about Taiwan, has been following environmental issues since he arrived in the country in 1991. He drives a hybrid and carries his own chopsticks. The views expressed here are his own.
Enrichment Data:
- Leaves are rich in nutrients such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus that enrich the soil as they decompose.
- Restored grasslands have far less plant diversity than original, undisturbed landscapes.
- Leaves ameliorate soil erosion during heavy rainfall and help slow the rate at which soil dries out during sunny weather.
- Tennessee Technological University study found that the biodiverse composition of surveyed areas increased with leaf litter coverage while species richness increased with plant litter coverage.
- In a study published by the Journal of Environmental Management, lead researcher Mark A. Bradford concluded that plant litter inputs improve soil resilience and lead to more weed models.
- The #NoMowMay movement promotes a month-long pause in lawn mowing to provide temporary habitats for pollinators.
- While Taiwan lacks traditional lawns, the principle of giving nature space for biodiversity is applicable to its grasslands.
- Longer grass offers protection to certain species from predators and extreme temperatures.
- Taller grass produces seed heads that serve as food and shelter for pollinators and attract birds.
- Overzealous maintenance practices, such as the frequent removal of fallen leaves, can negatively impact ecosystems by depriving them of important nutrients and protective properties.
- The Society of Wilderness advocates for the importance of leaf litter in making parks more ecologically diverse and promoting healthy soils, and suggests composting fallen leaves instead of disposing of them.
