Designing Habitats in Urban Environments - Design with the Desert: Conservation and Sustainable Development - page 393

FIGURE 22.6
Sunny locations and plants such as butterfly mist provide a small effective habitat for butterflies.
Table 22.4 provides a selection of plants that would provide the variety in growth type and
food for a southwestern butterfly habitat.
22.4 Summary
Successful wildlife habitat areas can be created through an emphasis on thorough site
analysis, careful arrangement of plantings and other design elements, and attention to
plant species selection. Site analysis should provide the designer with knowledge of the
existing natural communities that support wildlife and indicate the possibilities and
limitations that exist at both the community and site-specific levels.
While this chapter focuses on creating habitats for a particular type of wildlife, many
plants such as velvet mesquite ( Prosopis velutina ), catclaw acacia ( Acacia greggii ), or Baja
fairy duster ( Calliandra californica ), will support more than one type of wildlife. For
example, common urban lizards, such as the ornate tree and desert spiny lizards, are
supported by increased diversity of plants for food sources (insects), thorny vegetation
(escape cover), and structural diversity that creates habitat for terrestrial and arboreal
lizards. 15 Therefore, if desired, it is possible to create a single habitat for a variety of
wildlife types. In this case, attention should be given to needs of the diverse wildlife
and the overall design of the project. For example, an area with concentrated massing
and full sun locations for butterflies can transition into an area with more overstory
species and variety in structure for birds, hummingbirds, and lizards (Figure 22.7).
A few species of plants can be repeated throughout the design to provide unity and
hence effectiveness of the overall composition. With these few requirements and a
large number of plant species to choose from (Tables 22.2 through 22.4), a landscape
design for wildlife habitat can be created to meet the spatial confines of any urban
enthusiast.