Native Plant Salvaging and Reuse in Southwestern Deserts - Design with the Desert: Conservation and Sustainable Development - page 397

23
Native Plant Salvaging and Reuse
in Southw estern Deserts
Allan Dunstan and Margaret Livingston
CONTENTS
23.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 399
23.1.1 Early Days of Tree Salvaging Practices in Arizona ........................................... 400
23.2 Salvaging Guidelines......................................................................................................... 401
23.2.1 Cacti Salvaging ....................................................................................................... 401
23.2.2 Tree Salvaging ........................................................................................................ 402
23.2.2.1 Presalvage Preparation ........................................................................... 402
23.2.2.2 Sideboxing ................................................................................................ 402
23.2.2.3 Bottoming ................................................................................................. 403
23.2.2.4 Maintenance ............................................................................................ 403
23.2.3 Tree Spading ........................................................................................................... 405
23.2.4 Other Factors Affecting Tree Salvaging Success ............................................... 405
23.3 Challenges ........................................................................................................................... 405
23.3.1 State Native Plant Laws......................................................................................... 406
23.3.2 Economic Challenges ............................................................................................ 407
23.3.3 Horticultural Practices .......................................................................................... 408
23.4 Impacts ................................................................................................................................ 409
23.5 Future Outlook ................................................................................................................... 409
References ..................................................................................................................................... 410
23.1 Introduction
Salvaging native desert plants prior to developing a site has been a recognized practice in
the Southwest since the late 1970s. Before this time, only a relatively small fraction of the
population in the Southwest consistently used native plants in their landscape designs.
For the most part the surrounding desert environments of urban areas were perceived as
hostile places—interesting but not representing the kind of landscape composition desired
in our designs. 1,2 Residents moving to desert regions often favored plants that reminded
them of the areas from which they came. Species such as Aleppo pine ( Pinus halepensis ) and
mulberry ( Morus alba ) were planted in great numbers and generally required higher water
and maintenance than our native species. In addition, some of these plants had greater
susceptibility to disease and grew to heights that exceeded the desert canopy, introducing
a new set of ecological variables to the region.
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