Last week- Biodiversity

I missed the posting portion of the assignments but i figured, better late than never!-
I didn't have much time since the weather was very cold and rainy but I did finally get out and enjoy exploring my yard on Monday. In doing so, I noticed some plants that I haven't seen in a long time. I used to know my property like the back of my hand but as I got older, priorities change. I felt like I was rediscovering things and memories came flooding back. I rediscovered the three cultivated blueberry bushes that have been neglected and forgotten throughout the years. I also found the wild strawberry plants scattered around the front lawn that are currently yielding flowers. I also came across a patch of lowbush blueberry that always yields small berries full of flavor in late summer. These rediscoveries got me thinking about cultivated vs. native/naturally occurring species on my property. I had flashbacks of blueberry picking and thought about the many rows of bushes that were the same height and were all uniformed. I'm sure they were managed for pests and herbicides were most likely used. I also thought about the diversity that was before me.

The biodiversity that I knew to be present includes various flying insects, some pollinators, ants, invasive gypsy moths that come around every year and the birds that like to hang out around the lowbush blueberries.

Looking at this with a more anthropocentric point of view, I can see that these crops are always in high demand and will need to meet quantity expectations when the season comes around. The cultivated crops must have a large output and in turn, the crop has specific categories that is comparable to wild crop. I.E. farmed blueberries are much bigger in size and typically has less flavor, while wild blueberries are much smaller but packs a lot more flavor. The difference in these are evident in strawberries as well, (from my personal experience.)

Publicado el mayo 16, 2020 03:39 TARDE por sophie342