39°46′43.30″N86°11′20.71″W / 39.7786944°N 86.1890861°W The Lilly ARBOR Project is a part of an experimental riparian floodplain reforestation and ecological restoration program, located along the White River in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. ARBOR is an acronym for "Answers for Restoring the Bank Of the River". [1]
The riparian forest restoration project was performed by the Center of Earth and Environmental Science (CEES) at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) with support from the Lilly Endowment. [2]
As part of the riparian zone restoration project, nearly 1,400 trees were planted along the eastern bank of the White River near downtown Indianapolis. The eight-acre (3.2 ha) project site stretches for about one mile (1.6 km) from 10th St. (north) to New York St. (south). [3] [4] [5] [6] The initial planting occurred in the fall of 1999 and the spring of 2000. [7]
After five years, the Lilly Arbor Project provided data on riparian zone reforestation strategies, which will be used in further research and future projects. Students and faculty from various universities conduct research and maintain the restoration using the CEES service learning program.
A total of 1,332 trees belonging to one of twelve native species were planted across the project site, including:
| Scientific name | Common name |
|---|---|
| Acer rubrum | Red maple |
| Acer saccharinum | Silver maple |
| Aesculus glabra | Ohio buckeye |
| Celtis occidentalis | Hackberry |
| Crataegus | Hawthorn |
| Fraxinus pennsylvanica | Green ash |
| Gleditsia triacanthos | Honey locust |
| Platanus occidentalis | American sycamore |
| Populus deltoides | Eastern cottonwood |
| Quercus bicolor | Swamp white oak |
| Quercus muehlenbergii | Chinquapin oak |
| Salix nigra | Black willow |
| Source: Indiana University Center for Earth and Environmental Science [8] | |
Since the initial plantings in 1999 and 2000, additional native and invasive tree species have become established at the site. These include American elm ( Ulmus americana ), box elder ( Acer negundo ), Callery pear ( Pyrus calleryana ), Catalpa , dogwood ( Cornus ), goldenrain tree ( Koelreuteria paniculata ), red mulberry ( Morus rubra ), white mulberry ( Morus alba ), and Siberian elm ( Ulmus pumila ). [8]
Reforestation is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands (forestation) that have been depleted, usually through deforestation but also after clearcutting. Two important purposes of reforestation programs are for harvesting of wood or for climate change mitigation purposes.
Morus, a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 subordinate taxa, three of which are well-known and are ostensibly named for the fruit color of the best-known cultivar: white, red, and black mulberry, with numerous cultivars and some taxa currently unchecked and awaiting taxonomic scrutiny. M. alba is native to South Asia, but is widely distributed across Europe, Southern Africa, South America, and North America. M. alba is also the species most preferred by the silkworm, and is regarded as an invasive species in Brazil and the United States.
Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, commonly referred to as IUPUI, is a public research university in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It is a collaboration between Indiana University and Purdue University that offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees from both universities. Administered primarily through Indiana University as a core campus and secondarily through Purdue University as a regional campus, it is Indiana's primary urban research and academic health sciences institution. IUPUI is located in downtown Indianapolis along the White River and Fall Creek.
The genus Tamarix is composed of about 50–60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa. The generic name originated in Latin and may refer to the Tamaris River in Hispania Tarraconensis (Spain).
Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees (forestation) in an area where there was no recent tree cover. In comparison, reforestation means re-establishing forest that have either been cut down or lost due to natural causes, such as fire, storm, etc. There are three types of afforestation: natural regeneration, agroforestry, commercial plantations. There are several benefits from afforestation such as carbon sequestration, increasing rainfall, prevention of topsoil erosion, flood and landslide mitigation, barriers against high winds, shelter for wildlife, employment and alternative sources of wood products.
Morus rubra, commonly known as the red mulberry, is a species of mulberry native to eastern and central North America. It is found from Ontario, Minnesota, and Vermont south to southern Florida, and west as far as southeastern South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and central Texas. There have been reports of isolated populations in New Mexico, Idaho, and British Columbia.
A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone,riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a riparian zone. The word riparian is derived from Latin ripa, meaning "river bank".
Oldfields, also known as Lilly House and Gardens, is a 26-acre (11 ha) historic estate and house museum at Newfields in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The estate, an example of the American country house movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 2003.
Stream restoration or river restoration, also sometimes referred to as river reclamation, is work conducted to improve the environmental health of a river or stream, in support of biodiversity, recreation, flood management and/or landscape development.
Floodplain restoration is the process of fully or partially restoring a river's floodplain to its original conditions before having been affected by the construction of levees (dikes) and the draining of wetlands and marshes.
IUPUI University Library is the university library of Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis. IUPUI is an urban campus of Indiana University and Purdue University in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Indiana University is the managing partner.
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Land restoration, which may include renaturalisation or rewilding, is the process of ecological restoration of a site to a natural landscape and habitat, safe for humans, wildlife, and plant communities. Ecological destruction, to which land restoration serves as an antidote, is usually the consequence of pollution, deforestation, salination or natural disasters. Land restoration is not the same as land reclamation, where existing ecosystems are altered or destroyed to give way for cultivation or construction. Land restoration can enhance the supply of valuable ecosystem services that benefit people.
The San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge is a protected area of along the San Joaquin River in the northern San Joaquin Valley, California. It is within San Joaquin County and Stanislaus County.
Riparian-zone restoration is the ecological restoration of riparian-zonehabitats of streams, rivers, springs, lakes, floodplains, and other hydrologic ecologies. A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the fifteen terrestrial biomes of the earth; the habitats of plant and animal communities along the margins and river banks are called riparian vegetation, characterized by aquatic plants and animals that favor them. Riparian zones are significant in ecology, environmental management, and civil engineering because of their role in soil conservation, their habitat biodiversity, and the influence they have on fauna and aquatic ecosystems, including grassland, woodland, wetland or sub-surface features such as water tables. In some regions the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, or riparian strip are used to characterize a riparian zone.
Urban reforestation is the practice of planting trees, typically on a large scale, in urban environments. It may also include urban horticulture and urban farming.
Eden Reforestation Projects (Eden) is a nonprofit NGO that works in developing countries to rebuild natural landscapes destroyed by deforestation. Eden works directly with communities experiencing extreme poverty resulting from the deforestation and destruction of the land that sustains them. The organization employs thousands of local community members and provides them with the education and tools necessary to plant, grow, and protect to maturity, millions of trees each year. Eden currently plants approximately 15 million trees a month, and in 2020 reached over 423 million trees planted of which over 225 million are mangrove trees.
Bushy Lake is a small lake located in Sacramento, California along the American River Parkway. The area is part of an ongoing restoration project, it also provides habitat to wildlife and offers nearby recreation opportunities. The area is prone to drought, erosion, species invasion, fire, and groups of transient populations. In the American River Parkway Plan, the lake is designated as a Nature Study Area and further protected by the Bushy Lake Preservation Act.
The Buffelsdraai Landfill Site Community Reforestation Project (BLSCRP) was initiated in 2008 to alleviate climate change impacts associated with hosting elements of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Durban. The proposed carbon offset was to be achieved through the planting of more than 500 000 indigenous trees within the buffer zone of the Buffelsdraai Landfill Site. Restoring the forest ecosystem was identified as a way of "absorbing event-related greenhouse gas emissions while enhancing the capacity of people and biodiversity to adapt to the inevitable effects of climate change".
Angela Gurnell is a British geoscientist who is Professor of Physical Geography at Queen Mary University of London. Her research considers hydrology, geomorphology and plant ecology. She is particularly interested in how vegetations and fluvial processes interact, and developing novel methodologies to monitor and assess rivers. She was awarded the Royal Geographical Society Victoria Medal in 2002 and the European Geosciences Union Alfred Wegener medal in 2021.
ARBOR is an acronym for Answers for Restoring the Bank Of the River.
The Lilly Foundation continues to support the Lilly ARBOR Project