Midtown Urbanist
Superstar
Are there any specific points in the report regarding invasive species?
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The Toronto Tree Thread
- Thread starter Northern Light
- Start date
Northern Light
Superstar
Yes. Lots. There's an entire section beginning on page 79.
From that section:
Most common non-native invasive plants are: dog-strangling vine (herbaceous), common buckthorn (woody shrub), and garlic mustard (herbaceous)
One action being taken:
Establish 200 permanent sample plots throughout Toronto's ravine forests and natural areas, and collect initial baseline data
Graphic on Street Tree Origins:
On Invasive Species in ravines:
2018 Toronto Canopy Studythat nearly a third of the understory shrub layer is composed of invasive species. Invasive tree species also now make up a larger share of the tree canopy in ravines than they did in 2008.
My summary:
Norway Maples remains a problem species, but there are indications that it is being managed down now and may not be as serious a problem in the future.
European Buckthorn is exploding in numbers and completely out of hand.
Phragmites and DSV remain very serious challenges to eco-health.
Programs to manage invasive species require more funding.
Northern Light
Superstar
On Beech Blight.
I have to do some sorting here, there is a Beech Blight, caused by aphids, which is aesthetically displeasing (tends to look like the tree has snow on it from all the aphids, usually in late summer, early fall).
That disease rarely kills the Beech; its part of the normal cycle of things, and most Beech survive it just fine.
However, there is a more consequential threat to Beech, which is Beech Bark Disease.
Still, while it is often lethal to the trees, this is far from universally the case (well, the tree may have the insect, but not the disease)
That disease has no cure at this time. It can be devastating to Beech forests, but it does pass. A wave of it went through Quebec a few years ago and many many Beech survived and their numbers are growing again.
****
As to Elms, the answer is yes.
Many are being reintroduced. In nature, in their pure form, with all the attendant risks that they may get Dutch Elm Disease later in life.
But as street trees the City is using a range of cultivars which are typically an Asian-North-American hybrid, which have much higher resistance to the disease.
TransitBart
Senior Member
From The Star yesterday
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/20...xpanding-but-so-are-the-threats-it-faces.html
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/20...xpanding-but-so-are-the-threats-it-faces.html
lenaitch
Senior Member
There are still all sorts of Elm trees in old farm fence rows around the province. Many seem isolated which might be their savior. I recall reading an article several years ago, I believe from UGuelph, which found that the disease strikes/takes hold during a certain age period (happened to us at a former house) and that they were looking for cuttings from large older trees to see if there was something in them that made them resistant. I helped a buddy cut down a massive one few years ago that was on his road property line and suggested that to him - don't know if he did. The one thing I do recall was it was a holy terror to cut and split.
Northern Light
Superstar
Report to the Executive Ctte Meeting of Jan 23, 2020 on the Ravine Strategy.
While the recommendations sound positive, the financial commitment is quite low, and zero this year.
Look for a whopping 1.2M next year, increasing to 2.7M by 2024 and then indexed.
That money will principally pay for a dedicated Ravine Litter Removal program and 2 additional City crews working on Invasive Species.
While that is a fine start......
The City's own, rather narrow list of 10 priority ravine ares for investment has a funding requirement of just over 100M over the next decade, this report provides zero dollars.
A Stormwater charge/tax, long discussed, would generate enough revenue to fully fund the 10 priority areas and then a bit extra on top.
Report here:
While the recommendations sound positive, the financial commitment is quite low, and zero this year.
Look for a whopping 1.2M next year, increasing to 2.7M by 2024 and then indexed.
That money will principally pay for a dedicated Ravine Litter Removal program and 2 additional City crews working on Invasive Species.
While that is a fine start......
The City's own, rather narrow list of 10 priority ravine ares for investment has a funding requirement of just over 100M over the next decade, this report provides zero dollars.
A Stormwater charge/tax, long discussed, would generate enough revenue to fully fund the 10 priority areas and then a bit extra on top.
Report here:
Northern Light
Superstar
Well, it didn't take the Mayor long to decide that Ravine strategy funding should begin to flow this year, instead of next. That's promising.......more to come, one hopes.
Northern Light
Superstar
They Mayor today talking up 'The Loop Trail' via Twitter, as part of the Ravine Strategy push at Executive later this week.
Of note, unlike in the report, we get an image.
So, essentially, this is fixing the gaps in the Humber Trail, linking that to the Finch Hydro Corridor which gets 'Meadoway' treatment; then having the corridor run uninterrupted to the East Don Trail, then south
where the missing links are filled in to connect it to the Lower Don Trail with both sides tied together by the Martin Goodman Trail.
The BlogTO article suggests 15km of missing trail to be built to arrive at 81km.
That doesn't sound far wrong.
But of interest to me, if one consults the TRCA's trail strategy, is the link from Lawrence to just north of York Mills would come via the private Donalda Golf Course.......
I'd be interested to know if that conversation has been had yet....
Alternatively, its possible to create that link by following the Bala Sub, however, given an active railway corridor space would be very tight in spots.
Also not clear is how to address the lower Humber gap (south of Bloor), which unless one is cheating with an on-street route will mean an extensive network of boardwalks. (trail over water) and/or expropriating some backyards and building on steep slopes.
BlogTo article here:
www.blogto.com
Of note, unlike in the report, we get an image.
So, essentially, this is fixing the gaps in the Humber Trail, linking that to the Finch Hydro Corridor which gets 'Meadoway' treatment; then having the corridor run uninterrupted to the East Don Trail, then south
where the missing links are filled in to connect it to the Lower Don Trail with both sides tied together by the Martin Goodman Trail.
The BlogTO article suggests 15km of missing trail to be built to arrive at 81km.
That doesn't sound far wrong.
But of interest to me, if one consults the TRCA's trail strategy, is the link from Lawrence to just north of York Mills would come via the private Donalda Golf Course.......
I'd be interested to know if that conversation has been had yet....
Alternatively, its possible to create that link by following the Bala Sub, however, given an active railway corridor space would be very tight in spots.
Also not clear is how to address the lower Humber gap (south of Bloor), which unless one is cheating with an on-street route will mean an extensive network of boardwalks. (trail over water) and/or expropriating some backyards and building on steep slopes.
BlogTo article here:
Toronto could soon be getting an 81 km-long trail that weaves throughout the city
Mayor John Tory has put forth some new plans for revitalizing Toronto's ravines, the most exciting of which is an 81 km-long multi-use trail that w...
www.blogto.com
Johnny Au
Senior Member
There should be the Little Loop Trail that uses the West Toronto Railpath and the Beltline Trail (they are not connected to each other yet).
Midtown Urbanist
Superstar
Beltline Trail will need to connect with itself first, at Allen Road.
Northern Light
Superstar
Moreover it has no direct connection at the Don side either, yet.
Midtown Urbanist
Superstar
Crossposting from the Crosstown thread.
www.blogto.com
Thoughts?
I don't think this is as big of an issue as the article editorializes.
Almost 300 trees are being cut down in a Toronto neighbourhood and residents aren't happy
Construction on the Crosstown LRT will stop for nothing — not a pandemic, and certainly not a ravine filled with trees. Over the past week, scores o…
www.blogto.com
Thoughts?
I don't think this is as big of an issue as the article editorializes.
W. K. Lis
Superstar
Crossposting from the Crosstown thread.
Almost 300 trees are being cut down in a Toronto neighbourhood and residents aren't happy
Construction on the Crosstown LRT will stop for nothing — not a pandemic, and certainly not a ravine filled with trees. Over the past week, scores o…
View attachment 241935
Thoughts?
I don't think this is as big of an issue as the article editorializes.
Likely there was a consultation meeting, which some didn't attend or didn't notice. Likely those who loathed the trees didn't like the "varmints" the trees bring, had made their voices heard.
Northern Light
Superstar
Crossposting from the Crosstown thread.
Almost 300 trees are being cut down in a Toronto neighbourhood and residents aren't happy
Construction on the Crosstown LRT will stop for nothing — not a pandemic, and certainly not a ravine filled with trees. Over the past week, scores o…
View attachment 241935
Thoughts?
I don't think this is as big of an issue as the article editorializes.
Aesthetically, replacing a medium-quality small forest on a steep'ish slope with a multi-storey retaining wall can't be called a gain, or an even-trade.
Environmentally, its not a disaster, but its not helpful, its probably eliminating about 0.5ha or a little over 1 acre of habitat. But we're not demolishing a lot of buildings or ripping up many parking lots to add that acre back anywhere else.
At the end of the day, the crosstown was mishandled here in terms of its design.
The choice to keep as many and wide car lanes as they did, and bring the Crosstown up/outside at this location, in this way, resulted in the need/desire for the retaining walls (the bottom of the slope was removed for road-widening resulting in slope stability issues.)
If I'd had my choice.......
We would have excavated the huge berm on which Eglinton sits here, and built a much longer, and taller bridge, that would have come from the grade under the CP rail bridge to an equivalent elevation on the other side. This would have allowed the Crosstown to pass under the new bridge, at roughly the same elevation as it will be now, but with a much narrower footprint for Eglinton.
It would have increased wildlife corridor space; I would have shifted the parking lot, for the park, on the south side of Eglinton, to the height of land just above Leslie/Eglinton, allowing it to be removed and renaturalized.
That would have resulted in a net gain of about 2ha/5 acres of nature.
But hey, that would have been utopian; and probably cost an extra...hmmmm 300M or so on a net basis.
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Midtown Urbanist
Superstar
Hopefully not a derailment from the topic of trees, but I wanted to plant some local native species on my balcony this year with the intention of inviting pollinators. What would you recommend/do you have any resources readily available on the topic?