Chasing Our Tails or the Human Tinkering Issue

I wrote recently about a "meadow" trip that I took. Meadows are now the new thing to promote among environmentalists. 

First, what is a meadow? According to Merriam-Webster, the word's origins are: "Middle English medwe, medowe "grassland kept for hay, pasture field," going back to Old English mǣdwe, ... going back to West Germanic *mēdwō- (whence also Old Frisian mēde "pasture, meadow," Middle Dutch māde, mēde), "": most simply a flat land covered in grass.  Some definitions include hay or alfalfa, but I am talking about fallow or unused lands.

Let us use a definition by some Sierra Nevada scientists (my favorite group of people):    

A meadow is an ecosystem type composed of one or more plant communities dominated by herbaceous species.
It supports plants that use surface water and/or shallow ground water (generally at depths of less than one meter).
Woody vegetation, like trees or shrubs, may occur and be dense but not dominant.

Yes, a meadow can be for animals to graze or it can be fallow and maybe mowed once or twice a year to keep down fire threats to nearby communities or private lands.  A meadow can also be a wetland community edging other bodies of water.

We have lost many wild meadows because of our changes to this land.

A more bucolic image comes to mind for most of us with flowers and flying insects allowing romantic long walks with vast views.  

But let me tell you about the reality of  "managed meadows" first and then we can discuss the issues later. 

Why? Why does mankind want to restore meadows to certain areas? If you asked my husband he would say it is for the quail. He misses the song of the quail. Not good enough? Well, meadows can store rainfall and release it over time to other areas, protecting against erosion.  Meadows maintain groundwater storage which is a precious resource that is disappearing in many areas.  Meadows are sponges that filter out pollutants as well.  Meadows are also homes for rich biological diversity including many endangered insect and plant species.  

We toured this meadow in early spring before its beauty could surprise us.

It involved about 80 acres that are managed by a consortium of government and college agencies.  It is a study that has been conducted over a number of years.  It seems to involve a lot of work.

Routine plowing of the soil to disturb some plants and to provide habitat for ground birds and to break up dense clumps of grasses that small birds cannot walk through.

Routine burning of sections of the land in fall to minimize invasives, monoculture, etc.  We also visited the Longwood Gardens meadow below.

The above sign was at the Longwood Gardens meadow for education to the public.

Above is, perhaps, an invasive version of Helianthus (related to the sunflower) that they are letting go over a substantial area...perhaps for the beauty of watching the goldfinch in fall?

Large paths are cleared for scientists and students to work, machinery to move and visitors to walk.

Longwood created birdhouses for some of their insect eaters.

Well, that is enough for now.  Maybe next will be a post of my view of the pros and cons.