Native Habitat Gardening Boosts Biodiversity
Transforming Lawns and Open Spaces into Habitat
Healthy habitats are made of not just a handful of species, but thousands, creating a balanced and diverse ecosystem. Unfortunately, traditional lawns dominated by turf grass do little for wildlife—very few species eat grass, lawns provide little to no shelter, and any chemical lawn applications often directly harm local species. All of this means that most traditional yards are not very biodiverse at all.
By contrast, Certified Wildlife Habitat® properties provide more abundant and higher quality wildlife habitat relative to non-certified yards. In studies from 24 Certified Wildlife Habitats across the country, initial findings suggest that wildlife gardening, if adopted on a wider scale, can help boost biodiversity—the variety of all living things and their interactions that give ecosystems their resiliency. Check out this and other studies that demonstrate the impact small scale native plant habitat has on wildlife species.
CREDIT: MARY PHILLIPS
Native Plants Support Wildlife
Plants are at the base of almost every single food chain, which makes them the best foundation for a healthy and diverse wildlife habitat. However, not all plants are equal when it comes to helping local wildlife. Native plants are the most beneficial choice for supporting native wildlife. They boast many positive traits like deep roots that help our soil, they are adapted to local climates making them easy to care for, and they have beautiful colors and blooms.
The Impact of an Oak
Planting native oak species can create the base of an amazingly diverse food web that supports well over 750 native wildlife species! Here are some examples:
Oak trees serve as caterpillar host plants for over 550 butterfly and moth species in the eastern US.5
96% of terrestrial bird species in the US (that’s 215 bird species in the eastern US) depend on insects as food for their young.6 Caterpillars supported by oaks and other native plants are a particularly important food source for baby birds. Carolina chickadees, for example, may require as many as 9,000 caterpillars and other insects to successfully raise just one nest of babies.7
Oak acorns are a food source for many bird species including woodpeckers, jays, nuthatches and wild turkey. Many mammals consume the oak acorns too, including deer, tree squirrels, chipmunks, white-footed mice and black bear.8
The natural leaf layer under oaks and other trees is important habitat. Amphibians, reptiles and small mammals live in and under the leaves, wild birds forage food in them, red bats hibernate under them, and thousands of invertebrate species, from earthworms and bumble bees to mourning cloak butterflies and fireflies, spend all or part of their lifecycle in or under the leaf layer. Plant shade-tolerant smaller understory trees, shrubs and other native woodland plants under large canopy trees to create additional layers of habitat.
By filling your garden and other community open spaces with a selection of native plants, you’re building the foundation of a food web that will eventually attract hundreds of animal species. Adding host plants for native insects, like planting milkweed for monarchs, is a great way to support struggling species. Planting keystone plants that are host to many species, like native oaks, can go even further in increasing the biodiversity of your garden.
One study shows: “A whopping 90% of Certified Wildlife Habitat® owners grow host plants for caterpillars, compared to only 8% of the neighbors and 4% of the owners at random locations.”
To have a larger impact, plant keystone plant species and aim for your garden to be a minimum of 70% native species.
When you create gardens using native plants, the impact on local wildlife is immediate. Small-scale native plant gardens that incorporate blooming plants in all seasons are proven to increase pollinator abundance and diversity. Even small changes to your garden can begin supporting hundreds of animal species including insects, birds, and mammals, increasing the biodiversity of your neighborhood. Check out the wildlife categories in our resources section for tips, guides, and videos for these different species.
Native Plants
A plant is considered native if it has occurred naturally in a particular region, ecosystem, or habitat without human introduction. These plants have formed symbiotic relationships with native wildlife over thousands of years, making them the best choice for supporting local wildlife.
Some native plants support such a large number of different species of animals, giving them this special term. Planting even a few keystone species can go a long way in building a robust native habitat.
