OTHER
CONSIDERATIONS: NEW HOME, FENCES, STORM WATER AND BIO-SWALES
New Home
If you are moving into a new home that
is being built in a previously undisturbed or minimally
disturbed site, the single most important thing you
can do is to minimize the "footprint" of the
construction effort. This applies not only to minimizing
destruction of the vegetation, but also to reducing
soil compaction by heavy equipment. Soil compaction
can significantly effect the movement (or lack thereof)
of water and roots through soil and hence, change the
ability of the soil to support desired plants. Temporary
chain link fences (pictured here and available at many
rental centers) and other boundary limiters can be used
to keep heavy machinery in defined areas.

Fences
See note and figures on Fences at end
of Designing for Wildlife
Section.
Storm Water, Bio-Swales and Green Roofs
Minimizing storm water run-off and the
use of bio-swales for this purpose are emerging areas
of importance in landscape design.
An example of a bio-swale is provided
in Example 2 - NS-restoration.
For more information on bio-swales and additional examples,
please email us.
"Green-roofs" are also
emerging as a manner of reducing storm water by absorbing
rainfall and permitting a significant portion of that
rainfall to be taken up by plants or evaporated directly
back into the air. Use of green-roofs and on site bio-swales
is often sufficient to adequately absorb rainfall, even
in relatively high rainfall locations such as Portland,
OR, and Seattle, WA. For more information on bio-swales,
please visit: www.greenroofs.com |