Written by Via McInnis

Across the United States ash trees have been affected by the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). Once these trees have been infested, there is very little we can do to save the tree. The loss of the ash trees in the ecosystem can be detrimental to the biodiversity in the area, can allow invasive weeds to take over, and the loss of shade to streams reduces aquatic habitat quality. A good way to combat these issues is to plant understory plants around ash trees. Understory plants can combat soil erosion and degradation, and the shade tolerant plants can also prevent weeds from taking over the area. Planting understory plants can also prevent habitat fragmentation, which is the process where large, continuous, natural ecosystems are divided into smaller, isolated patches. Common ash understory plants are snowberry, black hawthorn, serviceberry, mockorange, red osier dogwood, and crabapple. These plants are shade and drought tolerant. Other trees you could plant in an ash-dominated streamside habitat include bigleaf maple, red and white alders, and cascara.

To help support landowners facing this issue, Yamhill SWCD and Clackamas SWCD have partnered on a grant from the Oregon Invasive Species Council. One component of this grant is providing plant materials to landowners who currently have ash trees. If you have ash trees, come see us on April 18th at our annual Earth Day event at Miller Woods for a coupon! We will be holding a native plant sale in the nursery and will have some ash underplanting species available.