This patch of grass is of interest when we consider how many
different native plants could be growing here instead. Lawns provide
such welcome and inviting open spaces that it is easy to forget
their utter ecological artificiality. Not only are the grass species
of the campus lawn non-native to New England, but the stability
of any turf is entirely dependent on human manipulation. One of
the goals of the New England Ecological Garden will be to explore
other uses for UNH's vast lawns, including vegetable, herb and
native wildflower gardens and ongoing studies of natural colonization
by successional herbaceous and woody plants.
The American elm is a tree likely to have grown on
this very spot before the grass was planted. Elms thrive in moisture
retentive soils such as the marine clays that underlie much of the
UNH campus. In fact, many American elms are growing a short
distance from James Hall, both saplings (by the railroad tracks)
and mature specimens (directly across Main St.,
in front of Congreve Hall). An associate of both lowland and
rivervine deciduous forest communities, the American
or white elm is often found growing with red maples, poison ivy,
and virginia creeper, all naturally abundant in Durham, New Hampshire.
Also, historically American elms often escaped the logger's saw, due to
the aesthetic
appeal of the species. Gracefully vase-shaped once mature(called
"upside-down ladies" in the time of hoop-skirt fashions),
a number of huge American elms were not only conserved since colonial
days, but given names as trees with historic significance.
Sadly,the lawnmower isn't the only enemy of
the American elm on our campus. 
A much more serious problem threatens this species, both here and
across the country. Of Asian origin, a fungus named Ophiostoma ulmi
(a.k.a.the Dutch Elm disease) found its
way to America via Holland around 1930, beginning an elm-killing
spree that continues to this day. Microscopic fungal spores are
effectively transported on the legs of two species of elm bark beetles,
whose feeding on broken twigs and other open wounds directly deposits
the malady into the trees' "bloodstreams". The result has been a virtual
annihilation of all large elms across the nation, because as trees
get bigger the incidence of limb breakage and other wounding naturally
increases. Unless chemically treated, any elm infected
with the Dutch elm disease has no chance of survivng. Although
insecticides and fungicides can slow or even prevent
the loss of individual trees (hence the large elms by Congreve),
these treatments are both expensive and completely impractical in
non-urban
applications.
Although the Dutch elm disease is not a human invention, the
fungus
does have man to thank for its wildly successful immigration to
America. The U.S. epidemic began in Ohio in 1930, from a routine
shipment of imported elm veneer logs that happened to be infected.
This small event has resulted in an ecological catastrophe whose
ramifications are only beginning to be appreciated. Now that
American elms rarely attain maturity before being fatally infected,
the long-term ability of the species to reproduce has been put
into question. The shade intolerance of American elms (they need high
light
levels to germinate and grow) is an additional complication, as other
species are better adapted to compete for light in forested areas. The
future of the species is thus gloomy at best - less trees, producing
less seed, giving rise to fewer descendants. The recent absence of the
elm from our forests not only lessens the potential wildlife food base (elm
seeds are attractive to spring flocks of goldfinches, purple
finches, and other birds and mammals), but may have other ecological
impacts of which we are not yet aware.
more American Elm photos
back to James Hall
about the New England Ecological
Garden