Tag: ecosystem services
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Silver Birch: A Tree of Disturbance and Renewal
by Nicolette L. Cagle, Ph.D., April 13, 2026 In the last several posts, I’ve explored the dry woodlands and steppe-edge habitats of Central Europe, where trees grow in bright light and on poor soils impacted by disturbance. After turning to Scots Pine, I arrive at another characteristic species of these transitional places: Silver Birch (Betula…
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Scots Pine: The Workhorse of Dry European Soils
by Nicolette L. Cagle, Ph.D., April 13, 2026 In the last post, I explored the dry woodlands and steppe-edge habitats of Central Europe, where thin soils, lots of light, and anthropogenic disturbance create a different world from the cool mountain forests, broadleaf lowlands, and floodplains that came before. Here, I turn to one of the…
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Pannonian Ash: A Tree of Hardwood Gallery Forests and Lowland Rivers
by Nicolette L. Cagle, Ph.D., April 13, 2026 In the last several posts, I’ve been exploring the floodplain forests of Central Europe through some of their characteristic trees, including Black Alder and Black Poplar, both species closely tied to shifting sediments and mercurial river banks. Pannonian Ash belongs to the floodplain as well, but it…
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Black Poplar: The Fast-Growing Pioneer of Central Europe’s Floodplains
by Nicolette L. Cagle, Ph.D., April 13, 2026 In recent posts, I have been exploring the dynamic floodplain forests found along the iconic Danube, Morava, and Tisza Rivers, including the resilient, rooted, and red-hued Black Alder. But Black Alder is not alone in its ability to live with instability. It is joined by Black Poplar,…
Sense of Place 