18 - Sunday, July 11, 1999 — North Shore News

FOR many people,
towering cedars and
spawning salmon are
the essence of the West
Coast.

On the North Shore we
are fortunate to still have
some of these natural won-
ders. What many people may

not know is that the lives of

salmon and plants are linked.

Over the = past few
decades, biologists have
begun to understand and

quantify the importance of

called

streamside plants,
to the

“riparian vegetation,”

Burnaby
Eaton Centre
Metrotown

West Vancouver

Park Royal South

Vancouver
West Broadway

drinking fro:

health of a stream. Plants,
from the smallest grass to the
largest. conifer, have an
impact on the flow, tenipera-
ture, and chemistry of a
stream and the fish, insects

north shore news

44 FOME & GARDEN

and animals which live in it.

You may be familiar with
the concept of forests acting
as a soil stabilizer to prevent
landslides. The dense matrix
of roots holds the soil
together and dissipates our
torrential coastal rainfalls.
This is also true on stream
banks, where trees such as
cottonwood and willow bind
coarse and crodable gravels
together. Their roots can be
likened to steel rebar in con-
erete. Some good examples
of this can be seen on the
banks of the Capilano and
Seymour rivers.

You won't believe your eyes!

Coquitlam

Coquitlam Centre 464-1822

430-3126
Vanceuver

Oakridge Centre

925-9515
urrey

Surrey Place Mall

873-5234

If the trees fall into the
stream, their value is not lost.
Cottonwood has the remark-
able ability to regrow even
after being swept down-
stream. In fact, the damage
to the bark from such a
rough ride will stimulate root
growth, This will sometimes
lead to the wee stabilizing a
gravel bar and forming 2 per-
manent island.

Most conifers will die
when uprooted, but their
rot-resistant trunks and roots
may last for decades. If sub-

See Riparian page 21

Contact Lenses

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Clearbrook

263-2514

588-6941

Sevenoaks Mali

Langley
Willowbrook Mail

852-810!

530-9083

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a

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NEWS photo Bika Wakefietd
RIPARIAN vegstation, like this maple tree, is -fre-
quently found alongside streams throughout the
North Shore.

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