Audubon’s Chicago Wilderness Habitat Project and collaborators cited Bowles for his assessment of 20-25 year changes in Chicago region forests, prairies and wetlands, which concluded that most sites, though formally protected, have deteriorated. He also concluded that fire and other management techniques are essential to halt further deterioration.

From 1998 through 2002, Bowles, working with Morton Arboretum Research Associate Michael Jones, found that in forests, light-sensitive oaks and native shrubs had declined while invasive species increased. They also found that woody vegetation was increasing at the expense of grasses and sedges in prairies and wetlands, and that few sites were receiving prescribed burns frequently enough to maintain their composition and structure.

This research project was a follow up to a 1978 Illinois Natural Areas Inventory that determined a mere 7 one-hundredths of 1 percent of Illinois still consisted of natural prairies, woodlands and wetlands.

The data Bowles and Jones collected was used to project how often fire should be employed to maintain vegetation, and to establish benchmark statistics against which future conditions can be compared.

“Our work also shows there is a need for woodland restoration and management, and provides goals for achieving these aims,” says Bowles.

Chicago Wilderness Habitat Project seeks to ensure that engaged, empowered citizen conservationists – a network of stewards, monitors and advocates – remain closely connected with regional biodiversity efforts. Other award sponsors include Audubon-Chicago Region, Chicago Wilderness Habitat Project, Volunteer Stewardship Network, and Wild Things.

Watson is responsible for guiding the myriad research projects aligned with the Arboretum’s long-range Strategic Plan objectives. These include upholding a worldwide leadership role in research to advance tree health, tree improvement, woodland conservation and public appreciation for trees.

“Dr. Watson brings 22 years of valuable experience at the Arboretum to his new position,” according to Gerard Donnelly, Arboretum President and CEO.  “The newly-created Head of Research position enhances Watson’s opportunity to advance the Arboretum’s vision to be the leading center of tree expertise, inspiring the world to plant and protect trees.”

Donnelly noted that Watson’s professional stature reinforces the Arboretum’s leadership role in tree research, and his contributions help the Arboretum serve the public with best practices for tree conservation and planting, supporting greening initiatives in urban and natural areas.

In accepting the appointment, Dr. Watson said that a key Arboretum strength is the research team’s diverse array of significant, practical scientific knowledge about trees. 

“We use this diversity to our advantage. Each of us has the opportunity to collaborate within our own department with scientists in varied fields, from experts in soils to tree genetics to forest ecology to entomology and so on, to benefit from each other’s comprehensive knowledge and expertise. That’s not available in many other institutions,” Dr. Watson says.

Dr. Watson’s role will also include collaboration with other Arboretum departments as well, such as Education and Plant Collections. Interaction and synergy among departments strengthen all Arboretum programs.

Over the long term, Dr. Watson sees future research projects focusing on conservation of natural plant communities in the region as well as growing healthier plants in urban and suburban landscapes.  Climate change could impact both significantly. “Greater extremes in weather can affect plants as much as general warming.  Stress resulting from short episodes of severe drought, excessive heat, and excessive cold can determine a plant’s chances for survival,” Dr. Watson says.

A world-class scientist with extensive knowledge and experience in tree roots, Dr. Watson currently serves on various committees within the International Society of Arboriculture, and is the group’s past president.

He will chair the ISA’s annual conference next year in Chicago, and under the Arboretum’s auspices, has organized three, major symposia that brought together the most distinguished experts on tree roots and soils research from around the globe.

Dr. Watson has received eight prestigious awards in his field, serves on the City of Chicago’s Urban Tree Initiative and the Streetscape Committee, and has published numerous scholarly works.    

Learn more about Gary Watson’s research interests.

The Arboretum is honored to have a second researcher receive the prestigious L.C. Chadwick award for arboriculture research, from the International Society of Arboriculture.

Dr. George Ware picked up the award during the recent ISA annual meeting in St. Louis, as an estimated 800 attendees looked on. Arboretum Senior Scientist Dr. Gary Watson received the L.C. Chadwick award in 1993.

The honor is given to individuals “in recognition of research that has contributed valuable information to arboriculture,” according to the ISA. Ware, dendrologist emeritus and former research director, reaches a milestone on August 25 with nearly 40 years of Arboretum service. He was centrally involved as the Arboretum bred and marketed five new elm trees that are resistant to Dutch elm disease.

Now, he and Kunso Kim, Arboretum Assistant Director of Collections, are likely glimpsing the future as they keep a dozen promising elm trees from China under observation. The species are the Bergmann (Ulmus bergmanniana), Taihang Mountain (U. taihangshanensis), Tibetan (U. microcarpa), Anhui (U. gaussenii), Hebei (U. lamellosa), Harbin (U. harbinensis), corkbark (U. propinqua var. suberosa), plum-leaved (U. prunifolia), Chenmou (Ulmus chenmoui), Gansu (Ulmus glaucescens var. lasiocarpa), chestnut-leaved (U. castaneifolia) and Father David (U. davidiana var. mandshurica) elms.

These 12 Chinese species are virtually unknown in the United States, but not to the Arboretum, home to the largest elm collection in the country, and which grows nearly all of the 22 known Chinese elm species. Observation of the 12 is especially timely given the maladies affecting trees across the United States, such as Dutch elm disease, elm yellows, oak wilt, Emerald ash borer and others.

These and other problems underscore the urgent need for the Arboretum and others to continue seeking new species for urban use,” Kim says.

Ware is especially focused on the Anhui elm, because it loves stream-side habitats.

“We are always interested in trees that grow around streams and in floodplains because they tolerate low oxygen levels in the soil. That’s something trees have to confront in urban areas where soil is compacted and frequently, less oxygen reaches the roots,” Ware says.

The average lifespan of an urban tree is fewer than ten years, according to Ware. But planting hardier trees increases the likelihood of a longer life span and a greener world – a goal that has never been more important than now, with climate change upon us.

The following is excerpted from the article “Morton Arboretum scientists unearth links of plant life,” by Joan Broz, published in the Daily Herald in 2008.

Discovery is part of most trips to The Morton Arboretum, but nowhere is it more evident than on a visit to meet the scientists who work there. Andrew Hipp always knew he wanted to work outside.

“I was an English major but took classes in botany to land a job outside,” he said. Working as a ranger at an arboretum opened his eyes to the variations in plants even within a species. He returned to academia to concentrate on plant evolution and ecology.

Similar to a human family where parents may have children with different hair and eye color, there is a lot of genetic variability within species having the same parentage. Hipp extracts a plant’s DNA to study its genetics. Analysis of those variations provides Hipp with insight into the diversity and relatedness of natural populations.

“When restoring a prairie, wetland, woodland or savanna, what species to plant is only one layer of the question,” Hipp said. Consideration given to the genetics of the individual plants is important to the natural resources’ overall health.

As the Herbarium curator, Hipp is particular about the plant specimens that go into the Arboretum’s Herbarium. He calls the Chicago region the best location to study plants because it’s where the north woods, deciduous forest and prairie all collide. The Arboretum’s Herbarium, similar to a rare books room in a library, documents the diversity of plants throughout the world.

____________________________________________ Learn more about Andrew, his work, his special research interests and a listing of his many professional publications – including children’s books! You are also invited to visit Andrew’s Lab! You may also be interested in learning more about sedges for your garden. Dr. Hipp’s recently published book Field Guide to Wisconsin Sedges was published earlier this year and is a definitive resources in the field. “With this book, a naturalist in the Chicago area can identify 95 percent or more of the common Carex sedges they run across,” according to Hipp. That’s important because sedges are arguably the most ecologically important group of plants in wetlands across North America, Hipp says.

Since joining the staff of The Morton Arboretum five years ago, Makra has been an ally and educator to communities, homeowner associations and residents who are interested in and passionate about saving trees.

Makra works with a wide variety of Chicago-area municipalities helping them to draft tree preservation ordinances, advising home associations on landscape contracts and how to choose trees, and helping communities plan their Arbor Day celebrations. In addition, she has been in the forefront of the Illinois fight against the invasive emerald ash borer (EAB).

You’ll also want to check out Makra’s regular column addressing tree advocacy and her work – and yours – in our surrounding communities: “Out on a Limb.”

Makra, raised in the Chicago area, remembers visiting The Morton Arboretum as a child. Later, while a student at the College of DuPage, she spent three summers as an intern at the Arboretum and earned her degree in urban forestry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her first job as a professional arborist was with a tree-care company in the Northwestern suburbs. “That was literal tree hugging,” says Makra. “You get to know trees extremely well when you’re up there in the branches and holding on so you won’t fall!”

While working with an open space preservation group that wanted to encourage the planting of trees in Chicago, Makra was interviewed by the Chicago Tribune. Unfortunately, an error occurred and the profile ended up on the obituary page. Makra says, “Turns out that Mayor [Richard M.] Daley read the obituary page that day, and I was invited to meet with him!” She was soon hired to launch the Mayor’s Greenstreets Program. She worked hard and learned a lot. “It was a tremendous learning curve,” she recalls. “I was only 27 and politically green, but the Mayor was behind our work.”

Makra’s next position was as director of the state urban forest program in Massachusetts where she spent seven years before returning to Illinois and The Morton Arboretum.

Just a few months later, Makra found herself helping lead the fight against the emerald ash borer in Illinois. The EAB had decimated ash trees in Michigan and other states east of the Mississippi. Makra found that there was no one in Illinois in charge of defending the state’s ash trees against the pest. With the support of the Arboretum, she put together a team of about three dozen organizations that included mayor and manager conferences, state and federal agencies and professional organizations. The Illinois readiness plan for the EAB has been copied by at least five other states, says Makra, who now serves on the Governor’s Emerald Ash Borer Management & Science Advisory Panel. According to Makra, pictured here with Senator Dick Durbin (D, IL), Illinois (on her left) has lost about 2,000 ash trees to the EAB and additional losses are a foregone conclusion. “It is a very difficult insect to manage. The losses to communities will be significant.”

Makra also is interested and involved in the preservation of large, mature trees that too frequently are lost to development. “Large trees provide more shade, filter more pollutants from the air and capture more storm water than small ones.” Makra is active in advising homeowner associations, like the Glen Ellyn Woods Homeowners Association, on what kinds of trees to plant. Recently, she also has worked with the St. Charles Tree Commission presenting to their city council on the value and economic benefit of trees and helping to draw up the community’s first tree preservation ordinance.

Makra, a certified arborist, frequently represents the Arboretum as a spokesperson and is a strong advocate for its mission. You may have met her in your own community or even seen her on TV where she has made appearances on behalf of the Arboretum on local news and talk shows.

Portions of this story previously appeared in Morton Arboretum press releases and the Daily Herald.

Check out another “Tree Hugger” - Andrew L. Hipp, PhD, Plant Systematist and Herbarium Curator.