Stanley Park Environmental Art - Semi-permanent Works

Ecological Response

provided by Robyn Worcester of SPES for K'Ayacht'n

This semi-permanent artwork will benefit the park in two ways. Firstly, it changed the course woody debris (in the form of stumps) on the site, but the wood will still benefit the plants and animals. Carving the stumps has slightly sped up the natural decomposition process. These stumps will gradually decompose with the help of the elements and organisms such as insects, bacteria and fungus, and the carving has given the process a head start.

The stumps will likely remain standing for 50 years, and as they break down they will form moist microhabitat which will provide shelter for larger animals and a growth substrate for colonizing plants. They may serve as territorial calling platforms for songbirds, as escape cover for small mammals or as breeding sites for terrestrial salamanders. Secondly, by adding native plants to the stumps, the artists have further sped up the process of natural succession. Normally it would take many more years for plants to be able to colonize these relatively young stumps, but the artists have given them a head start. The plants will provide food and habitat for animals and may help the re-vegetation of the damaged site by spreading spores and seeds.