Mulch Ado about Mulch

Today, cypress swamps are disappearing at an alarming rate, due to development pressures and clearcutting, two practices fueled by our burgeoning population and rapid spread of suburbia. Unlike pine mulch, which is a by-product of timber harvesting, today cypress trees of all sizes are cut down soley for mulch.

Jerry Kidder, a soil scientist at the University of Florida, notes the irony of using cypress for mulch instead of the equally effective pine bark or melaleuca. "It seems we are hurting the environment to help the environment," he says. Eventually, large cypress stands -- a significant part of Florida's heritage --may be completely erased.

Sadly, the depletion of cypress trees is not the only threat to wetland ecosystems. Many native species, including cypress, are being threatened and overrun by invasive exotics. One of the worst offenders is Melaleuca quinquenervia, also called the paperbark, or punk tree.

In my next column, I'll address the havoc this aggressive Australian import has wreaked on Florida's environment and discuss how this pest is being converted into a colorful mulch that will hopefully one day replace cypress in popularity.

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