ABSTRACT
In this chapter, two projects (Trans-Alaskan Oil Pipeline restoration in Alaska and the Tommy Thompson Park in Toronto) demonstrate how landscape architects can achieve a powerful application of nature-based design through academic training, skill in observation, and by applying their knowledge of plant succession. Nature has the capacity of regenerating its plant cover after disruptions to a landscape have occurred such as a highway road cut through creation of a new embankment, removal of surface vegetation from high-water scouring areas during seasonal river flooding, and losses from brush or forest fires. The process typically begins with the colonization of the site by pioneer species, from the seeds dispersed from native plants found adjacent to the disturbed site or perhaps laid dormant on the site. The early emerging plants are usually fast-growing and able to tolerate harsh environmental conditions created by the earlier disturbance. As these pioneer species mature, they alter the soil habitat making it more suitable for other species to establish gradually over time, eventually recreating the climax group of plant species.
