Red Alder

Red Alder is found in areas that are moist and shady but sprouts here and there on soil when it becomes bare.  After Mount Saint Helens explosion in 1974 it was the 1st species that reclaimed the slopes of ash and mud.  Much like the commercial pea that is planted to fertilize the soil before planting a cash crop, Alders enrich the soils with nodules on their roots that affix nitrogen to the soil.  With lifetimes less than a human, they grow quickly and if harvested their wood is used for building and furniture construction.   Red Alder dominates western Washington north of Seattle (to the south, White Alder dominate) until one reach Bellingham on the I-5.  To the north, Birch replace alder providing a study of ecological niches.  A Tree and a member of the Betulaceae Family, it grows by Kiosk 01.  Pilchuck Learning Center’s sponsored Western Washington State University SAM Project extinction possibility is  non existent.

http://naeb.brit.org/uses/search/?string=Alnus+rubra
https://burkeherbarium.org/imagecollection/taxon.php?Taxon=Alnus%20rubra
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alnus_rubra
https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ALRU2
https://www.plc215.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Kiosk-01.pdf
http://www.burkemuseum.org/research-and-collections/botany-and-herbarium/collections/database/results.php?Genus=Alnus&Species=rubra&SourcePage=search.php&IncludeSynonyms=Y&SortBy=DESC&SortOrder=Year

Root nodules of Alders affix what element to the soil:

nitrogen
phosphorous
calcium

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