Blooming & Dying

BLOOMING & DYING: AGAVE WITHIN TUCSON’S BUILT ENVIRONMENT Item Type text; poster; thesis Authors McGuire, Grace Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, and the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 29/09/2021 11:24:53 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/632206 1 | Page BLOOMING & DYING AGAVE WITHIN TUCSON’S BUILT ENVIRONMENT: PROPAGATION, PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS, AND DESIGN BY GRACE KATHLEEN MCGUIRE ____________________ A Thesis Submitted to The Honors College In Partial Fulfillment of the Bachelors degree With Honors in Sustainable Built Environments THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA M A Y 2 0 1 9 2 | Page Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3 Literature Review .......................................................................................................................................... 4 Urban Landscape Theory – Phoenix, AZ as a Nearby Case Study ............................................................. 4 Ethnobotany of Agave............................................................................................................................... 5 Past, Present, and Future Cultivation of Certain Agave Species ............................................................... 5 .................................................................................................................................................................. 7 .................................................................................................................................................................. 7 Some Considerations for Planting ............................................................................................................. 7 Agave Biology and Physiology ................................................................................................................... 8 Growth and Water Use ............................................................................................................................. 8 Criteria and Utility of Agave within the Built Environment ...................................................................... 9 Methodology ............................................................................................................................................... 10 Results ......................................................................................................................................................... 11 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 17 Next Steps ................................................................................................................................................... 18 Works Cited ................................................................................................................................................. 18 Table 1 ......................................................................................................................................................... 10 Figures 1-6 ..................................................................................................................................................... 5 3 | Page Abstract This study examines one plant species in order to reveal the historical, biological, and social attachments the plant brings to the public and private landscapes in the city of Tucson, Arizona. The life cycle history, cultural attachment, and biological characteristics of the Agave genus are evaluated in terms the relationship between a native, Sonoran Desert adapted species and its use within the urban matrix. The succulent, rosette form is a characteristic that makes the agave species distinct from all other desert plants. Six particular agave species are mentioned within this writing, and are connected to the Tucson area’s cultural history, and current application of agave as a landscaping material. Agaves symbolize a rich history of human utilization and reliance, especially in the cultures of central/northern Mexico. As the industry within the U.S. for mescal products grows, agave on the landscape become distinctly agriculture based. The practices of wild harvesting agave for distillation and not allowing cultivated agaves to bloom impacts the ecosystem functions of northern Sonora, Mexico, and the southwestern United States, and severely limits the populations of wild agaves. It is estimated that in the coming years it will be almost impossible to find certain populations of wild agaves. Introduction Within the flora of many high desert grassland communities, one type of succulent stands out. The distinctive rosette shape, curved, and soft through the petals yet often sharply tipped with dark spines, lends a mesmerizing complexity to the land. A decades-long life cycle means a tall flower stalks will one day stand as a lone beacon within a sea of grass and mesquite, adding a further vertical element to the savanna-like surroundings. Agave species are iconic elements among the slopes of southern Arizona and northern Mexico. The family; Asparagacae, contains the monocarpic succulents that evolved in these regions and are deeply tied to humans through a culture of human-agave mutualism. Agaves are monocarpic, meaning that they flower once in their lifetime – this is the plant’s one opportunity to reproduce sexually. This sexual reproduction is facilitated through pollination. In the desert grassland, perhaps in the Huachuca Mountains near Sierra Vista, AZ, an Agave parryi var. huachucensis is attached to the relationship that this species has with certain pollinators such as migrating bat species, moths, bees, and numerous other users of their floral nectar resources (England, 2012) . The agave in the natural environment represents a key element to ecosystem function, as a result of the plant providing a nutritious nectar resource to desert pollinator species who will visit several flowering agaves in one feeding cycle. Because of this monocarpic nature, agave species are characterized by low genetic diversity within the genus as well as within species (Rivera-Lugo, García-Mendoza, Simpson, Solano, & Gil- Vega, 2018). Vegetative reproduction is the fastest mode of agave reproduction, and happens via rhizomes produced near the stem base of the adult agave rosette. Low genetic diversity may be associated with a significant risk of disease affecting a large percentage of a population (Rodríguez- 4 | Page Garay et al., 2009), and prevalence of widespread destruction by pests such as the agave weevil (Waring & Smith, 1986). With a limited opportunity for sexual reproduction, agave species have little chance of producing offspring with stronger or more variable genetic packages. Agaves have become the spirits of tequila and mescal (Zizumbo-Villarreal, Vargas-Ponce, Rosales-Adame, & Colunga-GarcíaMarín, 2013), fibers for clothing (Parker, Trapnell, Hamrick, Hodgson, & Parker, 2010), or feasts of slow-roasted agave “meat” and syrup (Zizumbo-Villarreal et al., 2013), to name a few products. This legacy of agave use is found in ethnological records and cultural heritage knowledge of the indigenous peoples of the southwestern United States (Sheldon, 1980), though mainstream U.S. culture links the plant to virtually one product: margaritas (Bioenergy, 2011). To fuel the thirst for tequila, Jalisco, Mexico is home to several enterprises where a monoculture of thousands of hectares of Agave tequilana Weber azul , the preferred type for tequila production, is cultivated (Zizumbo-Villarreal et al., 2013). Agave mass production is a difficult endeavor; within the waiting period from seedling to maturity (up to five years), the threat of disease, agave weevil infestation, and fluctuating product value are a reality. Recent studies have been conducted to identify viable tequila byproducts that make the harvest of agaves more profitable. These include the fibrous leaves of the agave plant that are removed from the agave head (center) during harvest, which may be useful as a bio resource for feedstocks and paper production (Rowell, 2001). Agave presence in biotic communities means something different than the plant’s presence in the built environment. Besides being cultivated for one of the remaining products of the human-agave culture, agaves are rarely selected for use in landscapes. Do those who select agaves for use in the built environment do this to maintain some ecosystem function, i.e., provide resources for pollinators, or, perhaps are agave species considered valuable in the built environment for the same visual interest as they provide in the natural environment. Located in the northern extent of agave habitat, Tucson, Arizona will be the city of interest in this study. Conversations with landscapers, nursery owners, and community gardeners will elicit responses to the question of agave presence

Load more