If you're in the US, we have a pretty robust "agricultural university extension" program, in a whole lot of places, that both will have more information than you're ready to digest about your local ecosystem, and will also generally be thrilled to hear from you and answer your questions. Some even have entire projects devoted to "rewilding" (my word, not theirs), so to speak. Offering things like free "seed bombs" of local plants!

See if you've got one nearby and drop em a line about the questions you have! In my experience the folks that staff these are the best kind of nerd, the old-school variant that pre-dates even the word. Think about it - these folks are all over the place, and most of us never hear about it, even on one of the nerdiest places on the Internet. The ag extensions and the folks that staff them are a real American treasure.