Permaculture Database

[Paul Cereghino <paul.cereghino@comcast.net>]

I started a definition of "guild" -- lets nail that down at least?
http://www.permaculture.info/index.php/Guilds

It is based on the medieval concept of a union of men in the same craft 
or skill to protect and maintain the standards of the craft. 

##(perhaps a union for mutual benefit is sufficient -- this begs the 
question for whose benefit is a guild viewed as beneficial.--[[User:Paul 
Cereghino|Paul Cereghino]] 02:23, 11 May 2007 (EDT))""

Interestingly it is also a term used in plant ecology to refer to any of 
a group of parasitic plants.

##I Have not heard this usage.  In peer reviewed literature I have not 
seen the term 'guild' in common use, and I have done database queries 
recently --[[User:Paul Cereghino|Paul Cereghino]] 02:23, 11 May 2007 (EDT).

The idea is that every plant evolved with a collection of associates 
that provide for its needs ie minerals, fertility, pollination, 
protection, procreation and etc.  This collection would be classified as 
a guild and would include other plants, animals, and micro flora and 
fauna.  Over time most plants that have been domesticated have been 
stripped of their associates and have become dependant on us to maintain 
them in relative health.

##The idea of coevolution certainly has some dramatic examples.  The 
idea of 'community' as opposed to 'continuum' is hotly debated by 
vegetation ecologists with the 'community' side unable to pull any 
consistancy out of chaos.  Classification is often an artifact of the 
scale of observation and the interest of the observer.  To me there is a 
range of factors that affect composition of any given location.  However 
the repetition of certain associations described by dominant composition 
is undeniable.  The idea that a group of organisms is more or less 
'complete' or 'healthy' may have anthropocentric roots.  The degree to 
which an individual species has its needs met by local conditions may 
determine its competative success. --[[User:Paul Cereghino|Paul 
Cereghino]] 02:23, 11 May 2007 (EDT)

It is obvious that many plants, say the apple, which evolved in the 
Caucasus had a very different guild in its native habitat than what 
would work in Mexico but the functional needs would remain the same and 
those needs could be met with analog species that are native to Mexico. 

##So this comes back to seeing after the functional needs of apple as 
the 'purpose' of a guild.  I am starting to think guild is both simpler 
and more complex that we might like. --[[User:Paul Cereghino|Paul 
Cereghino]] 02:23, 11 May 2007 (EDT)