permaculture

["Kirby Fry" <peace@totalaccess.net>]

Robyn,

>>  Am curious as to how can one restore soil and water cycles without
plants? Aren't plants an integral part of these processes?  <<

Absolutely.  As a matter of fact, prairie grasses are so good for soils and
biodiversity folks lean towards planting them without consideration of many
factors.

The two or three speakers I saw at the conference who most touched on the
function over structure issue were Dr. Whisenet, and Drs. Pat and Dick
Richardson.

Whisenet's emphasis was on stabilizing soils (i.e. preventing massive
erosion and holding on to water) in the form of earthworks much like you'd
hear Mollison talking about.

Whisenet's been working in China in the great river valley where they're
building that humungous dam.  China is now performing what is likely the
world's largest restoration effort in that valley to prevent it from silting
up behind the dam in 50 years.  The valley's restoration, however, must go
hand in hand with the region's agriculture because even the steepest slopes
are farmed - ever more so since losing the lower part of the valley to the
dam's waters.  So you can see how first stabilizing the ecological as well
as the social landscape before revegetating is an example of function over
structure.

The Richardsons emphasized the importance of paying attention to soil
organisms and their relationships to one another.  They were big fans of
Holistic Management and saw the ungulates role as critical in supporting
soil life and building humus.  They were also fans of letting the junipers
stand in order to build soils, because (IMO) they build soil better and
faster on many sites where prairie grasses couldn't get established.  As
well, they have some serious questions about what prescribed fire is doing
to the soil ecology.

As I mentioned many restoration projects take out entire stands of juniper,
arresting the current soil building system, disk the site, spray with
round-up and burn all the brush.  The Richardson's might have been hinting
at (though they were being pretty cautious in their suggestions) that, we
should avoid disrupting such soil cycles whenever possible.  Also, critical
functions such as having ungulates graze brittle landscapes are necessary to
preserve whatever structure is restored.

>>  Maybe these good folks don't understand the functional aspects of
succession, a plant community is something that needs to evolve rather than
be 'installed' as a final finished product.  <<

Well, they're certainly motivated to "install" succesionally low grassland
communities because they feel that these ecosystems are so endangered and
inclined to view woody brush encroachment as a cause of that endangerment.
I guess having a forestry background and really relating to Mollison's
attitude towards trees, I've always leaned towards moving systems towards
woodlands.  Grasslands have their charm, though, and I do hope we can figure
out a way to preserve and restore all the prairie lands possible.

>>  Where do the animals fit in to the picture?  <<

From what I've picked up, the animals are considered a fondly nostalgic but
not very practical component of "restored" ecosystems.  Restoration without
the animals, IMO, is incomplete, and rather than taking the easy route of
mechanically clearing brush and prescribed fire we need to be puzzling out
just how to get the animals back on the land.

Domestic livestock are probably our best tool for the job but even that
entails fencing, livestock and labor for ranching which is more than a lot
of people want to bight off when they agree to pay for "restoration."  A lot
of restoration work is client driven, especially here in Texas where most
land is privately owned.  In order to be an active, practicing
restorationist we often end up having to comply with the desires and
limitations of the land owner.

What you usually hear restorationists talking about are song birds.  Like
prairies, song birds are vibrant and charming so they're in high demand and
return quickly to restored grasslands.

I'd love to see more pronghorn antelope, mule deer, bison, bob cats, and
wolves.  You can imagine the complexity of reintroducing these animals,
however.  What a challenge!

Kirby