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  • From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <venaurafarm@bellsouth.net>
  • To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [permaculture] Complexity and depth of a permaculture site design.
  • Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2010 02:23:49 -0400


How complex a design can be created for a site? Given those imposed by climatic region, i.e. desert as opposed to tropical rainforest, are there practical limits assuming offsite inputs, arbitrarily available within a radius of a day's drive from the site, are allowed?

It seems to be there should almost be no limits. Organism populations
evolving, succeeding and surviving within interacting, intersecting ecological niches on site could become quite complex in their diversity
and contribution to overall site ecology and function.

I was reading Mollison's Permaculture Designers Manual and discovered this statement:

"Energies enter a system, and either remain or escape. Our work as permaculture designers is to prevent energy leaving before the basic needs of the whole system are satisfied, so that growth, reproduction
and maintenance continue in our living components.
All permaculture designers should be aware of the fundamental principles that govern natural systems. These are not immutable rules, but can be used as a set of directives, taking each case as unique but gaining confidence and inspiration from a set of findings and solutions in other places and other times. We can use the guiding principles and laws of natural systems, as formulated by such people as Watt, Odum and Birch, and apply some of them to our consciously-designed ecologies."

One of the easiest issues to understand is nutrient flow on a site, at least superficially. Once, for example, off site inputs such as
natural sources of N, P and K and trace minerals are applied and absorbed by the system, what happens to nutrients generated on site,
N, P and K & minerals again, through natural cycling and through extraction by organisms such as N2-fixing bacteria and legumes and fungi? How can this energy in the form of nutrients be conserved, used and retained on site? I think this provides a hint as to the complexity of a design that can be created and with, through the flywheel effect, even more complexity that can and may evolve with those living systems coexisting and coevolving on a site.

I find this topic fascinating and will probably pursue it for many years to come. My years as a landscape designer and contractor has given me a taste of what this is all about. Ornamental plants can be difficult and challenging to establish on a site as some have narrowly defined cultural requirements and maintenance needs. Establishing diverse and robust populations of beneficial microorganisms can also be challenging as can be creating habitat for widely diverse species of wildlife that serve the needs of and are served by other on-site elements.

The methods, tools and schemes available to a permaculturist seeking to
develop a site are many, varied and powerful.

I would welcome anyone else interested contributing to an ongoing thread on this topic.





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