A 16 year old cat my daughter named Leery for his sensitive 
nature, ruled the Coldwater Farm cat community for more than a decade and has now fallen in love with soy cheese. He tried soy milk, but so far he only stands for the cheese.
Eating with me doesn’t stop Leery from stalking small animals, but it dulls his appetite and lets him spend most of his time sleeping.
By Garry Rogers
Using natural landscapes for any purpose requires caution to prevent plant invasions. An essential task for nature conservation is explaining this to the public.
Cattle in the Sonoran Desert. Heavily trampled soil without soil microorganisms that can absorb and store moisture, convert solar energy to nutrients, increase plant root efficiency, and protect the soil surface from erosion and invasive plants. Photo by George Wuerthner.
Most investigations of plant invasions assign responsibility to Humans. In our ignorance, we introduce potentially invasive plants from foreign ecosystems, and then we disturb native ecosystems and help the introduced plants get established and spread. We have learned that diseases, predators, competitors, and supportive soil microorganisms control plant growth. Move plants to new locations where their natural controls aren’t present and they sometimes explode across the landscape. Continue reading
By Garry Rogers
Wild Horses on a Former Great Basin Shrubland Destroyed by Livestock Grazing, Invasive Plants, and Fire.
In the invasive plant literature, disturbance refers to an event that removes plants and alters the soil surface. “Disturbance is believed to be the major factor favoring plant introductions” (Radosevich et al. 2007: 58). Without disturbance, invasive plants would find no openings to become established and begin to spread and replace native species.
It is important to understand the nature and origin of disturbance that leads to plant invasions, because, as with global warming, it is often profitable to deny human responsibility for invasions so that a disturbance activity can continue. Continue reading
By Garry Rogers
There would be no life on the land if there was no soil.
“When you thrust a shovel into the soil or tear off a piece of coral, you are, godlike, cutting through an entire world. You have crossed a hidden frontier known to very few. Immediately close at hand, around and beneath our feet, lies the least explored part of the planet’s surface. It is also the most vital place on Earth for human existence” (Wilson, 2010).
Biological Soil Crust (Brown stipplescale) growing in a rocky area in the Great Basin Desert.
In sunny desert environments, various species of algae, cyanobacteria, microfungi, lichens, and bryophytes form thin crusts over the surface of the ground. The crusts protect the soil from erosion, enrich its composition, and enhance plant growth. The crusts are among the most important components of desert ecosystems.
Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are quite fragile. If they are damaged, soils lose moisture and nutrients and become susceptible to erosion and invasion by alien plants. BSCs are susceptible to considerable damage by livestock (e.g., Brotherson et al. 1983). Recovery of BSCs at some sites can occur within 20 years (Anderson et al. 1982), but most studies have concluded that longer periods are required (e.g., Jeffries and Klopatec 1987), and that full recovery can require centuries (Belnap 1993). Continue reading
By Garry Rogers
Turtles have exceptional regenerative powers. Dr. Justin Congdon, a classmate from long ago, managed a study of turtles in the E. S. George Reserve in Michigan for more than 40 years. In the 1980’s Justin made a startling discovery: As they aged, Blanding’s turtles produced more eggs and offspring. In some ways, the turtles became younger as they aged. This reversal of reproductive success with age drew global attention from scientists and others interested in longevity and life extension.
Another interesting trait is resistance to toxic materials. Arizona fish, frogs, and mollusks develop various forms of cancer in response to toxic chemicals in agricultural and urban runoff, and treated waste-water. Turtles do not. Like other species groups, however, Arizona turtles suffer from habitat loss and human harvest.
The pond slider (Trachemys scripta) in the photograph is not an Arizona native. It probably arrived as a pet sold by the roadside vendor who comes every summer and sells turtles at a highway intersection upstream from my ponds. There are at least two pond sliders living here. If humans wouldn’t empty the ponds, the pond slider might live at Coldwater Farm long after I’m gone.
(Just after I wrote the above, a visitor harvesting weeds for his sheep, accidentally backed his truck over the pond slider shown in the photograph, killing it instantly.) Continue reading
Nature Conservation & Science Fiction: #EcoSciFi
Ecologists at the University of Toronto and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich) have found that, given time, invading exotic plants will likely eliminate native plants growing in the wild despite recent reports to the…
Creating native enclaves might save a plant species from extinction, but the species’ decline over a large area will have tremendous negative effect on the species’ herbivore/detritivore and sheltering associates (GR).
See on phys.org
Plant Strategies, Vegetation Processes, and Ecosystem Properties by J. Philip Grime
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Scientists are sometimes able to synthesize existing knowledge in ways that provide useful insight. Grime did this with the first edition of this book published in 1979. The present edition retains and extends the fundamental ideas. Highly recommended for anyone who cares about natural landscapes and wants to get a glimpse of the processes at work.
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“With the coinage of ‘sustainable development,’ the defenders of the unsteady state have won a few more years’ moratorium from the painful process of thinking.” Garret Hardin, Professor of Human Ecology, University of California.
Learn more about Garret Hardin.
GarryRogers Nature Conservation 