LIFE IN THE WORLD BENEATH THE TREE
PAST EFFORTS TO PRESCRIBE VEGETATIVE MANAGEMENT TREATMENTS FOR FORESTED LANDS, HAVE BEEN BASED UPON VISIBLE CONDITIONS OF THE ABOVE GROUND PORTION OF THE TREES. THE PRESCRIPTIONS HAVE BEEN PRIMARILY ON WHAT WE MIGHT CALL, THE INDUSTRIAL FORESTRY PRINCIPLES. THE GOALS HAVE BEEN TO MAXIMIZE WOOD FIBER PRODUCTION AND TO GROW TREES TO SUPPLY THE WOOD PRODUCTS INDUSTRY AND PUBLIC DEMANDS. TIMBER HARVESTING DECISIONS HAVE FOCUSED ON ECONOMIC MATURITY, ACCESS, ASSIGNED SALE TARGETS AND INDUSTRIAL DEMANDS. EVEN PUBLIC FORESTED LANDS HAVE BEEN MANAGED USING THESE PRIMARY GOALS.
IN ADDITION, THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS LAND USE DEMANDS WHICH HAVE REQUIRED COMPLETE DEFORESTATION OF MORE THAN HALF OF OUR ORIGINAL FOREST COVERED LANDS. AGRICULTURAL NEEDS HAVE LED THE DEFORESTATION EFFORT, BUT THERE ARE MANY OTHER LAND USES THAT REQUIRE CLEARING THE VEGETATION COVER. DEVELOPMENT AND EXPANSION OF COMMUNITIES AND CITIES, THE EXTENSIVE TRANSPORTATION CORRIDORS, RECREATION AND TRANSPORTATION DEVELOPMENTS SUCH AS GOLF COURSES, AIRPORTS AND FACTORIES, HAVE ALL HAD DEVASTATING IMPACTS ON LOSS OF FORESTED LANDS. ONLY TWENTY-SIX PERCENT OF OUR ORIGINAL FORESTED ACRES REMAIN WORLDWIDE.
THE VAST FOREST COVERED LANDS ON THE NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENT, HAVE PROVIDED WHAT WE HAVE CONSIDERED A LIMITLESS SUPPLY OF WOOD PRODUCTS AND PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TWO MOST AFFLUENT SOCIETIES ON EARTH. UNFORTUNATELY, THE DEMAND FOR CLEARED LAND AND WOOD PRODUCTS ALONG WITH OUR AGRICULTURAL CONCEPT OF MANAGEMENT, HAS DESTROYED NATURAL DIVERSITY AND INCREASED THE POTENTIAL FOR CATASTROPHIC EVENTS SUCH AS WILDFIRES AND INSECT AND DISEASE INFESTATIONS. HARVESTING AND PLANTING TREES, AS IF THEY WERE ROW CROPS IN A CULTIVATED FIELD, HAS NOT CREATED FOREST COVER CAPABLE OF SUPPORTING FUTURE LIFE ON THIS PLANET.
MANAGEMENT PRESCRIPTIONS BASED UPON WHAT THE FORESTER CAN OBSERVE ABOVE THE FOREST FLOOR, SIMPLY ARE INADEQUATE FOR PROPER MANAGEMENT TODAY. THERE IS A MUCH LARGER LIVING WORLD BENEATH THE SURFACE OF THE GROUND, WHICH PLAYS A VIDAL ROLE IN WHAT WE CAN OBSERVE IN THE FOREST COMMUNITY. WE ARE LEARNING MORE ABOUT THIS UNSEEN WORLD AND THE AMAZING FUNCTIONS IT PROVIDES, AS ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES BECOME MORE INVOLVED IN THE SCIENCE OF FORESTRY. PROPER MANAGEMENT OF OUR REMAINING FORESTS WILL NOT OCCUR WITHOUT UPDATED KNOWLEDGE OF THE UNDERGROUND LIFE AND THEIR FUNCTIONS. TREES ARE ACTUALLY COMMUNICATING WITH EACH OTHER THROUGH THESE UNSEEN NETWORKS! ECOLOGY, THE STUDY OF RELATIONSHIPS, IS UNCOVERING MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE EXISTENCE AND IMPORTANCE OF LIFE IN THE UNSEEN WORLD.
WE MUST FIRST RECOGNIZE THAT FOREST COMMUNITIES, OR ECOSYSTEMS IF YOU PREFER, ARE LIVING COMPLEX COMMUNITIES WHICH ARE SUSTAINED BY DIVERSITY AND RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE NUMEROUS SPECIES THAT MAKE UP THE ECOSYSTEM. REMOVE A SPECIES FROM THE SYSTEM, AND IT SUFFERS, BEGINS TO DECLINE AND MAY EVEN DIE. AT LEAST HALF OF THE SPECIES WITHIN THE ECOSYSTEM ARE BENEATH THE SURFACE AND UNSEEN BY THE HUMAN EYE.
THE SOIL BENEATH THE TREES CONTAINS FIVE DIFFERENT SOIL MICROBES; BACTERIA, ACTINOMYCETES, FUNGI, PROTOZOA AND NEMATODES. BACTERIA ARE THE FINAL STAGE OF BREAKING DOWN THE ORGANIC MATERIAL TO CREATE NUTRIENTS FOR THE PLANTS. ACTINOMYCETES ARE SIMILAR TO FUNGI, SOME HARMFUL AND OTHERS ACTING LIKE AN ANTIBIOTIC TO PREVENT DISEASES IN PLANTS. FUNGI ARE FOUND EVERYWHERE; IN THE SOIL, LAKES, RIVERS, OCEANS, ATMOSPHERE, PLANTS ANIMALS AND EVEN IN HUMANS. IN THE SOIL THEY HELP DECOMPOSE ORGANIC MATTER, ASSIST PLANTS IN ABSORBING MOISTURE AND NUTRIENTS FROM THE SOIL AND IN RETURN PLANTS SHARE SUGAR TO FEED THE MYCELIUM. WE HAVE IDENTIFIED ALMOST 150,000 DIFFERENT SPECIES OF FUNGI TO DATE. MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI CREATE A MASSIVE COMMUNICATION NETWORK BETWEEN PLANTS, WHICH ALLOW PLANTS TO SHARE MOISTURE AND NUTRIENTS WITH EACH OTHER AND ASSIST WITH DISEASE PREVENTION. THESE MYCORRHIZAL NETWORKS LITERALLY OPEN UP A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF LIFE WITHIN THE FOREST ECOSYSTEM. PROTOZOA ARE LARGER MICROBES THAT CONSUME BACTERIA AND RELEASE NUTRIENTS THE BACTERIA HAVE CONSUMED TO THE PLANTS. NEMATODES ARE MICROSCOPIC WORMS, SOME OF WHICH ARE PARASITIC TO PLANTS, AND OTHERS WHICH CONSUME PATHOGENIC NEMATODES AND SECRETE NUTRIENT FOR PLANT CONSUMPTION.
RECENT DISCOVERIES, HAVE FOUND A MASSIVE BIOSPHERE OF LIFE AT SUBTERRANEAN LEVELS OF EARTH. WE HAVE ALWAYS THOUGHT LIFE COULD NOT EXIST AT THESE DEPTHS, DUE TO HIGH TEMPERATURES AND LACK OF ADEQUATE OXYGEN. THESE NUMEROUS SPECIES ARE LIVING IN BED ROCK FORMATIONS AND HAVE BEEN FOUND AS DEEP AS 3.1 MILES BENEATH THE SURFACE. THEY CAN SURVIVE AT TEMPERATURES HIGHER THAN WE PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT LIVING ORGANISMS COULD WITHSTAND, LIVE IN THE ABSENCE OF SUNLIGHT AND LIVE ON MEAGER AMOUNTS OF CHEMICAL ENERGY. SOME FORMS CAN EXIST FOR MILLENNIA, WHICH RAISES THE QUESTION AS TO THE POSSIBILITY OF SIMILAR LIFE EXISTING BENEATH THE SURFACE ON OTHER PLANETS. WHAT ROLE THIS NEW FOUND LIFE PLAYS IN SURFACE ECOSYSTEMS IS UNKNOWN. KNOWING THAT ALL SPECIES ARE CONNECTED AND CONTRIBUTE IN SOME SMALL WAY TO THE CIRCLE OF LIFE, CERTAINLY WILL RESULT IN MEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION OF THESE SUBTERRANEAN LIFE FORMS IN THE FUNCTIONING OF ECOSYSTEMS.
IT IS INTERESTING THAT BACTERIA AND ARCHAEA ACCOUNT FOR 70% OF ALL LIFE ON EARTH. THE REMAINING 30% ARE 99% PLANTS AND ONLY 1% CLASSIFIED AS ANIMALS INCLUDE HUMAN BEINGS.
WE HAVE MUCH TO LEARN ABOUT LIFE SYSTEMS AND ECOSYSTEMS ON EARTH, IF THE HUMAN SPECIES IS TO SURVIVE IN THE FUTURE. OUR KNOWLEDGE BASE IS EXPANDING RAPIDLY, WHILE OUR DEMANDS FOR RESOURCES AND ENERGY CONTINUES TO ESCALATE AT AN UNSUSTAINABLE RATE. I AM SURE MANY QUESTION WHY INFORMATION ABOUT LIFE IN THE DEEP UNSEEN WORLD IS OF ANY IMPORTANCE.
SINCE MANKIND FIRST ARRIVED ON EARTH, HUMANITY HAS REQUIRED EARTH’S RESOURCES FOR SUSTENANCE AND SHELTER. WITH TIME, THE EXPANDING HUMAN POPULATIONS DEMAND FOR RESOURCES AND ENERGY BEGAN TO CHALLENGE EARTH’S ABILITY TO PROVIDE. THE PAST 250 YEARS HAS HAD A VAST IMPACT ON EARTH’S CARRYING CAPACITY, RESULTING IN THE PROBABILITY WE WILL SOON EXCEED THE ABILITY OF EARTH TO SUSTAIN PROJECTED POPULATION NUMBERS.
THE POINT OF THIS DISCUSSION IS THAT AS OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE EARTH SYSTEMS INCREASES, IT DISCLOSES OUR PAST MISTAKES WHICH HAVE BEEN DEVASTATING ON THE NATURAL WORLD. USING FORESTRY AS AN EXAMPLE, PAST APPLICATION OF AGRICULTURAL PRINCIPLES, TO MAXIMIZE WOOD FIBER PRODUCTION, HAVE RESULTED IN DESTRUCTION OF TOO MANY FOREST ECOSYSTEMS, AND EXTINCTION OF NUMEROUS SPECIES. WE HAVE IDENTIFIED CLOSE TO 10 MILLION DIFFERENT SPECIES, WHICH IS PROBABLY LESS THAN 20% OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF SPECIES THAT EXIST ON EARTH. EVERY YEAR, SEVERAL THOUSAND SPECIES GO EXTINCT, AS A RESULT OF HUMAN PRESSURE ON THE DIFFERENT ECOSYSTEMS. THE TWO MAJOR CAUSES OF THESE SPECIES EXTINCTION ARE LOSS OF HABITAT AND CLIMATE CHANGE.
LIVING WITHIN THE LIMITED CARRYING-CAPACITY OF PLANET EARTH IS ESSENTIAL. MANAGING OUR REMAINING NATURAL WORLD REQUIRES MANAGEMENT PRESCRIPTIONS BASED UPON KNOWLEDGE OF THE ENTIRE ECOSYSTEM AND THE HEALTH AND DIVERSITY OF THE COMMUNITY. WE MUST STOP INTERFERING WITH THE NATURAL PROCESSES OF REGENERATION. WE DO NOT POSSESS THE WISDOM TO MANIPULATE OR CHANGE NATURE! NATURE’S WAY IS THE FUTURE! HUMAN ASSISTANCE IS ESSENTIAL!
PAST EFFORTS TO PRESCRIBE VEGETATIVE MANAGEMENT TREATMENTS FOR FORESTED LANDS, HAVE BEEN BASED UPON VISIBLE CONDITIONS OF THE ABOVE GROUND PORTION OF THE TREES. THE PRESCRIPTIONS HAVE BEEN PRIMARILY ON WHAT WE MIGHT CALL, THE INDUSTRIAL FORESTRY PRINCIPLES. THE GOALS HAVE BEEN TO MAXIMIZE WOOD FIBER PRODUCTION AND TO GROW TREES TO SUPPLY THE WOOD PRODUCTS INDUSTRY AND PUBLIC DEMANDS. TIMBER HARVESTING DECISIONS HAVE FOCUSED ON ECONOMIC MATURITY, ACCESS, ASSIGNED SALE TARGETS AND INDUSTRIAL DEMANDS. EVEN PUBLIC FORESTED LANDS HAVE BEEN MANAGED USING THESE PRIMARY GOALS.
IN ADDITION, THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS LAND USE DEMANDS WHICH HAVE REQUIRED COMPLETE DEFORESTATION OF MORE THAN HALF OF OUR ORIGINAL FOREST COVERED LANDS. AGRICULTURAL NEEDS HAVE LED THE DEFORESTATION EFFORT, BUT THERE ARE MANY OTHER LAND USES THAT REQUIRE CLEARING THE VEGETATION COVER. DEVELOPMENT AND EXPANSION OF COMMUNITIES AND CITIES, THE EXTENSIVE TRANSPORTATION CORRIDORS, RECREATION AND TRANSPORTATION DEVELOPMENTS SUCH AS GOLF COURSES, AIRPORTS AND FACTORIES, HAVE ALL HAD DEVASTATING IMPACTS ON LOSS OF FORESTED LANDS. ONLY TWENTY-SIX PERCENT OF OUR ORIGINAL FORESTED ACRES REMAIN WORLDWIDE.
THE VAST FOREST COVERED LANDS ON THE NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENT, HAVE PROVIDED WHAT WE HAVE CONSIDERED A LIMITLESS SUPPLY OF WOOD PRODUCTS AND PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TWO MOST AFFLUENT SOCIETIES ON EARTH. UNFORTUNATELY, THE DEMAND FOR CLEARED LAND AND WOOD PRODUCTS ALONG WITH OUR AGRICULTURAL CONCEPT OF MANAGEMENT, HAS DESTROYED NATURAL DIVERSITY AND INCREASED THE POTENTIAL FOR CATASTROPHIC EVENTS SUCH AS WILDFIRES AND INSECT AND DISEASE INFESTATIONS. HARVESTING AND PLANTING TREES, AS IF THEY WERE ROW CROPS IN A CULTIVATED FIELD, HAS NOT CREATED FOREST COVER CAPABLE OF SUPPORTING FUTURE LIFE ON THIS PLANET.
MANAGEMENT PRESCRIPTIONS BASED UPON WHAT THE FORESTER CAN OBSERVE ABOVE THE FOREST FLOOR, SIMPLY ARE INADEQUATE FOR PROPER MANAGEMENT TODAY. THERE IS A MUCH LARGER LIVING WORLD BENEATH THE SURFACE OF THE GROUND, WHICH PLAYS A VIDAL ROLE IN WHAT WE CAN OBSERVE IN THE FOREST COMMUNITY. WE ARE LEARNING MORE ABOUT THIS UNSEEN WORLD AND THE AMAZING FUNCTIONS IT PROVIDES, AS ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES BECOME MORE INVOLVED IN THE SCIENCE OF FORESTRY. PROPER MANAGEMENT OF OUR REMAINING FORESTS WILL NOT OCCUR WITHOUT UPDATED KNOWLEDGE OF THE UNDERGROUND LIFE AND THEIR FUNCTIONS. TREES ARE ACTUALLY COMMUNICATING WITH EACH OTHER THROUGH THESE UNSEEN NETWORKS! ECOLOGY, THE STUDY OF RELATIONSHIPS, IS UNCOVERING MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE EXISTENCE AND IMPORTANCE OF LIFE IN THE UNSEEN WORLD.
WE MUST FIRST RECOGNIZE THAT FOREST COMMUNITIES, OR ECOSYSTEMS IF YOU PREFER, ARE LIVING COMPLEX COMMUNITIES WHICH ARE SUSTAINED BY DIVERSITY AND RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE NUMEROUS SPECIES THAT MAKE UP THE ECOSYSTEM. REMOVE A SPECIES FROM THE SYSTEM, AND IT SUFFERS, BEGINS TO DECLINE AND MAY EVEN DIE. AT LEAST HALF OF THE SPECIES WITHIN THE ECOSYSTEM ARE BENEATH THE SURFACE AND UNSEEN BY THE HUMAN EYE.
THE SOIL BENEATH THE TREES CONTAINS FIVE DIFFERENT SOIL MICROBES; BACTERIA, ACTINOMYCETES, FUNGI, PROTOZOA AND NEMATODES. BACTERIA ARE THE FINAL STAGE OF BREAKING DOWN THE ORGANIC MATERIAL TO CREATE NUTRIENTS FOR THE PLANTS. ACTINOMYCETES ARE SIMILAR TO FUNGI, SOME HARMFUL AND OTHERS ACTING LIKE AN ANTIBIOTIC TO PREVENT DISEASES IN PLANTS. FUNGI ARE FOUND EVERYWHERE; IN THE SOIL, LAKES, RIVERS, OCEANS, ATMOSPHERE, PLANTS ANIMALS AND EVEN IN HUMANS. IN THE SOIL THEY HELP DECOMPOSE ORGANIC MATTER, ASSIST PLANTS IN ABSORBING MOISTURE AND NUTRIENTS FROM THE SOIL AND IN RETURN PLANTS SHARE SUGAR TO FEED THE MYCELIUM. WE HAVE IDENTIFIED ALMOST 150,000 DIFFERENT SPECIES OF FUNGI TO DATE. MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI CREATE A MASSIVE COMMUNICATION NETWORK BETWEEN PLANTS, WHICH ALLOW PLANTS TO SHARE MOISTURE AND NUTRIENTS WITH EACH OTHER AND ASSIST WITH DISEASE PREVENTION. THESE MYCORRHIZAL NETWORKS LITERALLY OPEN UP A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF LIFE WITHIN THE FOREST ECOSYSTEM. PROTOZOA ARE LARGER MICROBES THAT CONSUME BACTERIA AND RELEASE NUTRIENTS THE BACTERIA HAVE CONSUMED TO THE PLANTS. NEMATODES ARE MICROSCOPIC WORMS, SOME OF WHICH ARE PARASITIC TO PLANTS, AND OTHERS WHICH CONSUME PATHOGENIC NEMATODES AND SECRETE NUTRIENT FOR PLANT CONSUMPTION.
RECENT DISCOVERIES, HAVE FOUND A MASSIVE BIOSPHERE OF LIFE AT SUBTERRANEAN LEVELS OF EARTH. WE HAVE ALWAYS THOUGHT LIFE COULD NOT EXIST AT THESE DEPTHS, DUE TO HIGH TEMPERATURES AND LACK OF ADEQUATE OXYGEN. THESE NUMEROUS SPECIES ARE LIVING IN BED ROCK FORMATIONS AND HAVE BEEN FOUND AS DEEP AS 3.1 MILES BENEATH THE SURFACE. THEY CAN SURVIVE AT TEMPERATURES HIGHER THAN WE PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT LIVING ORGANISMS COULD WITHSTAND, LIVE IN THE ABSENCE OF SUNLIGHT AND LIVE ON MEAGER AMOUNTS OF CHEMICAL ENERGY. SOME FORMS CAN EXIST FOR MILLENNIA, WHICH RAISES THE QUESTION AS TO THE POSSIBILITY OF SIMILAR LIFE EXISTING BENEATH THE SURFACE ON OTHER PLANETS. WHAT ROLE THIS NEW FOUND LIFE PLAYS IN SURFACE ECOSYSTEMS IS UNKNOWN. KNOWING THAT ALL SPECIES ARE CONNECTED AND CONTRIBUTE IN SOME SMALL WAY TO THE CIRCLE OF LIFE, CERTAINLY WILL RESULT IN MEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION OF THESE SUBTERRANEAN LIFE FORMS IN THE FUNCTIONING OF ECOSYSTEMS.
IT IS INTERESTING THAT BACTERIA AND ARCHAEA ACCOUNT FOR 70% OF ALL LIFE ON EARTH. THE REMAINING 30% ARE 99% PLANTS AND ONLY 1% CLASSIFIED AS ANIMALS INCLUDE HUMAN BEINGS.
WE HAVE MUCH TO LEARN ABOUT LIFE SYSTEMS AND ECOSYSTEMS ON EARTH, IF THE HUMAN SPECIES IS TO SURVIVE IN THE FUTURE. OUR KNOWLEDGE BASE IS EXPANDING RAPIDLY, WHILE OUR DEMANDS FOR RESOURCES AND ENERGY CONTINUES TO ESCALATE AT AN UNSUSTAINABLE RATE. I AM SURE MANY QUESTION WHY INFORMATION ABOUT LIFE IN THE DEEP UNSEEN WORLD IS OF ANY IMPORTANCE.
SINCE MANKIND FIRST ARRIVED ON EARTH, HUMANITY HAS REQUIRED EARTH’S RESOURCES FOR SUSTENANCE AND SHELTER. WITH TIME, THE EXPANDING HUMAN POPULATIONS DEMAND FOR RESOURCES AND ENERGY BEGAN TO CHALLENGE EARTH’S ABILITY TO PROVIDE. THE PAST 250 YEARS HAS HAD A VAST IMPACT ON EARTH’S CARRYING CAPACITY, RESULTING IN THE PROBABILITY WE WILL SOON EXCEED THE ABILITY OF EARTH TO SUSTAIN PROJECTED POPULATION NUMBERS.
THE POINT OF THIS DISCUSSION IS THAT AS OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE EARTH SYSTEMS INCREASES, IT DISCLOSES OUR PAST MISTAKES WHICH HAVE BEEN DEVASTATING ON THE NATURAL WORLD. USING FORESTRY AS AN EXAMPLE, PAST APPLICATION OF AGRICULTURAL PRINCIPLES, TO MAXIMIZE WOOD FIBER PRODUCTION, HAVE RESULTED IN DESTRUCTION OF TOO MANY FOREST ECOSYSTEMS, AND EXTINCTION OF NUMEROUS SPECIES. WE HAVE IDENTIFIED CLOSE TO 10 MILLION DIFFERENT SPECIES, WHICH IS PROBABLY LESS THAN 20% OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF SPECIES THAT EXIST ON EARTH. EVERY YEAR, SEVERAL THOUSAND SPECIES GO EXTINCT, AS A RESULT OF HUMAN PRESSURE ON THE DIFFERENT ECOSYSTEMS. THE TWO MAJOR CAUSES OF THESE SPECIES EXTINCTION ARE LOSS OF HABITAT AND CLIMATE CHANGE.
LIVING WITHIN THE LIMITED CARRYING-CAPACITY OF PLANET EARTH IS ESSENTIAL. MANAGING OUR REMAINING NATURAL WORLD REQUIRES MANAGEMENT PRESCRIPTIONS BASED UPON KNOWLEDGE OF THE ENTIRE ECOSYSTEM AND THE HEALTH AND DIVERSITY OF THE COMMUNITY. WE MUST STOP INTERFERING WITH THE NATURAL PROCESSES OF REGENERATION. WE DO NOT POSSESS THE WISDOM TO MANIPULATE OR CHANGE NATURE! NATURE’S WAY IS THE FUTURE! HUMAN ASSISTANCE IS ESSENTIAL!
