[Terrapreta] Tree planting -- a bit more

[lou gold]

David,

You know how much of a died-in-the-wool tree-hugger I am.
But I've gotta say this sounds overly simplistic to me. From
what I know about terrestrial ecology, there is a constant tension
between natural grassland and natural forest. Sometimes it's one,
sometimes the other, sometimes it's a mixed system with lots of edge
(as in the Brazilian cerrado). Once, redwoods grew all the way
east to the Mississippi. The great map is complex and shifting
and the lines on it seem to be drawn mostly by climate.

There is a great perfection and excellence within each of the
systems and I know of nothing that suggests that forests are the
pinnacle of ecological aspiration. I spent a lot of my life in the
American Midwest. The tall grass prairie has a magnificence that
cannot be denied.

And, by the way, the Amazon forest is no longer considered as
"the lungs of the earth" in the old sense of the metaphor -- referring
to inhaling CO2 and exhaling oxygen -- which was quite anthropocentric.
Forests are coming to be better understood in terms of their larger
ecosystem functions such as climate regulation and, as you point out,
erosion prevention and water filtration.

hugs,

lou


On Dec 4, 2007 4:14 PM, David Yarrow <dyarrow at nycap.rr.com> wrote:

> in most parts of the earth -- even deserts and savannas -- if yer not
> forest, yer against us.  forest is the natural, highest aspirartion of any
> ecological community.  forests are the lungs of the biosphere.  and
> filtration purification system for water.
>
> david, silver eagle
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Robert Klein" <arclein at yahoo.com>
> To: "Jim Joyner" <jimstoy at dtccom.net>
> Cc: "Terrapreta" <terrapreta at bioenergylists.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, December 04, 2007 12:42 PM
> Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] Tree planting -- a bit more
>
>
> > Hi
> >
> > it is good to see your efforts on reforestation.  The
> > challenge is to make it work for 2 billion other
> > folks.
> >
> > arclein
> >
> >
> > --- Jim Joyner <jimstoy at dtccom.net> wrote:
> >
> >> Wow, sorry I missed the all-night party last night.
> >>
> >> Lou, You all seem to have covered trees and COs
> >> quite well. I have an
> >> opinion but no more to add. But, I would point that
> >> there are other
> >> reasons for planting trees.
> >>
> >> At present I am reforesting fields and parts of
> >> fields I inherited from
> >> another generation (and building "leaky dams"). The
> >> fields are too
> >> sloped to ever be very productive for one thing but,
> >> more importantly,
> >> trees hold the water back and provide good water
> >> shed for more
> >> productive fields and the folks that are below me.
> >> It time, these trees,
> >> as demonstrated in a few places in southern
> >> California can actually
> >> change climate for the better. Desertification is a
> >> process proceeding
> >> at a rapid pace world wide and it ain't all about
> >> CO2.
> >>
> >> It's all well and good to talk about taking carbon
> >> out of the atmosphere
> >> but if you don't link this with a concept effective
> >> water shed, you may
> >> find these efforts go for naught.
> >>
> >> Jim
> >>
> >>
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> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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-- 
http://lougold.blogspot.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/visionshare/sets/
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