November - December 2020 Newsletter

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about that question: what is supposed to be possible? When it comes to climate change and biodiversity loss, our single ecological crisis which has been spun into countless hydra heads of problems with their own names and domains of specialization, I’ve heard so many numbers used to convey the desperation of the situation. Twenty years to curb emissions became twelve, then ten. We must limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees celsius. The sixth mass extinction event has arrived. 

 

Solutions proven to be possible and practical are spun as fantastical. (“How could we stop developing our coasts for human habitation, and turn them over to ecosystems?” “Major changes to food systems, to people’s diets and lifestyles, just won’t happen.”) Options that are impractical and work against ecological principles attract investment and are heralded as “best bets.” (“Let’s block out the sun!”)

 

This inversion of common sense boils down to the scope of our vision. Some technological revolution swooping in to save the world may sound familiar; after all, we’ve seen technology dramatically change the way we shape our lives and interact with one another. But maybe the tidiness and perceived plausibility of that solution are holding us back. Certain basic facts cannot be overcome with any amount of ingenuity or innovation: there is no “away” where we can shunt our waste, excess heat or carelessly produced byproducts; endless expansion and extraction are impossible on a finite planet; humans, like all other creatures, are interdependent with other life. 

 

In contrast, a vision of humanity with humility, with love and reverence for all life forms, more intent on sustenance than consumption and compassion than competition, is painted as utopian. Mass movements by people to work in harmony with the land - to return our planet to its natural cycles of carbon, nutrients, and water- might once have seemed like a distant dream. But that very Blessed Unrest is already in progress. If betting on that means believing in miracles, then I’m a believer. 

 

What’s more, I’m not just waiting on this miracle to happen. I’m working on it, along with the rest of Biodiversity for a Livable Climate and our community. You and I and everyone we know have a place in this fight. As we close out this 2020 chapter and begin a new year, let’s keep believing and keep working for a healthy home. Please keep us in mind at this year’s end. 

 

We wish you the happiest of holidays.

Events: 

• The Real Organic Project Symposium - every Sunday from January 3 - 31
• NOFA Winter conference - January 8-10 - Registration here, and scholarships available through January 5
• Vijay Kumar and Walter Jehne on Community Managed Natural Farming - Thursday, January 21, 10:30 a.m. ET

In this issue:

• Spotlight: SUGi and Urban Forestry

• Announcing the third installment of staff scientist Jim Laurie's class, "Biodiversity 3: Mastering the Water Cycle," beginning February 3, 2021

• Call Story: Adam Sacks
• Book Review: Nga Uruora by Geoff Park
• Featured Article: Resilience, "Why the Hidden World of Fungi is Essential to Life on Earth"
• Compendium Notes: Effectiveness of the Miyawaki method in Mediterranean forest restoration programs, Shirone, Salis & Vessela 2011

Vijay Kumar and Walter Jehne on

The Remarkable Success of the Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Farming Movement

SAVE THE DATE: Thurs., Jan. 21 at 10:30 a.m. ET

 

We are pleased to present the next installment of Biodiversity for a Livable Climate's Life Saves the Planet Speaker Series hosted by GBH Forum Network. Registration is free and will be available soon - keep an eye out for our email announcement when registration opens. 

T. Vijay Kumar is the Agriculture and Cooperation Advisor to the government of Andhra Pradesh, India. He directs the implementation of natural farming in the state, and has dedicated years to agricultural projects that empower communities and alleviate poverty. 

Walter Jehne is a soil microbiologist who has researched and lectured extensively on water and its role in cooling the planet and addressing climate change. 

 

Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming, a movement of almost 800,000 farmers, has achieved striking results that promise to improve the land and quality of life for its participants in this semi-arid region of India. Kumar and Jehne will share lessons relevant to landscape restoration and the reformation of agricultural practices around the globe. Based on their experience, they highlight how to make the best use of water in a water-strained system to increase year-round ground cover and provide food security. The scale of participation shows how climate solutions formulated around the co-benefits of ecological soundness and communal prosperity can proliferate. We hope you will join us to hear about this vital work.

Spotlight: SUGi and Urban Forestry

Image: sugiproject.com

Finding ways to combat biodiversity loss and ecosystem disruption is not only crucial for rural and wild areas; cities are in this fight too, and we are finding many ways to address these issues in urban environments. As many cities begin to take steps to bolster climate resilience, the importance of increasing tree canopy is gaining traction. One particularly noteworthy solution is the Miyawaki method, in which dense pocket forests of native vegetation are planted to support biodiversity, create cooling canopy, and connect communities to nature. 

SUGi is a remarkable organization dedicated to implementing small-scale restoration projects all over the globe. From pocket forests to coral farms, they have worked with a wide range of ecosystems and communities to establish rewilding sites. Now, Biodiversity for a Livable Climate is working with SUGi to pilot a Miyawaki forest right here in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Like many dense urban areas, Cambridge is anything but a wilderness. But with SUGi’s help, we can start to develop a new kind of “urban jungle.” We look forward to sharing more with you, and encourage you to check out their work. 

Photo: Wendy Corniquet from Pixabay

Spring Session of Jim Laurie's Class

Biodiversity 3: Mastering the Water Cycle

After two very successful installments of his Biodiversity and Symbiosis course, staff scientist and restoration ecologist Jim Laurie will be returning early next year with Biodiversity III: Mastering the Water Cycle. As we continue our journey as budding restorers of the planet, we turn to the key ingredient of water. We will explore the question of how to rehydrate the continents and mend the small water cycle. 

 

Water is, of course, the stuff of life. It promises survival, healing, and vitality. It nourishes the body and the spirit. And in this class, we will discover how to understand its rhythms and work with it to do what our blue planet was made to do: support life.

The excitement and inspiration of science for the curious to the serious and everyone in-between.  A fully interactive online adventure with discussions, experiments and explorations for independent thinkers of any age, suitable for high school and college students, as well as inquiring minds of all levels, from beginner to PhD!

 

Register here!

Call Story: Adam Sacks

Adam Sacks, the Executive Director of Biodiversity for a Livable Climate, shares the story of his relationship with the natural world and his devotion to the living systems that shape our planet. 

 

A "call story" is about what inspires us to engage.  Adam contributed his to our initiative, Saving Life on Earth is Our Highest Calling!, put together in partnership with Spirit of Resilience. These call stories showcase the many paths people have taken toward engaging with environmental issues and making the fight for a livable climate a major part of their lives. From personal moments of realization to speeches, stories, or works of art that have spurred us to action, these narratives all have one thing in common: the decision that the only way forward is to act, and that together we can accomplish major change. 

Book Review: Ngā Uruora

The book raises the question of what might be seen today in these islands had the dials of history turned just a bit differently. In New Zealand, like anywhere else on Earth, natural history and human history have become intertwined, and conscious, culturally informed choices have shaped the fate of entire ecosystems. Climate change is at the extreme end of such consequences of human activities, and it remains to be seen how it will be faced by the island nation, and the rest of the world. However, Park points to hope that can be found as new generations of Māori leadership rise to the challenge and contribute their knowledge, forged in deep relationship to this land, to its stewardship.

Featured Article: Why the Hidden World

of Fungi is Essential to Life on Earth - Resilience

Bioluminescent Mushrooms by Alison Pouliot/Alison Pouliot Photography

There are many astounding facts about fungi, and the mycologist Merlin Sheldrake, author of Fantastic Fungi, is uniquely positioned to relay them. He crafts an impassioned case for paying more attention to fungal species as we consider life that is coming under threat from habitat disruption and climate change. From species that can feed on toxic waste to others that glow in the dark, fungi have incredible properties, but they are often overlooked, including in conservation measures. 

Fungi have been crucial in the development of life as we know it on Earth. They supplied root systems for the plants that first migrated from water to land before those plants could evolve roots of their own, and they still act in symbiosis to make the foundation of the food web and the nutrient cycle. As Sheldrake says, “Fungal networks embody the most basic principle of ecology: that of the relationship between organisms.” It is this relational nature of life that has the capacity to solve some of our biggest challenges, and we can honor it by giving fungi the respect and protection they deserve. Read the full article here. 

Compendium Notes

 

This is an excerpt from our  Compendium of Scientific and Practical Findings Supporting Eco-Restoration to Address Global Warming. The article below is from our seventh issue,  published in July 2020, Vol. 4 No. 1. 

 

Effectiveness of the Miyawaki method in Mediterranean forest restoration programs, Schirone, Salis & Vessella 2011

 

This study tested the Miyawaki method of rapid natural forest regeneration (which has been shown to work in Japan and elsewhere) in the arid Mediterranean. In this area, millennia of human civilization have resulted in degraded soils and reduced and changed forest cover, traditional reforestation efforts have often failed, and desertification is a looming threat. The Miyawaki method speeds up the process of ecological succession by densely planting a multilayer forest made up of a wide diversity of indigenous species.

In a natural forest cycle, as Clements (1916) described, annual plants on barren land are succeeded by perennial grass, sun-tolerant shrubs, light-demanding, fast-growing trees, and finally natural forests; each step may require decades, and the climax vegetation could be formed after two centuries or more. Currently, most forest reforestation programs adopt a scheme of planting one or more early successional species; after successful establishment, they are gradually replaced by intermediate species (either naturally or by planting), until late successional species arise. This pattern tries to simulate natural processes of ecological succession, from pioneer species to climax vegetation. However, it requires several silvicultural practices and normally takes a long time [Schirone 2011: 82].

In the Miyawaki method, by contrast, one plants all at once the many plant species normally present in a native forest community, thus bypassing the earliest stages of ecological succession. Other tree-planting methods favor fast-growing non-native tree species, while omitting understory species – in other words, creating a simple plantation rather than a forest community that functions ecologically and can evolve and sustain itself.

Multilayer forests, and natural biocoenosis [ecological community] is possible, and well-developed ecosystems can be quickly established because of the simultaneous use of intermediate and late successional species in plantations. The Miyawaki method involves surveying the potential natural vegetation of the area to be reforested and recovering topsoil to a depth of 20– 30 cm by mixing the soil and a compost from organic materials, such as fallen leaves, mowed grass, etc. In this way, the time of the natural process of soil evolution, established by the vegetational succession itself, is reduced [Schirone 2011: 82].

The authors of this study found that compared to traditional reforestation, there was “a more rapid development of trees on the Miyawaki plots, in particular, early-successional species [especially maritime pine]. The benefits over previous methods are remarkable and comparable with those obtained by Miyawaki in Asia and South America.” The Miyawaki method favoring denser plantings works even in arid climates, in spite of traditional views favoring sparse plantings in arid places, although the optimal density for the Mediterranean still needs testing, according to the authors.

In fact, low plant density has been traditionally retained as appropriate in arid and semiarid environments in order to avoid competition for water resources between plants, but it is now evident that cooperative processes, e.g., mutual shading, prevail over competitive processes. High plant density also reduces the impact of acorn predators, thus encouraging oak regeneration, i.e., the main late-successional forest species in Mediterranean environments. In addition, excellent plant stock remains fundamental for planting success in harsh environments [Schirone 2011: 91].

Schirone, B., Salis, A. & Vessella, F. Effectiveness of the Miyawaki method in Mediterranean forest restoration programs. Landscape Ecol. Eng. 7, 81–92 (2011) https://doi.org/10.1007/s11355-010-0117-0. 

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