In August 1817, the learned men of the Linnaean Society of New England studied the Bestiary, an ancient illustrated book of all animals. They set out from Boston for the high rocky coast of Gloucester to survey the seascape. There they found what they were looking for. hydra It was “a reptilian beast measuring 60 to 100 feet in length, with black, shiny, leathery scales, humps, large eyes, and sharp teeth.” If they had listened to local fishermen, scientists would have dismissed their claims that the sea snakes were schools of bluefin tuna.
Just a few years earlier, in 1798, Thomas Robert Malthus, an English economist, clergyman, and scholar, anonymously published the idea that increased food production would improve the well-being of the population. But while the increase in population due to affluence is geometric, the increase in means of subsistence is arithmetical. Standards of living will fall and people will suffer from the “Malthusian trap.” in other words, Malthusians believe Population will inevitably exceed available food supplies.
Models aren’t always right, but nature is
In 1972, the authors of the publication limits to growth We used computer modeling to predict what would happen due to exponential economic and population growth. With funding from the Volkswagen Foundation, they presented three scenarios. Both scenarios resulted in “overpopulation” and social collapse. In the third scenario, a “stabilized world” was created.
base limits to growth And, according to other publications of the 1970s, many believed that human numbers would always increase until they reached the limit of survival, and that overpopulation could only be avoided by, in Malthus’s words, “evil” (including “war orders”) I believe it. “Misery” (including famine, food shortages, and poor health) and “moral restraint” (i.e., abstinence). Books and articles tell us how they see the world. Fortunately, humans’ complex relationships as part of nature are not as simple as calculations and computer models make them seem.
For example, it has been observed that the condition of cattle on pasture deteriorates. Consistent with their expectations, experts declared that this was overgrazing and that populations should be reduced to sustainable levels consistent with what resources provide. In large African elephant parks, they found that elephant carrying capacity was being exceeded and the resource base was being destroyed. For 27 years they have been demanding: More than 14,000 elephants slaughtered. Their belief system dictated that many elephants must die for the elephant population to survive.
In both cases, experts assessed the situation, prescribed a solution, and left it to others to manage it. When they saw that removing the animals did not improve the pastures or the elephant park, they stuck to the science, blamed the managers, wrote off the losses, and moved on.
When introducing adaptive management, CS Hollings (1978) took a very different approach to Malthusian certainty. Hollings and other researchers identified important uncertainties shaping existing ecosystem dynamics and designed diagnostic management experiments to reduce these unknowns. They took the radical step of including all stakeholders in management deliberations because greater diversity of perspectives makes solutions more robust. The more participants involved in problem solving, the more effectively system management will be implemented.
There was an outcry in the scientific community against Hollings’ ideas. They knew best practices through extensive research and vetted publications. Doing other things can be less efficient and cause more damage when time is tight. In other words, because adaptive management is too risky, management should be left to the scientists who know best.
Nature adapts. so should we
In central Oregon is Bear Creek. There, 25 cattle were allowed to roam freely in June and were brought back to the pen in August. At first, the cows stayed on the coolest banks of the river and ate all the delicious grass. The riverbanks have turned to mud. Swept away by sediment, the river dug deep into the land. Pastures with less plant diversity and compacted soils have become dry.
The adaptive management approach was to demarcate grazing areas with fences. The cattle were brought to the stream in May to eat the first shoots, which included rushes and willows. This saved the rancher money to feed his cattle for a month. The cattle thrived on the new growth. Long before the resources were overgrazed, they were moved to other pastures. Every few weeks the cattle were moved to higher pastures. Moderate grazing promotes plant growth. The cattle fertilized the high meadows and cleared thatch so more wildflowers could grow.
Over the course of 20 years, riparian plants thrived and spread along Bear Creek. What was once 500,000 gallons of water per mile in the ground has become 4 million gallons per mile. The stream bed rose 2.5 feet. The river overflowed its banks and meandered a third of a mile longer. Carbon, nitrogen and hydrological cycles were restored and strengthened. Grazing cattle regenerated the land like buffalo on the plains long ago.
The same lessons were helpful for pachyderms subject to culling. The improvement, when brought to the land in the best direction, was no less than that of an elephant. People have worked with elephants to improve the ecosystem with more resources for everyone. African farmers wanted elephants in their fields, trampling the fibrous plants, pushing seeds into the ground and pooping to fertilize the soil. The community came together to decide when and for how long the elephants would visit each family’s fields. The dry wasteland has been transformed into a lush green space filled with water.
Adaptive management, the integration of cows, elephants and people, creates a more synergistic balance between the two as active parts of nature. Plants, animals, fungi, bacteria and microorganisms that cooperate are better suited to survive and grow than those that compete.
Action for harmony in nature
By organizing, life overcomes probability, entropy, and limits to growth. Families are organized into populations, populations into communities, and communities into ecosystems. Adaptive management recognizes that ecosystems have vast networks of interconnections, making it impossible to fully predict what results any one management action will have. Through experiments, observations of the entire system (animals, plants, soil, river flow, etc.) and informed action, people in the area become more aware of the workings of the ecosystem. What happens on the outskirts, under the hooves and feet of an elephant, or the stimulation it receives from grazing, is vital to the circulation and balance of nature.
Identifying uncertainty, recognizing when the unexpected happens, and adopting responsible place-based stewardship practices requires first looking beyond expectations and not mistaking a school of tuna for a sea snake.
Grass absorbs 3.67 tons of carbon dioxide for every ton of carbohydrates that are photosynthesized as biomass or introduced into the soil. A natural lawn is supported by adding an inch of soil per year. Amazing levels of bee abundance that can benefit more flowers, robins, rabbits and other herbivorous animals. A 200 square foot lawn will pull and store a ton of carbohydrates in the soil.
Rather than worrying about your home’s degraded land, work with nature to maintain your lawn. Established lawns do not need fast-acting fertilizers because beneficial soil microorganisms are killed. Don’t water it because bees don’t like it. The grass then spreads deeper roots, opening up the soil. Set the blades on your lawn mower to 4 inches and cut the grass every two to three weeks. This stimulates grass growth, much like walking on grass.
Just by placing potted plants on your stairs, you help nature absorb more carbon, slow climate change, and benefit everyone. Take a step today to revitalize your world.
About the author
Dr. Rob Moir is a nationally recognized and award-winning environmental activist. He is president and executive director of the Ocean River Institute in Cambridge, Mass., a nonprofit organization that provides expertise, services, resources and information not available at the local level to support the efforts of environmental organizations. please visit www.oceanriver.org For more information. Listen to his Earth911 interview here.
