PERMACULTURE
EVALUATION
CENTRE
 |
 |
 |
 |
see our other web sites
223 Principle 11: Use Edges and Value The Marginal
Soil is edge/ interface between non-living earth and the atmosphere
Coastal ecosystems, especially tidal estuaries, support the greatest diversity
224/5 Ecotones – edges between two bio-regions where species from both overlap. Older cities and towns often located between at least two major resource regions or land systems
Edges in wilderness landscapes can be exciting
226 Plant roots have enormous surface area for their mass. Soil structure is composed of interlocking particles with spaces in which air and water flow – an open friable structure = maximum edge
227 Change from small scale intensive agriculture to large scale monocultures has had the effect of eliminating much of the landscape complexity in edges
228 Aboriginal people concentrated in areas of high mineral fertility, modest rainfall, edges along streams, lakes, wetlands, coastlines, open forest with dense vegetation in gullies. They favoured pockets of elevated mineral fertility and organic matter.
229 How they used fire – list
231 Agroforestry: shelter belts of trees next to cropland – provides edge while avoiding difficulties of widely spaced trees and interplanting
232 The complexity of edge between different vegetation systems that it is possible to manage is dependent on scale and intensity of use
234 Valuing wild food may be part of the antidote necessary to expunge the deep seated disrespect and devaluing of wild and marginal systems
235 At present cities dominate. Everything else gets marginalised and sees as dispensable. But the environmental crisis will hit cities first. Places where modernity and nature in close proximity likely to generate inspiration and challenges to modern paradigms of society – example of Tasmania.
236 Universities’ hold on intellectual culture has declined allowing those on the physical and intellectual fringes of society to contribute more to progressive ideas and action programmes.
One reason is their failure to deal with the limitations of reductionist thinking within scientific disciplines and to reward cross-discipline endeavours.