Building Healthy Soils with not so primitive Biological Mechanical Components

File Under: Bad Religious Dogma - or would that be Fogma ?

What if Agriculture after World War II had the same blank Cheque funding for it's own 'Manhattan Project', instead of going down the Green Revolution path brought to us by today's Toxic Know-It-Alls ?

image: USBG.GOV

See this guy over here on the right ? He is Agricultural Ecologist, Dr Jerry Glover who with the help of photographer Jim Richardson of the National Geographic Society and Sculptor Steve Tobin known for his nature exhibits put together a beautiful underground visual of what root systems  in healthy pristine prairie soils actually look like. In so doing, they revealed an unknown hidden world and understanding of a complex root infrastructure that the average person above ground couldn't possibly otherwise visualize or imagine. But for the moment, I'd like to explain why most soils don't actually look like this in nature anymore. Mostly, the reason soils today are in poor condition has to do with the so-called scientific modern day enlightenment which has since 1914 -WWI (but especially since 1950), tried indoctrinate all of us into accepting how & why nature is so horribly flawed, badly designed, terribly inefficient and that only their technological innovations of this world's elites will save us from it's primitive foundations. But are the microbiological things of our natural world really all that primitive ? Interestingly other responsible scientific research is beginning to find out that this type of flawed worldview is itself untrue and in many cases caused irreparable damage in some areas. At the end of this post I'll talk a little more on the above exhibit. But here is a short introductory clip:

"Plant roots are vital components of the earth's ecosystem. They are necessary for all plant growth, including the production of food and nutrients for humans and many other organisms. However, as root systems are out off sight, their beauty and importance often go unnoticed. Exposed: The Secret Life of Roots showcases the presence and importance of roots through visually stunning root representations using the work of agricultural ecologist Dr. Jerry Glover, sculptor Steve Tobin, and photographer Jim Richardson."

(Source)

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So where did Humans go wrong when it comes to Soils & Land Management ?

Image typical of deep soil chiseling of Imperial Valley fields

(Imperial Valley Subsoil Chiseling)

For 20+ years I traveled from my mile high home in the San Jacinto Mountains above Palm Springs California all the way to Imperial Valley at least once a week, sometimes twice. Often while driving to work in early mornings in summer when I'd pass a field like the one above and world see the farmland subsoil deeply cut into and chiseled as the one above in the photograph. I'd also see parked next to the plowed field the very farm implement or deep plow apparatus responsible for the large gouges in the Earth sitting idle like the one at right here. The landscape down there is an ancient sea bed where the soils are a very fine almost clay-like in structure. Periodically if such deep tillage isn't undertaken, this ground remains hard packed like adobe. The water percolation is almost nil in worst case scenarios when they attempt to flood irrigate. Such deep tillage and later light tilling with smaller plows afterwards are necessary for the soils to restore back to that fluffiness of structure for not only better water percolation, but also crop plant root development. This Southern California valley is a major industrial farming area where a single corporate farm entity may may own land in the 1000s of acres. There is no life to these soils in the healthy microbiological sense. Such industrial farming strategies and practices are what destroy the soil microbial community. Advertisements from Tillage implement companies extol the wonders of their soil ripping products to their potential farmer customers by illustrating how they can prevent stagnant water build up from heavy storms or common flood irrigation practices which no longer percolate into impervious soils. But there is far more that keeps the soils lifeless other than constant regular tillage, that would be the overuse and abuse of synthetic chemicals. 

Image: Blue-Jet SubTiller advertisement

image: business recycling Australia

For decades the soils of this ancient lake bed of Imperial Valley on both sides of the border between the USA and Mexico have been drenched in synthetic fertilizers of all kinds. Herbicides, fungicides and insecticides applied either from the ground or the air also contribute to this damage. Taken altogether, these too kill the healthy soil biology as does excessive uses of plowing and other deep subsoil tillage. This is why these desert valley soils are mostly sterile and strictly mineral based in their structural make up and colour. Pick up a handful of Imperial Valley soil and you will not find any of the rich black soil common with most natural systems. Chemicals, like excessive plowing also help to favour noxious weeds by eliminating the very checks and balances nature has used for 1000s of years to keep weeds under control. Interestingly, all these industrial farm mismanagement practices are identical to other irresponsible land mismanagement practices used by the US Forest Service and Timber Industries. Take the photo  example below of this ridgeline in the Trabuco Ranger District of Cleveland National forest in the Santa Ana Mountains of Southern California which has been stripped of it's mycorrhizal hosts (chaparral) and completely replaced by weeds which thrive in a bacterial system of soil creation. Destroy above ground mycorrhizal hosts and you destroy the underground mycorrhizal grid and allow a bacterial system to replace it which favours weeds, particularly those weeds we call Ruderals. 

Image - Chaparral Institute

Image: Chaparral Institute

Somewhere back in the 1960s-70s, it was ignorantly assumed that stripping most all major ridgelines of their chaparral was a great idea for a major firebreak to control any future wildfire event. However, this replacing of the chaparral plant community (which is host to mycorrhizal fungi) by these regular control burns, vegetative mastication, synthetic chemicals, and/or bulldozing actually allowed a bacterial underground system to be created which favoured invasive grasses and other noxious weeds like cheatgrass, mustards, radishes, star thistle, etc. This turned out to be a huge backfiring mistake. Oddly enough those ignorant irresponsible practices are the exact mirror image of industrial farming methods which create far more problems than they were originally meant to solve. The result for the forestry was not stopping wildfire, but rather the creation of a mismanaged landscape scenario which actually fed worse wildfire condition scenarios than preventing them. If the idea was to slow down wildfires, the true reality resulted in speeding up their spread. From that point the domino effect gets worse. Take for example the usage of slurry type phosphate based fire retardants used in stopping fires. Would you believe this actually spreads Cheatgrass and other runderals ? Take a look below.

Photo by Jed Little

A year after the Fourth of July fire on Mount Jumbo, a long green line of cheatgrass is visible where fire retardant was dropped. The red slurry retardant allows some exotic weeds to replace native grasslands, according to preliminary results of a study by Salish Kootenai College and the University of Montana. Now read this portion I've quoted below from the online journal, The Missoulian:

"The study raises the possibility that the red slurry, while helping to slow a wildfire's advance, could ultimately worsen grassland fires by promoting the growth of cheatgrass, one of the most flammable invasive weeds in the West."

"According to preliminary results, the retardant's fertilizerlike nutrients significantly increased cheatgrass and tumbleweed mustard, both exotic annual species, at the expense of native perennial grasses on the mountainside."

"The invaders benefit from the jolt of nitrogen and phosphorous in the slurry, which native and exotic perennials largely ignore because they are accustomed to nutrient-poor soils. Cheatgrass and tumbleweed mustard didn't spread where the fire burned alone, but they exploded in areas that were burned and hit with retardant, the study found. The two invaders have spread from 51 percent to 88 percent on Mount Jumbo since the retardant was dropped, although two perennial invaders, spotted knapweed and Dalmation toadflax, decreased."

(Source - Missoulian)

I literally hate going for a hike and receiving the nasty end of an assault of stickers from walking through a mismanaged field infected by a  Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) invasion. These stickers in boots and socks are so incredibly annoying that you need to stop periodically to take the boots off and clean both boots and socks to regain your sanity. They can also be dangerous to your pets and other domestic animals. If that is true, then it is also true that their overwhelming presence is not good for wildlife either. Now there were a couple of interesting things referenced in that article by the Missoulian. Notice that these annual plants [ruderals = Cheatgrass, Mustards, Radishes, Tumbleweeds, etc] thrive in a nutrient enriched soil from the presence of excessive amounts of synthetic inputs deliberately applied to soils [for whatever reason or purpose], while the perennials that were   referenced in the article like Spotted Knapweed & Dalmation Toadflax have actually decreased. So why was that ? Are not those two plants also noxious invasive weeds ? Yes they are, but they are not ruderals, they have mycorrhizal roots and mycorrhizal fungi will disconnect in the presence of excessive synthetic nutrient inputs. They are invasive weeds in the sense that they originate from eastern Europe and Asia. Minus the checks and balances from their former ecosystems they then thrive and spread in North America. But they are also mycorrhizal hosts. Clearly human ignorance which breeds irresponsible decision making in so many areas of life have snowballed to the present out of control domino effect we find ourselves in. We are battling Nature instead of working with nature for a solution with an elite few making a profit off the misery of others. Nature has always had the most efficient solutions for balance and high yield success through it's genetic programming for 10s of 1000s of years irrespective how anyone says it originally got that way. Now take a look at another area [land restoration projects] which once again illustrate the how the overuse or reliance on mechanized innovations and synthetic chemicals cause setbacks and delays in plant community restorations. This example below comes from the Coachella Valley which is also located in Southern California just north of Imperial Valley. About the year 2001 a report came out on the success of ridding a desert oasis area known as 1000 Palms of an invasive tree called Tamarisk which dried up the streams and ponds and ruined the environment for the native palms and other desert oasis plants and animals which depended upon them for food and shelter. There were several methods and techniques employed like bulldozing, synthetic Chemicals and old fashioned hand clearing. There were two outstanding references of an observation which serve to illustrate the two superior & inferior methods for success from a single sentence in that whole report at the bottom in the last paragraph that spoke volumes to me. As far as I know, I am the only one who has ever caught this important gem of an observation:

"Most areas were cut by hand, thereby selectively cutting out the tamarisk while leaving the native shrubs unharmed. Only a 7.5 acre (3 ha) section that was heavily infested (> 95%) was cleared using a bulldozer."

"In the 7.5 acres (3 ha) that was bulldozed, natives established much more slowly than in the hand-cleared areas."

(Source)

So two main techniques employed at this restoration site. One was the commonly used conventional mechanized version by way of large industrial piece of equipment we call a Bulldozer with rippers and the other was the use of volunteers to hand clearing and selectively cut out the cancerous invasive plants within the ecosystem and leaving only the healthy native ones. Okay I get the Bulldozer because it is fast and efficient at eradication and the clearing by hand takes recruiting otherwise busy volunteers and a lot of sweat. But okay so what ? It's the long term goal that we are looking at here if indeed there is a noble goal. One leaves a healthy intact mycorrhizal grid under the ground with cover and the other sterilizes the landscape as some sort of clean slate or blank canvas ready for natives to be replanted by spreading seed on the ground and raking it in to germinate and rebuild the ecosystem. One fixes the situation more permanently with little maintenance afterwards and the other being a quick fix will have to be revisited again and again, year after year and still not get it correct. I immediately recognized the differences and reasons for both success and failure [or delay]  because of my own practices on my acreage up in the San Jacinto Mountains which tower over the Coachella Valley. Prior to moving onto my land in 1985, the previous owner had cleared with Bulldozer two large patches of chaparral down to the clean decomposed granite. Other areas were cut and cleared by hand. In all those 20+ years of living there, the cleared areas by Bulldozer always experienced a fight with weeds and attempting to plant any chaparral natives back over the cleared patches of land was always a lengthy process with only a few ever making it. However, in Chaparral area where some places required removal by hand, the ground never suffered. In fact where I would remove a single shrub to make room for a tree seedling to be planted, establishment success was always 100% as opposed to maybe 20%-30% on the bare soils. The reason of course was that the new seedling was instantly inserted into a healthy mycorrhizal grid which hydrated and nourished the young delicate seedlings and the other area had no grid for successful tree establishment which left seedlings to their own struggle for survival, hence the highest failure rates. This was the same method I followed after helping my former landlord Ken Dawson of Terwilliger establish a forest in the chaparral a few years previous. His property was in the Terwilliger part of Anza Valley and considered at the edge of high desert. It was mostly Chaparral covered [Manzanita, Sugarbush & predominently Redshank or Ribbonwood]. 

image mine: 2013

Large specimens of all three chaparral species were left intact by use of a small scale one man backhoe [the size of a small garden Kubota tractor] which was expertly used to surgically remove any unwanted vegetation to allow space for bare root tree planting without damaging other healthy shrubs. All the San Bernardino National Forestry officials & the Nursery at L.A. Moran up at Davis where we purchased those bare root pines said it would never work, especially if we didn't strip clear the land bare from competing brush. The reality of course is that the responsible science-based research being done today has found that the "Survival of the Fittest" religious dogma no longer holds water. The truth is that in mycorrhizal networked ecosystems, there is a mutual cooperation of all the organisms to ensure the health and survival success of all the members of the plant community system.  The chaparral plant community also has some of the deepest plant roots known to bore through impossible soils. They perform an amazing biological function of physics called hydraulic lift and redistribution of soil moisture which I'll reference below. The ONLY time this is  found in conflict is when the wrong soil conditions allow ruderals to invade a mycorrhizal system which has been destroyed through bad land management. Tilling, synthetic inputs, excessive use of fire, and last but not least irresponsible overgrazing by domestic animals with no wild instinct smarts to move on all contribute to long term damage.

image: mine 2013

As you can see the Chaparral, in this case Redshank or Ribbonwood is still intact and thriving, yet so are the Jeffrey and Coulter Pines. The soils on this particular property are extremely shallow with many boulders and fractured rocky soils under the ground. Still the system is a giant success because of replicating nature, even if we didn't realize the full impact and knowledge at the time in what we had done. I later went back and inoculated some areas with an ecto-mycorrhizal fungi from Plant Health Care Inc called Tree Savor Injectable which contains only a single species of Pisolithus tinctorius, which is an ectomycorrhizal fungi. The needle holding capacity of most all those pine trees were 4 or five years which is excellent proof of the system's self-sustaining function even during this present west coast drought which has hit all of California. I'll post a link below in references.

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Collective Intelligent of the Enlightened Higher Lifeforms versus the Primitives ???  

Image Dr Wendy Taheri

So what is it exactly that is going on under the ground that makes these specific instances either a  success story or miserable failure ? It is the practices that either a landscaper, gardener, farmer or forester chooses to employ along with other methods of sound or irresponsible land maintenance. Many believe that the Scientific advances of our modern world are the only thing that will save mankind. But the exact opposite is true. Take for example the image at the right here of agricultural soil which has been worked decades utilizing all the modern day science-based tillage practices coupled with Synthetic inputs. The round spheres are fungal spores and these were culled from 25 grams of industrial agricultural soil. The photograph was taken by Dr Wendy Taheri who is a Research Microbiologist who today spends time educating and helping American Farmers who are hungering for a change. BTW, those tiny white round dots are not spores at all, but nematode eggs. Now compare that photo with the photograph below.

Image Dr Wendy Taheri

This photograph here at left is a mere one gram of healthy natural prairie soil as compared to the contrasting photo above which you may remember was 25 grams of industrial agricultural soil. Notice the difference in spore biodiversity count and the high density concentration ? This could also be illustrative of most any forest soil or holistically managed farm commercial soils where large diversity of perennial cover crops are used as hosts which encourages diverse numbers of these endo-mycorrhizal fungi. The above result is where no tillage was practiced and no chemical inputs were ever touching this soil. The bottom soil photograph is the result of supposedly primitive microbes [according to the religiously driven scientific dogma] and the top photograph is the result of science-based industrial agricultural practices of intensive plowing, synthetic chemical inputs [fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides & insecticides] and last but not least the GMO plants which are believed to be improvements on nature's flaws by the Biotechnology industry. All of these brought to us by superior higher collective human intelligence. I can only imagine that the ongoing choices by the majority of farmers, landscapers, foresters and the average home gardener is the imaginary misunderstanding & assumption that the holistic biomimetic practices are more work and sweat with little results to show for the hard work. The reality is that it's the exact opposite. To conclude, let's go back to Dr Jerry Glover's National Geographic Gallery.

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Now the Gallery below of the art show I opened up with Dr Jerry Glover and National Geographic

National Geographic & Dr Jerry Glover

Here, Dr. Jerry Glover works in a soil pit at the Land Institute in Salina, Kansas with a garden host fitted with a jet nozzle to expose what the rooting structure on two entirely different plants look like. On the left, we see the deeper roots of a perennial wheatgrass are displayed, while on the right we see the more shallow roots of an annual wheat are visible. Notice the side by side contrast below ? The exhibit theme was to demonstrate how the bulk of a prairie grass plant exists out of sight, with anywhere from eight to fourteen feet of roots extending down deep into the earth. Now why should any of that matter ? Besides being incredibly larger in size, these hidden root mass infrastructures accomplish a lot in storing carbon, nourishing soil, increasing bioproductivity, and preventing erosion.  Unfortunately, most of these productive, perennial grass functions of the past are more rare than they once were. This is because they have been replaced by ruderals (annuals) which live a mere few months (six months if lucky).

Common annual variety of annual Wheat here are contrasted next to perennial Wheatgrass. Notice perennials, which come back year after year have a root system which will grow to a depth of few meters, while the annual varieties perhaps a mere foot. This is also illustrative of all ruderals versus perennials in the wild setting. A farmer or rancher with a pasture of abundant diversity of perennials is going to weather the dry season or even drought much better than say those common western states pastures where short lived ruderals such as cheatgrass and other annuals [runderals] reign supreme. This is why many western rangelands and pasture can only have a limited use early in the year. What is most important to a pasture is having a large biodiversity of perennial plants dominating the vast area which encourages an underground  microbiological community of beneficial mycorrhizal fungi and healthy nitrogen fixing  bacteria to allow the soils to breathe. Any rainwater falling on such a landscape will fully percolate into the earth as opposed to running off. This is important to underground storage of water to be tapped into later in the dry season. In times of heavier rainy seasons, several meter deep root infrastructures may also facilitate a process called hydraulic descent which may also help restore underground aquifers and replenish natural springs. The other being hydraulic lift & redistribution, but more on that below. Again, these are also things which even many farmers who do practice  biodiverse perennial cover crops may be completely ignorant  themselves of the full line of services being accomplished by perennial plant root systems other than mere water percolation through healthy aggregated soil alone. More on that phenomena below. But here is a link to the root system galley:

(National Geographic Deep Root Gallery)

Now take as another example the common picturesque California Oak Savanna settings that are often romanticized in photos. 

Image - Mine (2013)

Santa Ysabel Open Space Preserve (Oak-Grassland Savanna)

This photo above is in my home San Diego County in Southern California. While it is picturesque, the historical view with these Englemann Oaks would have had low interior sagescrub or chaparral growing all around it as opposed to these nonnative grasses. These grasses were created by ranchers in the early years to raise cattle. But land management practices from northern Europe and back eastern United States just never worked out here in the west. Africa had the same problems with Europeans ignorant of local ecosystem functions imposed northern European land management practices with domestic livestock which had disastrous consequences. The Cheatgrass dominance in the west also has negative implications in the fight against climate change. Cheatgrass and other ruderals are the worst in terms of carbon sequestration. In 2006, researchers found (Here) that the invasion of cheatgrass in the West had turned some areas from carbon sinks to a net source of carbon. The invasion of cheatgrass and all nonnative ruderals altogether have released up to nearly nine million tons of carbon into the atmosphere and will likely release far more as time goes on. Throughout the California Savannas where Cheatgrass and other ruderals now dominate, many areas often burn annually and actually thrive as a result of this constant burning, whether prescribed, accidental or intentionally set fires. They also have a lousy shallow root system which means that far less carbon is stored in underground root systems than was once true of the native perennials like chaparral or even biodiverse species of prairie plants in true Savannas. There is something else the ruderals cannot assist in accomplishing and that is both hydraulic life & redistribution of water for the beneficial function of the entire system. Aside from the loss of a mycorrhizal grid underground network there is something else missing. These two subjects are mostly a mystery of sorts to most people, but they are important phenomena to have an understanding of if your farm, ranch landscape, gardening or habitat restoration project are to be a success. Admittedly, even scientists do not discuss much about the phenomena to the public in general.

Importance of Hydraulic Lift & Redistribution

This is one natural phenomena which most likely no longer functions properly if at all in most modern day farm pastures and Ranch grasslands and sadly there is not a lot of discussion about it. Those old growth plant root infrastructures provide an invaluable service in the summertime of hydraulic lift and redistribution of water resources from deep in the earth up to the surface layers. But only certain specific plants with the deepest root systems can perform this task of drawing up water, sending it laterally toward other plants by means of the mycorrhizal grid for the night time benefit of other shallower rooted plants. This is the reason some holistically maintained pastures, even in traditionally dry western geographies have a healthy green even during the dry season. The animated illustration below often used by Professor Todd Dawson reveals how the system actually functions.

But there is even more than hydraulic lift at play here. Some way somehow the water has to be driven deeper than mere soil percolation would allow. This is where an reverse in hydraulic function of root systems must come into play.

What has happened to Hydraulic Descent ???

I once read where researchers once discovered something interesting about the common Mesquite Tree of the deserts in the southwestern United States. When the tree is dormant and not visibly growing above ground during the winter rainy seasons, they perform a phenomena called hydraulic descent where their root systems collect as much surface rainwater percolation as possible and pump it deep into the earth. Now, Mesquite & other desert trees and shrubs have some of the deepest taproot systems known in the world. They can actually bore through the earth down to a depth of a couple hundred feet. Please take note of the animation above. What effect has the loss of this phenomena had on large aquifers and natural springs ? How much does such a phenomena have on actually benefiting groundwater recharge beyond helping pasture to maintain green ecosystem viability during the dry season ? What practical applications can be applied in biomimetic inspiration in creating technological innovations such as irrigation systems which save water as opposed to the present wastefulness we have now ? My reasons for bringing the subject of hydraulic lift - descent & redistribution into the discussion is that they cannot be ignored as a naturally occurring phenomena either in the wild, farming, landscaping & gardening. When w landscaper prepares a design on any new project, all such consideration of these remarkable mechanisms alone with the microbiological nanomachines we've looked at earlier should be considered for the long term viable life sustaining system you are wishing to establish. Same with the farm, ranch or habitat restoration. People need to think in terms of their projects being a living mutually cooperating biological machine. While it's wonderful that farmers, professional landscapers and your average home gardener are thinking in terms of practicing a holistic biological approach minus the chemicals, it's also important to widen out and have a peripheral view other other factors that provide checks and balances into the system. For example attracting the beneficial predators both large and small. I'll provide more links below in references. 

So let's recap what we know!

All plant ecosystems basically work and function identically with a little a little tweaking taken into account for climate and geography. The purpose (don't look at the term as a dirty word) of annuals is important in that when land is disturbed they quickly cover the ground. Most of their capabilities are offensive with very little resources being used in defenses against predators. Creating an abundance of seed to replicate themselves is what they do, but irresponsibly land manage and you provide an out of balance scenario for them to explode upon the landscape. All Tree, Shrub and Prairie systems are heavily mycorrhizal. Mycorrhizae in all systems of management dislike over fertility or nutrient abundance. Bacterial systems limit root infrastructure and in farming excessive synthetic nutrient inputs are nothing more than a numbers game where it is hoped that 20-30% sucks in somewhere around the plant. Because mycorrhizae is mostly absent from such systems, weeds (ruderals) thrive and more synthetic inputs are needed to rid the system of unwanted plants that nature would have otherwise kept in check. Excess synthetics end up percolating into the earth polluting groundwater or as runoff into aquatic systems during the heavy part of the rainy season creating further pollution and ecosystem disruption. All areas of human endeavour when it comes to plant system management like habitat restoration, forestry, farming, ranching, landscaping right down to home gardening either benefit or suffer depending on how closely you mirror your techniques to how nature really works. Tillage is also another limiting and damaging practice to mycorrhizal soil structure. Limiting tillage as much as possible will maintain this life sustaining system underground which in reality is not so primitive after all as science would have you believe. Take all of these micro-organisms away and see how time we higher lifeforms have left to live. If life truly is a mere mistaken bundle of compromises, then what the heck, maybe the Biotechs and Agro-Chemical companies are doing nothing wrong and we should just accept the consequences of putting our faith and trust in these toxic know-it-alls. 

In Conclusion: The Winners & Losers

New technological advances by mankind's Elites have seemingly made life easier for the rest of us when we only look at them from an on the surface viewpoint. These bio-innovations created in some high security lab however have put mankind and the natural world at risk. The fate of the world is being placed into the hands of unaccountable elites in bed with powerful political interests who speak from one side of their mouths of their products being the result of ethical responsibility while at the same time being obsessed with the pursuit of fame and personal enrichment out of the other side of their mouths. The problem is our messed up world is the result of a gross lack of Bioethics. These people know full well what their products are doing, but their strategy is to play the dumb card. When a newer consequence strikes, they simply create another synthetic solution to treat the symptoms while totally turning a blind eye to the cause. The pharmaceutical industry works the same way, but hey, are the also not related ? So from a short term monetary, fame, glitter and glory standpoint there are certainly those who appear to come of the winners. Farmers are also the real losers, not the agro-chemical corporations. If any farmer actually becomes truly informed, educated and understands that most of their success is in changing practices as opposed to spending vast amounts of money on synthetic inputs along with magic seeds, these giant corporate entities would fold. Can you now understand the reasons for vast amount of financial resources being funneled into these damage control public relations lobbying by corporate business interests ? The vast majority of other lifeforms including humans will also lose out in the end. I know of no real solution as far as implementing or reversing the damage done on a massive global scale. You all read the News lately, so you tell me. That doesn't mean the information and understanding on how to use the clean viable information doesn't exist. It does. But there always seems to be something powerfully negative out there to throw the proverbial wrench in the works. The best that can be done is for those few individuals who actually get it to make practical application of what they know to use out on the farm, ranch, landscape or garden and allow the light of success to do the talking for you.

 How long can people really keep trusting these fallible researchers to be bio-ethically responsible ? Ask yourself, what's been their track record thus far during this modern age of enlightenment ?

Some Further Reading References

http://www.californiachaparral.com/threatstochaparral.html

Dawson Property Forest Establishment 1983

Hydraulic Life & Redistribution - Hydraulic Descent

Roots: 'Hydraulic Lift and Redistribution'

Hydraulic Descent: An Ecosystem's Tool for Filling Vast Underground Reservoirs

Why Streams still flow in California's officially designated "Exceptional Drought" zone 

Deep Root Irrigation based on Hydraulics Behaviour in Ecosystems

Deep Irrigation Methods for Training Deeper Rooting networks

This area below will remain open for any updates to add

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Using Nature's Mycorrhizal Tool-Kit to compete with Weeds vrs killing them with Glyphosate

Get'em, he's not one of us!!!

This post will be my last post on the subject of GMOs. This volatile subject just seems to spark so much vicious ideological hatred by those claimer to be defenders of Science.  My last post dealt with the recent flood of articles in journals across the internet which championed all the common Biotech definition shell games on what GMOs really are. I of heat at the Google+ Science community where a dozen rabid Sci-Fi defenders whose main arguments for GMOs had nothing so much  to do with science, but rather personal attacks on me. Most were the typical "animal house" type of university student with no outdoors experience in the real world other than what they've been fed inside some Lab or what they've been indoctrinated into believing inside some University lecture halls by professors shackled to the interests of Industrial Agriculture whom they depend on for funding. In fact on that very point, their entire understanding came from the talking points they've parroted straight out of the Corporate Biotech playbook. I kid you not, every retort was scripted from Biotech website talking points. They had no originality of their own. I bore the brunt of every derogatory insult and personal attack you could imagine. This final incredible  comment was thrown at me just before I was banned by the Science Moderator who emphatically insisted that my being banned  was the result my making Anti-Science statements. And yet there  this *cough-cough* scientifically inaccurate statement below. Actually this was the only clean one I can repeat:

  "Also Kevin, developing GMO's is not "against nature". Anything that occurs in the natural observable world is natural. Skyscrapers and bridges are as naturally occurring as bee hives."

Unbelievable !! So apparently if I'm reading this correctly, we're to believe that all those Industrial Solar Farms and Wind Farms installed within pristine wild environments are officially natural and anybody against those projects would be labeled anti-science ?  I was totally surrounded and outnumbered by intellectuals, but not a genius among them. Only one older commenter knew what I was talking about and apologized for all the vicious hatred I bore the brunt of. Actually I was trying to explain the benefits of how and why mycorrhizal fungi are a superior mechanism choice over BOTH  conventional breeding [as championed by the Organics gang] and Genetic Engineering [as championed by the Industrial Science Crowd], of which both techniques were mentioned in the December Intelligence Squared debate in which the audience was informed it would take 10 years to develop for drought resistant plants. But with the mycorrhizal fungi, you will actually get instantaneous results that very first season. No matter, this will be my last post on the subject of GMOs. But first, a bit on natural weed control which would negate using chemical pesticides.

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Of course the subject of Roundup or Glyphosate was only a small part of what I wanted to talk about. Actually I didn't really want to discuss it at all. However it is anyway a major component of the conventional science-based industrial agricultural program that most Farmers and Home Gardeners practice for ridding themselves of those evil weeds. I am NOT totally against chemicals, they all can have a place when used modestly. For example, I mostly find  them useful in ONLY the extreme cases where drastic measures can reverse what human land mismanagement caused in the first place. In an extremely dense weedy situation after weed whacking, you need only use Roundup one or two times and that's it. But then you also need to rebuild plant community system back to a more naturally biologically balanced situation which would be mycorrhizal. Years ago, I too fell for the Roundup is "Biodegradable" label like you see above, believing the text which stated that when the Glyphosate comes into contact with soil it becomes inert or neutralized. Well, low and behold that was a lie and the government forced them to change their label. So without chemicals, how does one go about accomplishing this ?

image: Rick Halsey

Take a look at this photograph at left. This was taken by the California Chaparral Institute's lead Biologist, Richard Halsey, who along with friends were exploring and photo documenting a clean pristine Manzanita environment at Fort Ord in California recently. Now those numbers and names are unimportant for what I want you to closely observe here. Look at that clean hygienic foreground in the shot. Do you understand here that there are incredible tiny little biological mechanisms at work which are the reasons behind why there are no weeds ? No of course not, because they are microscopic in size and not visible to the naked eye. And maybe that's the problem for most people, out of sight out of mind. I admit it, I'm a bit tweaked. I tend to look for hidden subtle clues when out in the wild that others bypass or overlook because there are more sexy eye catching objects to document, like the hunt for different species of Manzanita to share with the public to instill deeper appreciation for the natural world. I agree with all that of course, people by nature need life size visuals or illustrations from familiar situations which allow them to actually see, touch, and smell to effect and inspire the senses. But if you only look for the big things, the smaller things which make all of those bigger life size things possible will not get the credit and protection they deserve. Take all those microscopic things away and entire systems collapse.   

Image: Kevin Franck - Julian California

This past summer as an example, had I not looked for clues as a result of my obsession with mycorrhizal fungi, I would have passed up this mycorrhizal truffle which looks like nothing more than a stone along the trail at Inspiration Desert Viewpoint south of Julian California off Hwy 79. Most people would discount it's appearence or importance to the environment, but eliminate it completely and that important  chaparral or forested plant community collapses. If that happens, then the noxious invasive weeds rule as King. And that is really what I wanted to talk about here, because the same exact program within all healthy ecosystems which allows different lifeforms to mutually cooperate and help each other to survive can be replicated and used efficiently on an Agricultural scale and replace the industrial one we are forced to accept presently. It's always been about the money, not the science.

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Mycorrhizal Applications Inc

Monsanto

In a previous post about the Intelligence Square Debates on GMOs between Team Monsanto & Organic, I reference the above photo from Mycorrhizal Applications Inc. The subject in that December debate had both sides talking of the need to either breed different Corn varieties for drought resistance to grow in the hotter climates of Africa or Genetically Engineer Corn [Droughtgard Hybrids] for drought resistance. Both sides were dead wrong. The drought resistant tools have always been there since the beginning of time with regards life on Earth and it was poor preparation on the part of the Organic team not to reference this and to no surprise a deliberate silence on Team Monsanto's part not to reference it since there is no real money in such a proposal. What was fascinating about the University of Florida study of MycoApply [which I do use] in the above photograph is that there is a clear distinction between corn grown conventionally without MycoApply and those Corn roots which were inoculated with it. Something else is interesting about that photo. Notice in the control square patch on the right where mycorrhizae has moved and spread underground from the Mycorrhizal inoculated side on the left and the healthy looking stalks along the border are also reaping the healthy benefits of the fungi moving underground into their root zone. I mean isn't that kool or what ? Well, Okay, so now what about the weeds ?

Photo Credit: Oregon State

Mike Amaranthus in a teaching seminar referenced this photograph here to the left which shows Douglas Fir seedlings with and without mycorrhzal fungi colonizing their roots. Mike stated that when they examined these poorly growing seedlings, they were phosphorus deficient. So the next obvious thing was to check the phosphorus levels in the soil, but the odd thing about that was that when they tested the soil, it was high in phosphorus levels. But yet again, those trees were phosphorus deficient. What they found is that the Methyl Bromide which is a broad spectrum fumigant to kill diseases in the soil, also killed any beneficial organisms which would have helped these Doug Fir seedlings extract the phosphorus from the soils more efficiently. In my early days of schooling and my ornamental hort  agricultural courses we used this chemical as a fumigant for sterilizing soil for nursery seed germination application. My Ag instructor told is that this stuff is extremely deadly and could kill humans even if breathed even briefly. It was developed in the 1930s and also found to deplete the Ozone and in many countries is supposed to be phased out by 2015. This really spooked me back in the early 1970s and it is what got me into looking at alternatives for finding safer more biological solutions for preparing potting soil media and eventually brought me to mycorrhizae. As much as I was interested in entering the Nursery business, I did not want that to be part of my regularly performed weekly duties.

Now getting back to Phosphorus. This necessary plant nutrient is key to understanding what all plants need and how they acquire it, including weeds. Take note of what this photograph is illustrating for us here. Imagine for a moment if we could digitally remove the  fungi mycelial threads from the picture. There would be only one main single tap root and two or three slender branch roots. Now imagine those stunted Douglas Fir trees without the mycorrhizal colonization in that high phosphorus content in that soil. The seedlings do not have the performance enhancing tool-kit to allow them to excel in growth as the other taller seedling did who did have the mycorrhizae. As Mike Amaranthus stated, we're talking maybe ten miles worth of threads in a single handful of soil. The stunted trees were not capable on their own to access available phosphorus. Interestingly however, weeds excel under non-mycorrhizal conditions unlike trees and shrubs. They thrive in a more bacterial soil system. The interesting thing about phosphorus is that it doesn't move very well in the soil, so if trees or shrubs don't have a mycorrhizal soil system in place, they cannot access the phosphorus. The mycorrhizae also produce a chemical which dissolves the phosphorus and readily feeding it to their hosts, again something plants alone don't have the ability to procure by themselves alone. 

Bert Wilson - Las Pilitas Nursery

This was also yet another feedback Mike Amaranthus has received from many his commercial organic farm customers. The purchase of MycoApply of course was mainly for drought resistance and improved nutrient uptake, however they reported a side effect provided by the mycorrhizae they did not expect. They had reported less weeds. An interesting thing about weeds the majority of which are ruderals, is that they are mostly non-mycorrhizal and therefore have competitive edge in non-mycorrhizal soils over crops planted within disturbed soils sites like those environments created by industrial agriculture. Weeds thrive in a bacterial soil environment and therefore have no problem accessing the phosphorus without any competition for it. However, weeds do get outcompeted and starved for phosphorus in a heavily healthy mycorrhizal system. This was something Bert Wilson of Las Pilitas Nursery wrote about on their website quite regularly. He preached and preached about  mycorrhizal systems versus a bacterial systems. He wrote of how bacterial systems favour weeds [ruderals] and mycorrhizal systems favour trees and shrubs. The man had a wealth of knowledge and more importantly it came from hands on practical application from getting off his back side by experiencing the outdoors and any  knowledge he gained had zero to do with any controlled indoor Lab experiments. Although Bert did have a degree in chemistry, he was not a well known celebrity type or  ruling Scientific Orthodoxy. However, Bert Wilson was much appreciated and loved by the 1000s who benefitted from his knowledge and the California Native Plants he and his family grew at the Las Pilitas Nursery. I'll post some of Bert Wilson's links on weed control at the bottom in the references. 

So both Mike Amaranthus and Bert Wilson spoke of weeds not being able to compete within a mycorrhizal system. So why is this  ? It's a thing called phosphorus. Weeds excel in a bacterial environment which industrial agriculture and conventional chemical gardening and landscaping create by killing the mycorrhizal biological controls within the soils. They rob the soils of phosphorus. More and more literature is proving that in these mycorrhizal landscape beds and organic run farm fields where mycorrhizae is used to enhance performance in crops, the weeds are starved for phosphorus. In the disturbed soil environment created by industrial agriculture, the weeds are very aggressive at capturing the soil phosphorus far better than mycorrhizal crop plants who lack mycorrhizae on their root systems under conventional farming practices. This is where the industrial agricultural model benefits Corporate profiteering interests. Not only can they sell their expensive patent protected GMO seeds, but all the other chemical fertilizers, herbicides and some insecticides where the precious GMOs fail. It's a win win for all those former WWII chemical companies and an expensive proposition for the farmers that feel shackled to the system. Were it not for U.S. Government Subsidies, the conventional Farmers would never earn a living. That's why Organic wheat growers and other organic farmers don't qualify for the Government teat life support entitlements, because they make profit. Because they plant into their crops a good healthy mycorrhizal blend within their soils and those same weeds cannot compete in a mycorrhizal environment with it's massive rooting network grid infrastructure. So it's a P related factor and this is what Mike Amaranthus' customers have been experiencing and why they are noticing fewer weeds. Now does anyone here reading this have any idea of potential for ruin of some powerful wealthy Biotech Industry's business model ? Do you think they are just going to lay down and accept defeat ? Not on your life.

There are also some other important points to consider regarding farm cost savings and higher production yields with mycorrhizae. The University of Wisconsin made a study of the effects of Mycorrhizal Applications Inc's product called MycoApply on potato yields, profit and another extremely interesting thing about the application of phosphorus in the field. It was found that where conventional grown potatoes needed 120 lbs of phosphorus added per acre, under the mycorhizal applications to the potato fields, only 30 lbs was needed. Hence less phosphorus and more efficient mycorrhizal nutrient competition and uptake means less fertilizers. There was also an added bonus of more yield of potatoes per acre and profit by the usage of mycorrhizae into the soils. So drought tolerance, superior nutrient uptake which negated tons of fertilizers on industrial site, 200% increase in water hydration which made plants drought resistant and the added plus of less weeds or stunted weeds which could not compete. So it was win win all way round.

 

Illustration by Michael Rothman

University of Wisconsin Potato trail with MycoApply

Summary of 2011 results

• MycoApply® treated plots averaged higher yields at all input levels of phosphorus. 

• Yield increases were greatest @ 25% of conventional phosphorus inputs (30 lbs /acre vs 120 lbs / acre.) 

• Yields from MycoApply® treated plots shifted significantly to higher grade potatoes (which bring higher prices) 

• Net savings on phosphorus alone = at least $81.00 / acre with MycoApply® vs standard conventional P inputs. 

• Net revenue increases ranged from $319 to $1,095 per acre on MycoApply® treated plots, depending on phosphorus inputs. 

Influence of MycoApply® on yield response to phosphorus fertilizer in Russet Burbank potato 

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Mycorrhizal Applications Inc. - MycoApply gave higher yields in potatoes with only a fraction of the fertilizer

2013 Maine Potato Trials with “MycoApply®” Summary

• 6 trails on 6 farms with MycoApply® 

•  Average yield with MycoApply® was 366 cwt/Acre. Potatoes over 10 oz was 24% 

• Average yield withNO MycoApply® was 319 cwt/Acre. Potatoes over 10 oz was 21% 

• Average MycoApply® Advantage was 47 cwt/Acre. 

• We estimate potato prices $8.50/cwt 

http://mycorrhizae.com/wp-content/uploads/2013-Maine-Potato-Trials.pdf

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Mycorrhizal Applications Inc

Most all conventional farm grown crop plants routinely face a challenge of absorbing enough of certain key elements, such as phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium and iron. What choice is there ? The Biotech Industrial Business Model doesn't allow for the formation of a healthy fungal grid underneath the soil. The synthetic fertilizers will prevent that from happening. However, the field crops which are colonized by the Mycorrhizal fungi don’t face that same obstacle. The fungi produce specialized acids and enzymes that break the bonds that bind those nutrients like rock phosphates which are generally unavailable to non-mycorrhizal roots even if they are abundantly high in the soil. Many Landscapers and Gardeners who have learned a more organic approach out of necessity recognize this huge advantage of having plants with roots tied into an extensive fungal network. Compost and other organic fertilizers alone are not enough. It’s no surprise that a plant with hundreds, if not thousands, of miles of fungal hyphae working on the plant’s behalf to mine key nutrients and freight them back to through the roots to the plant structure above ground is far better able to grow faster, stay healthier, and ultimately yield more than it would without the fungi’s partnership.

 
This is something industrial agriculture is far behind and lacking because there is no money in such a business model. The Biotech model engineer it's patented seeds to quite literally be drenched in more chemicals and not less as advertised. This makes them outrageously expensive and unattainable by many of the small farmers in the poorer developing countries. When India Farmers failed with those GMO seeds which were heavily promoted as a simply a "Just Add Water" recipe by India's celebrity Bollywood culture as part of the Biotech public relations media blitz, the poor farmers bought into their sales pitch. When things went wrong, Monsanto blamed them for not purchasing and using their chemical fertilizers and pesticides which they were engineered to work in conjunction with. Seriously, dirt poor third world people do not have the money to buy that chemical junk and India Farmer customers who make one to three dollars a day cannot afford to buy more expensive food which makes the "We just want to feed the world" slogan a joke. Now take a look below here at this extreme weed infested maize field. This is actually the results of years of abuse in this field with chemicals and other bad land management practices. 

Image Credits: USDA/Public Domain - Arkansas Cornfield

In Southern California this super weedy infestation phenomena is common on hillsides and illustrates years of abuse. This field is one in Arkansas and probably represents years of spraying and drenching crops with their chemical junk. The soil is lifeless for the most part and synthetic fertilizers must be heavily added in hopes that the crop gets at least some kind of nutrition even if artificial. It's a numbers game. The weeds thrive in a bacterial soil environment where a mycorrhizal presence is totally absent. When the situation is turned around into a mycorrhizal one, the fungi out competes the weeds for that phosphorus. But the situation above is an example of one of those drastic circumstances I mentioned earlier where a weed killer like that evil Roundup may be needed to remove the bulk of weed density. But you have to stop that chemical application soon, along with the implementing of planting good cover crops which are mycorrhizal to get the problem corrected underground, and then plant a food crop. After planting and harvesting, it will be imperative to have a rotation scheme. Never, never leave soil without mycorrhizal roots in it. If you don't soon plant a cover crop, the fungi may die out and you'll have to start over. Good cover crops are fava, vetch, barley, rye, sorghum, velvet bean, sudangrass, sunnhemp, daikon radish, agricultural mustard, amaranth, safflower, lupin, etc. This will also prevent nitrogen leaching, enhance the soil biology, fixate nitrogen, increases soil mineralization, and prevent erosion. Neglect the cover crops and you'll have to inoculate all over again. Be prepared, that once mycorrhizae is established, weeds may not totally disappear as their seeds will always blow in from somewhere else, but if they do germinate, they will always be stunted in growth because they cannot compete with the mycorrhizae for that precious phosphorus. 

This is really something I should have written about previously with regards Farming because it has always been my experience and method for preparing planting sites prior to urban landscape installation and maintenance for years. This is also true in the wild with any habitat restoration where hands on presence at remote location sites to insure success is impossible. For example the various landscape beds around my mother's place as the picture to the right is a perfect example. Now a couple of weeds will grow now and again and if they do they are extremely stunted in growth and only an inch or so high. The funny thing however about a healthy landscaped condition which is mostly mycorrhizal in nature, you will get weeds [unwanted Plants], but not the quite the type you are most likely thinking of. I get loads of tree and shrub seedlings. Take for example this California Sycamore seedling below. It was this Sycamore that I removed and planted at my sister's place over in Lakeside California. I planted it along the wash of the old San Vicente Creek through the Moreno Valley north of Lakeside.

This tree volunteered in a dry raised planter bed I built which really no longer gets much water with the exception of the rainy season which only comes once a year. The first few years back in 2003-05, I did inoculate the Tecate Cypress, Pines Saplings and smaller shrubs like Spicebush [Calycanthus] and the spreading Catalina Currant you see in the background which when grown inland has to be grown under shade of trees. So the germination of this little Sycamore seedling in 2013 came as a pleasant surprise. But not a total shock as I always understood that after two and three years the weeds all but disappeared as a result of a health fungal network. One of the worst weeds was stinging nettles which were always an issue, but under the healthy mycorrhizal control they haven't been a pest at all. You should also know that they always were a problem since the late 1960s here when they first appeared in our garden. In some places where there are no mycorrhizal plants on that property, they still persist in spring. Many chaparral species off Rattlesnake Mountain above this location like Laurel Sumac are appearing every year and they were never an original part of the plantings. Now I have no problem with such unwanted shrub or tree seedlings. It's easy enough once a year to pluck them out of the ground. I may have a healthy nature replicated system, but I have none of the plant control components like Deer, squirrels, rabbits etc which would have kept excessive seedling presence in check. In the front yard all shrubs in the pea family are sprouting up everywhere. Again, it's easy enough to pluck them out. But I've always taken it as a compliment when they appear because it means something positive happened under the soil. No weed issues, no insect pest problems, but there are lots of beneficial insects as I've written about previously. 

This all translates as biomimetic application as far as caring for and maintaining all plants under any and all circumstances, even on a smaller controlled industrial scale. But don't count on the industry ever latching hold of it. It doesn't make as much profit for the Industrial Ag business model and they will fight and/or manipulate media and use the neanderthal type of blind faith defenders who will question nothing they do or say, nor get off their back sides into the outdoors and explore a world beyond their electronic devices or Labs to find out how nature really works. So this is for individuals who actually give a rats backside. Until the end of the present system anyway, this is the direction this world will always be heading. It's not enough to read this stuff or the links I'll provide below. You have to go beyond head knowledge and make practical application in real life and that is what will provide the wisdom on how to properly use this information and be successful. 

Once again, this is my last piece on Biotechs and GMOs. The topic is too much of a waste of time for those who are warm and fuzzy in their own comfort zone ideology where beating up imagined anti science Fundies is the perverted intellectual sport of choice in our modern times. Personally I think they all deserve each other. This world doesn't exactly have many genius' who can prevent problem, but there are a plethora of intellectuals who will gladly claim that they solve any problem, but this usually comes with a high price. In any event, below is one more little tidbit which should illustrate how corporate industrial agricultural ventures will not be going down without a fight any time soon. 

Update February 16, 2015: "Fertilizer Use to Surpass 200 Million Tonnes in 2018"

Fertilizer Use to Surpass 200 Million Tonnes in 2018


Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

 Any math folks out there ? Remember those University studies Mike Amaranthus mentioned on MycoApply and Potatoes ? Remember how those organically grown potatoes colonized with Mycorrhizal fungi how they only had to apply 30 lbs of Phosphorus per acre as opposed to 130 lbs per acre as required by the conventional Agricultural farming methods ? So what are we talking about as far as percentages when it comes to drastically reducing this outrageous number referenced above by the United Nations of an increase 200 Million tonnes. Even without doing the numbers, can you see what kind of a fight lies ahead for any group promoting far more responsible farming methods as recommended by companies like what Mycorrhizal Applications Inc is doing ? Can anyone see the handwriting on the wall of just how these Agricultural chemical giants will not stand for their obscene wealth generating business model being dismantled bit by bit ? Seriously people, think about this!

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Good Resources for Studies on Mycorrhizas and Weed Control

Australia: "Weed Control - A new discovered benefit of mycorrhizal fungi"

Biological weed control with soil fungi? Antagonistic effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on the growth of weeds

Mycorrhizal fungi suppress aggressive agricultural weeds

Mycorrhizal fungi for weed control

Glyphosate herbicide affects belowground interactions between earthworms and symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi in a model ecosystem

Further Update February 11th, 2015 (Trinity College Dublin, Ireland)

Friendly Fungi Could Help Barley Growers Feed the World Without Chemicals 

Bert Wilson's mycorrhizal recommendations

Weeds and their effect on the Ecosystem 

California Native Oaks and Mycorrhiza: The Growth and Ecology of California Native Oak Trees

Native plant roots: what goes on below the surface

California Soils and native plants 

This reference link below has a page of numerous sub-links, so please click on them and read them. Bert deals mainly with California Native Plants, but the basic fundamentals as far as mechanisms are the same globally. Only the finite details and local applications depending on ecosystems will be unique, but that is where you need to explore personally.

http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plant-articles

Introduction to California's Ecosystem