How the microbiome mines the soil for nutrients & how their demise will domino effect all other lifeforms

Scientists observe the step-by-step process by which a fungus attacks a mineral to extract vital nutrients

Image credit - Henry Teng
The researchers found the fungus Talaromyces flavus in a
Chinese mine, eating up minerals and extracting iron and magnesium

"All over the world, microbes destroy rocks to access precious nutrients like the iron locked inside. In a lab in Washington, D. C., researchers zoomed in on one particular microbe, the fungus Talaromyces flavus, to see just how this is done."

In a paper published this month in Geology, the researchers document their observations of the fungus as it obliterates its rocky environment using a mix of acid and mechanical force. Although it’s known that microbes like bacteria and fungi can wear away rocks, previous researchers estimated that fungi only contribute 1% to total bioweathering, said Henry Teng, a geochemist at George Washington University and coauthor of the paper. After watching T. flavus burrow into the mineral to extract essential nutrients, Teng and his team suggest that fungal weathering could actually be 40%–50% of all bioweathering. 

I really do not want to repost the entire article, but there were so many gems in this one which offer pause, pondering and meditation. For example, maybe I should have titled my blog,  Earth's Interface".  Definition: "Interface":

Noun 1. a point where two systems, subjects, organizations, etc. meet and interact. "the interface between accountancy and the law" 

2. COMPUTING a device or program enabling a user to communicate with a computer. "a graphical user interface" 

Verb 1. interact with (another system, person, etc.). "you will interface with counterparts from sister companies" 

2. COMPUTING connect with (another computer or piece of equipment) by an interface. "the hotel's computer system can interface automatically with the booking system"

“Compared to bacteria, fungi are overlooked, understudied, and very few studies [looked] at these interfaces between fungi and mineral,” said Steeve Bonneville , a biogeochemist at the Free University of Brussels in Belgium who was not involved in the paper, which he called “a very solid study.” The new research provides evidence that “fungi can be a major player in mineral alteration and more generally in biogeochemical cycles,” Bonneville said. 

EOS: Using Acid and Physical Force, Fungi Burrow Through Rock

Also, please see my other post which deals with the same identical subject matter: 

Mycorrhizal Fungi run the Largest Mining Operation in the World 

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Credit: University of Adelaide

Panning for platinum grains in Brazil: Frank Reith, University
of Adelaide, and Barbara Etschmann, Monash University.

Another fascinating question was recently explored, "Why do we see flakes of palladium, platinum and other heavy elements on the surface of the Earth?" It’s been presumed that geological processes dredge them up from the interiior. Yup, sure enough, that's what I always thought. Volcanoes, Tectonic uplift etc brought to the surface all those traces elements. But in an Australian study, the scientists found that bacteria play a major role in this. The article in PhysOrg quotes Frank Reith from the University of Adelaide:

“Traditionally it was thought that these platinum group metals only formed under high pressure and temperature systems deep underground, and that when they were brought to the surface through weathering and uplift, they just sat there and nothing further happened to them,” says Dr Reith.

“We’ve shown that that is far from the case. We’ve linked specialised bacterial communities, found in biofilms on the grains of platinum group minerals at three separate locations around the world, with the dispersion and re-concentration of these elements in surface environments.

So to make a long story short, these “nuggets of platinum and related metals can be reformed at the surface through bacterial processes.”

“We’ve shown the biofilms occur across a range of platinum-group-metal grains and in different locations,” says Dr Reith. “And we’ve shown, that at the Brazil site at least, the entire process of formation of platinum and palladium was mediated by microbes.”

(Source - PhysOrg) 

There is so much tonage of understanding that scientists still do not know, but by nature are often reluctant to admit. This is why bioethics within industrial science are so important and it behooves those scientists to learn humility. How often lately are we reading expressions in science studies and journals like, "We were shocked to find," totally unexpected," "now we know," etc etc etc. So much for other terms like, "Settled Science" or "Scientific Consensus" which is what Biotechs and Agro-Chemical companies and their researchers hide behind to justifiy their technology. As Henry Teng said:

“Most of the nutrients in rock and soil are in geological form. Roots cannot directly use that. Plants depend on the fungi to colonize their roots.”

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Image: Max Planck Institute

Fluorescent microscopy image of a root of Arabidopsis thaliana (violet)
 surrounded by a fungal mesh of Colletotrichum tofieldiae (green).
The mesh also grows within the root cells.

"Plants take on fungal tenants on demand"

The above title is from an article on March 17th 2016 from the Max Planck Institute which reveals how plants send signals to potential fungal partners when vital nutrients like phosphorus are scarce and the plant is incapable of acquiring these abundant, but unavailable nutrients on their own. This also sheds light on why heavy application of synthetic fertilizers in agriculture will trigger an epigentic off switch and shut down a crop plant's chemical signaling system which alerts potential fungal partners to please colonize this host. In fact, the biotechs have shut the system down altogether in many of their cultivators either by accident or deliberately. This creates a dependency in GMO Seeds on the Agro-Chemical industries synthetic wares. For me personal, a major clue on this came from watching the interviews of India and Mexican peasant farmers who failed with GMO seeds said their earlier traditional hierloom seed varieties didn't require all the fertilizer applications with the new biotech engineered seeds. Monsanto as much as admitted this when they said the reasons Indian farmers failed was because they didn't use the chemicals the seeds were designed to work with for higher yield. See folks, they've known about this all along and sheds light on why the industrial Ag business model spends millions on disinformation public relations campaigns. Below is the forward abstarct and link to the whole article. 

For a long time, it was thought that the sole role of the immune system was to distinguish between friend and foe and to fend off pathogens. In fact, it is more like a microbial management system that is also involved in accommodating beneficial microorganisms in the plant when required. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne in collaboration with an international consortium of other laboratories discovered this relationship between the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, or thale cress, and the fungus Colletotrichum tofieldiae. The plant tolerates the fungus when it needs help in obtaining soluble phosphate from the soil and rejects the microbe if it can accomplish this task on its own.

https://www.mpg.de/10390194/plants-symbiosis-phosphate

There was an interesting piece in Science Daily which admitted that there was an urgent need to collect wild ancestor plants of today's crop plants because the vast volumes of genetic information for fighting diseases, climate change etc could be lost if they are not found and locked away in that precious seed vault. These genes will contain the vital information for plant/fungal symbiosis which has been complete lost or shut down by genetic engineering. Fungi are vital for plant drought resistance for which messing arond with genomes for a Drought Guard patent is worthless. But even this may not be enough.

Over 70% of essential crop wild relative species in urgent need of collection

Why people should be very afraid of what the actual consequences of the Industrial Agricultural practices are doing to the Earth

Scary news comes from researchers showing that not only plants, but also microbes may not be able to adapt to climate change as once imagined.

(Kevin Griffin/Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory)

"Cotton grass flowers on the tundra of northern Alaska. These and other cold-region plants do not respond as steadily to increasing heat as previously thought, according to a new study. 

Scientists Say Many Plants Don’t Respond to Warming as Thought

Courtesy of Alice Dohnalkova/PNNL

Microbes in soil — organisms that exert enormous influence over our planet's carbon cycle — may not be as adaptable to climate change as most scientists have presumed, according to a paper published March 2 in PLOS One.  

The scientists found less adaptability than they expected, even after 17 years. While the microbial make-up of the samples did not change much at all, the microbes in both sets of transplanted soils retained many of the traits they had in their "native" climate, including to a large degree their original rate of respiration.

Microbes may not be so adaptable to climate change

UCI graduate student Caitlin Looby is exploring the effects of
global warming on the soil fungi communities of a mountain
cloud forest in Monteverde, Costa Rica. UCI 

Soil fungi and plants have developed a mutually beneficial arrangement. Some fungi help plants by growing into their root cells and increasing the root surface area available to absorb water and nutrients. In turn, plants give the fungi the sugars they crave. Other fungi facilitate the breakdown of plant material, which releases carbon dioxide.  

“These mountains provide a unique opportunity to predict how soil fungi will change in response to climate,” Looby said. “The properties of these mountain soils are sensitive to the rising cloud layer. Our work demonstrates that fungal community composition shifts with elevation and with climatic factors that co-vary with belowground responses to elevation, such as temperature and moisture.”

UC Irvine: Even plant-supporting soil fungi affected by global warming, UCI study finds

Image Mine

I can attest to the fact that both plants and soil organisms work best when the soil temps are much cooler. This photo at right here of my old place in the San Jacinto Mountains is a prime example. In the beginning when I planted trees in the open ground, temps were not uncommon at 90+ Fahrenheit [32 Celsius]. Although I inoculated them with fungal spores, the pine seedlings stayed stuck in neutral until I placed a thick layer of bark and pine straw mulch around the tree at a four foot diameter. You could almost instantly see a difference in the needles which change position to a more upright one as opposed to drooping downwards. And this dispite the fact that the ground was damp and wet from watering. Root systems operate at maximum efficiency when they are cool. Hence the reasons in nature why seedlings grow better with nurse plants or mother trees. Aside from the obvious underground interfacing within the mycorrhizal grid. While above ground foliage grow may be slowed or even stopped altogether when temps are cold or frigid, I've always noticed root growth often continues. This was obvious when I did wild outplanted pine nut experiments where even the warmer climate pine seedling emergence would even push up through the snow in Spring. Once germinated and above ground, the seedling would stay in park until further warmer weather arrived. But you can bet there was still underground infrastructure activity going on. Climate Change will definitely impact all ecosystems irrespective of where they are located around the globe. The Industrial Ag business model is not the answer and in fact it's a major part of the problem despite the propaganda to the contrary (See - Climate Change & Industrial Agriculture's "Get-Out-of-Jail-Free" card) . A biomimetic approach is the only answer, but only if all humans around the globe are on the same page with how Nature actually works. Given the insaneness around the globe in all the News reports, this is probably the last thing on most people's minds. Especially today's youth who are taking over running the planet and with little or no understanding of how old growth plant ecosystems actually work. This includes young College Science students. I mean, what's left of the natural world for them to actually study ??? How about the "World According to Monsanto" ???

I usually post more references, but I think you've got more than enough above!

Diversity of Flowering Plants Imperative to Pollinator & Predator Health

There was an article on BBC online which highlighted research which seems to support the importance of bees having access to a variety of flowering plants. This was also the subject of another article earlier this year which mentioned the benefits of wildflowers near agricultural fields because Bees receive better nutrition from such Wild flower variety. But now there is this theory of "doctor bees" within  Bee Colonies who may be directing their peers to plants which can help "sick bees" to recover may further show their organisational and social skills. However if these coworkers of Hive Doctor Bees fall ill and are too weak, then these Doctor Bees will go over & find just the right type of honey in their hive which was made from the pollen of a particular plant and get the sick bees to feed on it. This should prove logical to most gardeners, landscapers and even Farmers planting for more biodiversity or variety of flowering plants not only for the bees, but all the other beneficial insects as well. There has also been some recent research work done on specifically selected honey being used by some medical professionals to fight infection in wounds of their patients. Here are some of the important points from that article:

"Now it seems honeybees may have a way of helping to keep their workforce healthy - by employing bees that feed "medicinal honey" to other members of the hive."

"A group of worker bees called "nurse bees", if they are infected with a parasite, selectively eat honey that has a high antibiotic activity, according to Silvio Erler of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg in Halle, Germany and his colleagues."

"These bees are also responsible for feeding honey to the larvae and distributing it to other members of the colony. So it's possible they are the hive's doctors, prescribing different types of honey to other bees depending on their infection. If that is true, it could be a big part of how bees fight disease."

(Source BBC) "Honey Bees Play Doctors and Nurses"

Early in 2014, my wife and I watched a documentary on the global issue of colony collapse disorder on just how and why Bees are so important to Agriculture all around the globe. There were a couple of interesting points mentioned, aside from the usual controversy of GMOs and Chemical Insecticides. One important clue was revealed in the California's Central Valley agricultural areas whose orchards are extremely dependent on the services of Bee Keepers. These Bee Keepers move their hives around to provide pollinating services to various Almond, Peach, Cherry and other orchard Farmers. The fact is that these bees being used in this way are over worked and under stress. They also are being forced to pollinate and feed on a monoculture diet with little else in the way of additional dietary supplements in the form of natural dietary variety which comes from a community of plant life. Hence they have to artificially provide these Commercial Bees with synthetic anti-biotics which would be present in a normal healthy diet involving great variety of pollen food choices such as countless wildflowers for which they have zero access under a sterile industrial Ag environment. Above right you can see one example of something which is mixed with water and laid out close to the hive for the honeybees to access. Of course, bees are not the only self medicating creatures. You can bookmark this video and watch it from the link below here later which came from the Animal Planet program about the importance of biodiversity of grasslands for herbivores who also find a treasure trove of pharmaceuticals in such pristine habitats called "Most Extreme Animal Medics - Using Plants To Self-Medicate". This is actually one of Joel Salatin's of Polyface Farm's talking points with what he calls "Salad Bar Beef"

Most Extreme Animal Medics - Using Plants To Self-Medicate

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 Update: February 18, 2015

 UMass Amherst: ‘Nature’s Medicine Cabinet’ Helps Bees Reduce Disease Load

AMHERST, Mass. – "Researchers studying the interaction between plants, pollinators and parasites report that in recent experiments, bees infected with a common intestinal parasite had reduced parasite levels in their guts after seven days if the bees also consumed natural toxins present in plant nectar."

 They found that toxic chemicals in nectar reduced infection levels of the common bumblebee parasite by as much as 81 percent by seven days after infection. UMass Amherst evolutionary ecologist Lynn Adler says, “We found that eating some of these compounds reduced pathogen load in the bumblebee’s gut, which not only may help the individual bees, but likely reduced the pathogen Crithidia spore load in their feces, which in turn should lead to a lower likelihood of transmitting the disease to other bees.”

The eight chemicals studied were nicotine and anabasine found in nectar of flowers in the tobacco family, caffeine from coffee and citrus nectar, amygdalin from almond nectar, aucubin and catalpol from turtlehead flowers, gallic acid from buckwheat nectar and thymol from basswood tree nectar. 

Adler notes, “A lot of our spices and medicines come from plant secondary metabolites. Think of aspirin and chili powder. Because we’re big, we can eat a little chili powder on our food and it’s just a taste sensation. But for an insect the same dose might be fatal. That’s what the plant is counting on.”

(Source) 

Image: Leif Richardson - Dartmouth

White Turtlehead (Chelone glabra)

One thing I found interesting, is that the Evolutionary Ecologist, Lynn Adler, found it puzzling as to just how the bees know or found out which flowers contain the correct chemicals to deal with specific illnesses, diseases or parasites. Ultimately who can know where such instinctive programming originated without assuming some sort of metaphysical or religious bias. What does matter in the immediate present is looking into studying & researching ecosystems as a whole. One should ask themselves, "What mechanical components exist in nature and how do they mutualistically interact and perform with one another for the perfect function of a healthy ecosystem ?" These researchers should be spending more valuable time So here is million dollar question Lynn Alder asks as to how things came about:

As for whether bees know about the benefits of plants’ chemical medicine cabinets and can treat themselves when they are sick, she adds, “That is the million dollar question, the one most often asked when I give talks about these ideas. Unfortunately, it’s too early to tell. We just don’t know yet.”

Ultimately there is no way to know without inserting various person metaphysical assumptions and or biased religious beliefs. It is curious however, that Lynn Alder has no problem about how plants knew what they had to do in order to survive. Apparently, the origin of these compounds for which she makes metaphysical assumptions about how the plants displayed almost sentient being consciousness behaviour in that that somehow they just knew what they needed to do in order to survive, replicate themselves and save themselves from obliteration by diseases & insects. As she put it, they needed to evolve themselves into becoming 'amazing chemists' by experimenting with various chemical algorithms to ward off countless enemies ?  Take a look below:

“Because plants just sit there and can’t run away from things that want to eat them, they have evolved to be amazing chemists. They make biological compounds called secondary metabolites, which are chemicals not involved in growth or reproduction, to protect themselves. They are amazing in the diversity of what they can produce for protecting themselves or for attracting pollinators.”

(Source) 

For me, much of these debates about origins is a waste of time and counter productive to finding real world solutions NOW on how humans need to better manage the Earth. But I guess we're kidding ourselves now aren't we. That's not how these various ideological-religious factions work is it ? This obsession with control of worldview is further and further disuniting this planet, and frankly, NEITHER SIDE seems to care. What fascinates me is that quite often it is the developing world farmers who are more open to such Biomimicry or working with Nature, than their industrial farming counterparts in the rich nations. Industrial Nation Farmers are shackled ideologically and psychologically to what the Industrial Ag corporations and the governmental advisors are feeding them. Add to that all those US Farm Subsidy entitlement programs for which ONLY conventional farmers are entitled to and not organic, they have exacerbated the problem of educating and weaning Industrial Farmers off the welfare state programs. In the mean time, the Earth's health continues to downgrade because basically the ongoing degradation of the natural world is actually financed by the  very Officials in positions of responsibility and care. Something radical has got to happen soon or the damage will be irreversible. Does everyone get this ? Or is obsession with worldview still more important ? Somehow I have a spooky feeling it's still the later. 

Another quick note from the Japan Times

Courtesy: Leif Richardson

Bumblebee on a flower in Saint-Malo, France

Several interesting paragraphs in their article were relevant as to why Farmers should be changing their agricultural practices to a more holistic approach away from the monopolized chemical practices encouraged by industrial corporations with a vested interest in keeping the status quo. This article's interview dealt more with the head researcher of the study, Leif Richardson, who is credited with the two photos, above and at the right here. He actually explains a bit further, deeper and specifically on the importance of this research as far as practical application on the Farm.

 “The results suggest that growing plants high in these compounds around farm fields could create a natural ‘medicine cabinet’ that improves survival of diseased bees and pollination of crops,” Dartmouth College in New Hampshire said in a statement.

He also hits on something else extremely important and that is just  where the problem with Colony Collapse Disorder is found to be the worst around the globe. While many documentaries on CCD have mentioned it being a global problem, it is at it's worst in North Americas, Europe, China and Australia. Why ? Doesn't take a genius to figure out who leads the way through profiteering in the conventional industrial agriculture business model and which  corporations within those Nations stand to gain big time with the status quo and wish to monopolize the world's food supply. 

Further experiments will show whether the compounds also benefit honeybees, which have been hit in North America and Europe by a phenomenon called colony collapse disorder, said Leif Richardson, who headed the study. Parasites have been fingered, but insecticides and intensive monoculture, which destroys the bees’ habitat, have also been cited as possible causes."

Japan Times: Natural Chemicals in nectar can fight bee disease

In any event, the developing world farmers do not reside in wealthy nations with generous welfare entitlements. They are also closer to the land than most industrial nation farmers. Even still, count on a major fight by giant Ag corporations who have some of the largest war chest bank accounts to get what they want and with the blessing of the governments which back them. For people with a clue, this should be a wake up call as to who and what you are putting your faith and trust into. 

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Update: September 1, 2015 - Darmouth 

 Parasitized bees are self-medicating in the wild, Dartmouth-led study finds

 (Phys.org: Source)

I love this article. Do I hear "Let's promote Monoculture" anyone ??? Bees need a great healthy variety in their diet, not some limited genetically modified junk foods. Look at what junk food has done to human beings. This is why a great variety of beneficial pollen producing plants [shrubs, perennials, etc] need to be planted around the fringes and margins of farms and their fields. This is why agricultural fields need to be smaller with chaparral and other shrub barrier mounds as safe food and home habitat havens for beneficial pollinator/predatory insects. 

"Bumblebees infected with a common intestinal parasite are drawn to flowers whose nectar and pollen have a medicinal effect, a Dartmouth-led study shows. The findings suggest that plant chemistry could help combat the decline of bee species."

 "The researchers studied the effects of a group of plant secondary metabolites found naturally in floral nectar -- iridoid glycosides -- on bumblebee foraging and plant reproduction. Iridoid glycosides can deter deer and other herbivores, but the researchers' earlier studies showed the compounds have a medicinal effect on parasitized bees by reducing their parasite load."

"In the new study, the researchers looked at concentrations of two iridoid glycoside compounds, aucubin and catalpol, in nectar and pollen in four populations of turtlehead, a bee-pollinated wetland plant found throughout eastern North America. They then manipulated concentrations of the chemicals in those flowers to study their effects on bee foraging." 

One really fascinating thing was that the parasites also seem to have a beneficial effect on making the bees pollinate these specialized iridoid glycoside concentrated nectar flowers more and that these flowers responded by donating more of their pollen to other flowers which brought about higher reproductive success rates of their own. So are the parasites evil ? Clearly humans are going to have to rethink their view of the complex mechanisms found in Nature and how disrupting the balance of Nature is what creates problems. Accepting blame and personal responsibility is not a natural imperfect human thing to do. However, such responsible admissions are going to be necessary if people are going to learn from their mistakes and make the needed corrections to put the natural world right. Allowing giant corporate business entities carte blanche to do whatever they wish to increase their precious corporate bottom lines is no longer going to cut it anymore. 

"The results showed that relative to healthy bees, those infected with the intestinal parasite greatly preferred visiting flowers with the highest iridoid glycoside concentrations. Bees attacked by a second antagonist, a parasitoid fly, did not respond in this way to nectar chemistry. The researchers also found that flowers with the highest concentrations of nectar iridoid glycosides donated significantly more pollen to other flowers following bee visits, showing that nectar chemistry can affect plant reproductive success.

(Read the entire article here)

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image: inaturalist.org

Eriastrum densifolium

Now switching some gears here and moving over towards a different direction away from Honey Bees for the moment. Most conversation when it comes to the subject of pollination is always about the European Honey Bee and after that of course follows Bumble Bees. Nothing wrong with that of course, but rarely are all the other more important Pollinators like various flies, mosquitos, wasps, etc, etc ever focused upon and they should be. One of my goals this past summer's visit to California was to drive back up to my former long time residence in Anza and photograph a plant which I always found important to my property's landscape ecosystem and Garden's environment. It's a plant that most folks in and around Riverside County probably don't really pay much attention to unless they actually see it growing en masse in some field which is highlighted by the richness of the cobalt blue flowers when they bloom. The plant is called Woolly Stars (Eriastrum densifolium). Perhaps a better known variety is Santa Ana River Woolly Stars because it has had some controversy surrounding it's protection from developers between the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside. While the flowers are strikingly spectacular, the foliage is somewhat dull grey and sparse in appearance and probably that way most of the year except for those two hottest summer months of the year when it is in full bloom. Try looking up info on this plant and you won't find very much other than the usual out of touch intellectual descriptive dry data which serves mostly to document the plant's existence. And that is really a shame because there is so much more to this plant other than a handful of dry dull stats only a Botanist could love. 

photo mine

Woolly Stars
Eriastrum densifolium

For residents of Anza and Terwilliger Valleys, this plant to the right here in the photo next to a friend's horse corral is one you have often seen, but perhaps ignored other than when in full bloom and never gave it any credit of worth beyond that short showy display of blue flowers in the summertime. It's only a foot or more tall shrub which has beautiful flowering blooms for those two hottest months, but as far as landscape value, not nearly as impressive as perhaps other larger chaparral ornamental species. But believe it or not, it's also an important wildlife magnet for not only pollinators, but also beneficial insect predators. When I lived up in Anza and opened up some spaces in my wild landscape within my property's acreage, this little shrub spread. It loved the openness, the direct sunlight and decomposed granite sandy soils. This is probably why it is more often found naturally in washes and especially floodplains like bajadas or alluvial fans in and around Riverside county. This one in the photo at right was taken at a friend's place in Terwilliger on Yucca Road. In fact what was surprising to me was the mass display of these blue flowers in the open fields east of this shot. I say surprising because this particular area has been very hard hit by the past three year's drought which has effected all of California. And yet still, it was found together in large groups in full bloom this past June/July when I was there for visit. Below is the picture of the field at the end of bloom which surely others in Anza have also seen but never thought much about the plant. Now it's not overly spectacular at this point, but still impressive given the drought extremes.

photo mine

Now take another look at a photo below here taken back during a wetter rainy season in 2011 along the Hwy 243 from Beaumont to Idyllwild where a far more brilliant display was recorded and posted on Palomar's Wayne's Word Botany pages. Notice the potential ? I'll post the link below it as other beautiful pics of other flowers along Hwy 243 are posted for folks enjoyment. You might also take special note of the Chaparral in the background behind this field which also shows a deeper green healthy colour, probably the last time this region experience a good soaking rainy season.

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/idyllwild1.htm

image: Richard Bartz (Wiki-commons)

Bee Fly (Bombylius major)

Of course the main reason for my bringing up the subject of this plant was certainly not for it's Horticultural value in the landscape. I highly doubt anyone would put up with the dry dull grey rangy looking foliage which is common most of the year. But once again for me it was it's incredible ability as a beneficial insect magnet for my wildscape and garden in Anza. On very hot days when these plants were in full bloom, the first thing you first hear is the intense high pitched humming of what turned out to be hundreds of Hover Flies and Bee Flies. I first noticed Bee Flies on my property back in 1985 when I planted a Mediterranean type plant from Asia called Blue Mist (caryopteris x clandonensis) which was given to me by a friend. These mini-helicopters do their amazing and incredible acrobatic tricks with regards their flight. Aside from the high pitch of their humming, it was these entertaining maneuvers that captured my attention. I could sit for the longest time watching these Bee Flies moving from Woolly Star flower bundle to another Woolly Star. The info on these flies is that they also thrive in hot dry sandy or gravely locations, which would account for their abundance throughout the Anza area. The other interesting similar types of pollinating critters which visit this Woolly Star shrub are the Hover Flies as seen here in the photo collage below left here. 

image: Alvesgaspar (Wiki-commons)

A poster of hoverflies (Syrphidae)

When you research both groups of Bee Flies & Hover Flies, the info on them reveals that there  are many 1000s of species or varieties and that there are most likely many more 1000s yet to be discovered and  identified. The other interesting service these critters provide aside from their incredible importance to pollinating numerous plants worldwide, is when they are in their youth where they are described in larval stages as predators or parasitoids of the eggs and larvae of other insects. Hence both Fly groups are beneficial as biological controls for your gardens, landscapes and if respected enough, could well have extremely positive benefits on a larger scale farming operations if Farmers were open-minded enough to break away from the Industrial Ag sector and attempt going more the organic farming route. In the Wiki entry on the Hover Flies, there is a nice summary on what some people are doing with certain species of Hover Fly. 

"Unlike adults, the maggots of hoverflies feed on a variety of foods; some are saprotrophs, eating decaying plant or animal matter, while others are insectivores, eating aphids, thrips, and other plant-sucking insects. This is beneficial to gardens, as aphids destroy crops, and hoverfly maggots are often used in biological control. Certain species, such as Lampetia equestris or Eumerus tuberculatus, are responsible for pollination."

"Many species of hoverfly larvae prey upon pest insects, including aphids and the leafhoppers, which spread some diseases such as curly top. Therefore, they are seen in biocontrol as a natural means of reducing the levels of pests. Gardeners, therefore, will sometimes use companion plants to attract hoverflies. Those reputed to do so include alyssum, Iberis umbellata, statice, buckwheat, chamomile, parsley, and yarrow."

(Source)

Oregon State University

Many folks will recognize many of the flowering companion plants listed in the above description for attracting garden predators for biological control agents in the garden. However, there are countless varieties of natives in any ecosystem area around the globe which will work equally well as a beneficial insect magnet. All a person has to do is some personal research and if that fails, then take personal responsibility and start observing things for yourself. For example, this picture to the right is of a native California Coffeeberry. The beautiful bright evergreen foliage and multi-coloured berries are the reasons people choose them from their Native plant nurseries for the landscape.  

image: James Soe Nyun
California Coffeeberry
'Eve-Case' in bloom

But I guarantee you, positively nobody ever intends on planting them for their flowers. So why is that ? Well, take a close look at the photo to the left. Dull ? Mundane ? Drab olive green ? Yes of course, according to the flawed viewpoint of some Governmental land managers, they are probably just too dull and mundane to be bothered with by the average gardener. Yes, all those words could be used to describe the average person's taste in what a garden's flowering plants should like like when in bloom. The photographer of that photo above left, James Soe Nyun, said Coffeeberry flowers are mostly nondescript to most humans. He got that right. I'm different on the other hand. The California Coffeeberry behind my old place in Anza I found to be an amazing magnet for every kind of insect winged creature available. For me it was the presence of all these critters which gives these flowers their beauty. Every type of Fly, Mosquito, Gnat, Bee, Wasp, Beetle, Moth, etc, etc, etc which normally never hang out with each other, were in fact crawling over each other on these blooms to get a taste of what ever invisible pheromones this plant with inconspicuous flower clusters was giving off. But especially those tiny little predatory wasps which prey after the bad garden insects. They were most abundant. There were Bumble Bees hovering above all this insect party chaos, but they were too intimidated to come down and take their chance at a sip of the brew. As far as I've known, I'm the only one who has written about this until now. The photographer I mentioned above where I found that picture also had a description of why he took it and the words of a unhappy camper of a gardener who described the exact same phenomena I did, but with a rather negative slant. 

"The coffeeberry’s flowers are much more nondescript to humans. On the recent garden tour I spoke to a homeowner who was wishing that she hadn’t planted her coffeeberries so close to paths because the bugs seem to go crazy over its blooms, more so than just about any other native plant. Here we have the humble blooms of Frangula (Rhamnus) californica ‘Eve Case.’ "

(Source)

image by Dr. Alistair Dove
Systematic & Ecological Parasitologist

While I totally and adamantly disagree with that lady Gardener's take on the California Coffeeberry flowering phenomena, I am also at the very same time overjoyed by the fact someone else describes exactly what I have been saying all along about the native California Coffeeberry chaparral plant for landscape use. In fact she said it draws "bugs" insects more than any other California native plant. Yup, sure enough, that's what I've been saying all along. Nice to be verified, even if in a rather unusual sort of way. The ultimate goal for any Gardener, Landscaper or commercial Farmer should be to attract those very critters such as the tiny parasitoid wasp in the above right photo which scouts out your garden and preys upon the very things you don't want taking up residence there. Like the numerous caterpillars which chew up all manner of leaves and fruits from your vegetable garden or fruit orchard. 

Insect Paparazzi: Brian Marlow

This is the exact thing people pass over when out and about in Nature looking to photograph some magnificent scene for which to publish on a Google Plus or Facebook page. What a waste. Not that I don't enjot pretty scenery, I do, but if you do actually see such unusual phenomena happening, don't discount it, document it and send it to those who study these things for purposes of Biomimicry or Biomimetics. In the descriptive pages I referenced regarding hoverflies and beeflies, the experts admit they don't know what exact role most of those critters play within most ecosystems. No kidding, it would be a challenge. They are just so tiny and elusive. Go beyond getting that perfect shot of a common honeybee pollinating a flower. Document other things like the mass display of insects on a shrub like California Coffeeberry. It is also imperative you know the time of year differing plants bloom and what they attract, especially if you are laying out strategic plans for organically maintained landscape. I can really only speak from my own experience in Southern California in the chaparral backcountry. The Coffeeberry for example is one of the earliest bloomers and with what looks to be this year's heavier than normal rainfall in California, this would be a golden opportunity to document this chaparral shrub which attracts more beneficial "bugs" insects than any other California Native. Other Natives like California Holly (Toyon) is an early summer bloomer and Redshank or Ribbonwood are late Summer bloomers. Keep in mind also, the same shrub or other flowering plant will bloom at different times depending on elevation. I have observed both of these shrubs having similar beneficial insect attracting abilities. Find out as much as you can in and around whatever environment you live in  and plan accordingly your garden and landscape which will allow you to pursue a course of a more organic nature. But you first need to deprogram yourself and break away from all those glittering labeled chemical goodies you see at those commercial Garden Center or Home Improvement stores. Forget their illustrations and the easy to use instructions. Realize that when you use that industrial junk to kill the supposedly bad insects, you also kill the good ones, even if you don't see any of them. 

When I first worked as a representative and field tester for many of the products put out by one of my former employer, Coors-Biotech, back in the late 1980s, there was so much promise about even the idea behind Biotechnology. The idea was of course that these people and their companies were going to learn from Nature and replicate what nature does for solutions to our problems. How was I to ever know that most of today's corporate industrial biotechs actually view nature as flawed and poorly designed ? That Human scientific genius would one day view themselves above nature and take it upon themselves to correct what they view as Nature's flaws and poor designs. And as a result our natural world in general would go so far down hill that many other experts would be saying life on Earth is on the brink of extinction ? This is why the average person's view of a Biotech Scientist is more that of a mad scientist. Not that they are truly insane, but the results of much of what they have done have hurt rather than help the natural world. Biotechs were supposed to practice what we call biomimicry or biomimetics which is ultimately copying what Nature does and hw it functions. Not this obsession of obscene profiteering through patent lawsuit filing thugs we have today. That was never what biotechnology was supposed to be about. But nevertheless, we are assured Science will just find a way, except when it doesn't.  

From Raw Materials into Electronic
 Mind Numbing Gadgets

The Corporate and Governmental entities are going to pursue whatever their heart's desire for wealth and power. It should be acknowledge that the planet will suffer no matter what. Others will have religious and ideological motives for defending these entities. Aside from some Divine or other extraterrestrial intervention, it seems highly unlikely that humans will find real solutions for saving this planet. Seriously people, look at the daily News Reports as to what is going down all across the globe. Does it look like true peace and security is just on the horizon or around the corner ? Now, you'd think that the experts would be interested in safer organic approach solutions inspired through Biomimicry, but the problem is, these things I've mentioned above have zero profit value for most corporate Entities and their share holders. If they cannot patent it and monopolize an industry, they are not interested in an organic natural approach to custodianship of our planet Earth. For those with families who do care and want their children to have a deeper appreciation of our natural world, then understand it starts with proper parenting to educate your own children. Don't expect the public school system to do that job for you. Thus far they've failed because what is taught is only the textbook solution provided by an industrial mandate. In the mean time, there are some folks who have come up with some tools to help parents teach their children more about the Outdoors which seems to be foreign to most people living in the Industrial Nations today. Take a look at this documentary below when you find the time.

Ever Consider Swapping Screen Time for Wild Time ? (Project Wild Thing) 

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Two important follow ups to this post

 PART I - "Attracting Wild Bees & Wasps to Landscapes & Farms is the best Insurance Policy"

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 PART II - "How to construct the best Insurance Policy for your Agricultural Business Venture"

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Other important reading on various pollinators

http://bumblebeeconservation.org/about-bees/why-bees-need-help

http://www.buzzaboutbees.net/wildflowers-and-natives.html

http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/plants-to-attract-beneficial-insects-zl0z1005zvau.aspx

Michigan State University Extension: "Attracting Beneficial Insects with Native Flowering Plants"

Industrial Agriculture: Rejecting Nature's Tool-Kit

"As we work to save the vital whitebark pine from disappearing from the landscape, it is essential to use all available tools. Ectomycorrhizal fungi are an integral part of forest integrity, ecology and health; showing respect for these mighty microbes might just mean the difference between the restoration and death of a forest."

Dr. Cathy L. Cripps is an associate professor at Montana State University

 Somewhere a Monsanto Research & Development Chief  just fell off a chair

Ghost forest of whitebark pine “skeletons.” Credit: Dr. Cathy L. Cripps

In his book Diversity of Life, E.O. Wilson states that “Most life on land depends ultimately on one relationship: the mycorrhiza, the intimate and mutually dependent coexistence of fungi and the roots systems of plants.” His point is that the importance of these beneficial fungi should not be underestimated. This is especially true for forest ecosystems, and those of Whitebark Pine are no exception.

WHITEBARK PINE FORESTS IN PERIL

"Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) is North America’s only stone pine — pines with seeds that are not dispersed by wind — and it is primarily limited to the Pacific Northwest and the north-central Rocky Mountains. This five-needle pine is considered a keystone species at treeline elevations where other conifers have difficulty surviving. At these high elevations, it forms magnificent forests of gnarled old growth trees or low-tangled krummholz forms. However, whitebark pine populations are diminishing at an alarming rate because of record infestations of mountain pine beetles coupled with the devastating effects of the invasive white pine blister rust. The results are ghost forests of whitebark pine skeletons. The species has been granted endangered status in Canada and awaits this designation in the United States. Enormous efforts are underway to restore lost forests with large plantings of disease-resistant nursery-grown whitebark pine seedlings. But, can we also retrieve all the complex parts of this unique ecosystem? And what about the mycorrhizal fungi — how crucial are they to the survival of these forests?"

A COMPLEX ECOLOGY

"Above ground, the ecology of whitebark pine forests is a fascinating story of the interaction of trees, birds, squirrels and bears. In fall, when the round purple cones mature, the forests erupt in a riot of sound and a flurry of activity. Clark’s nutcrackers, large gray corvid birds with long bills, attract each other to the ripening food source with their raucous calls. Landing precariously in tree tops, they incise seeds out of cones like surgeons and gulp them into their crops. They fly off to bury their treasure as a food stash. Meanwhile, red squirrels chatter high above trying to beat the birds to the cones by clipping and dropping whole branches — an efficient way to gather a winter’s cone supply. Later, as winter approaches, grizzly and black bears raid the squirrel stashes for the fatty seeds. In spring, seedlings germinate in clusters from the un-retrieved seeds and, remarkably, this is the main dispersal mechanism for whitebark pine as a species; it depends on the forgetfulness of the birds."

UNDERGROUND CONNECTIONS

"What goes on below ground is more of a mystery. Here, a major portion of the trees exist as extensive and massive roots systems that push through hard soil in harsh high-elevation habitats just below treeline. This is the interface between the living and non-living world. It is a dark place where pale, living roots come into contact with minerals in the soil — or do they?"

Credit: Dr. Cathy L. Cripps.

How ectomycorrhizal fungi works (Click to Enlarge)

"In a twist of nature, certain mycorrhizal fungi insert themselves between tree roots and soil to form a protective barrier around each root tip. In addition, the fungi boost the uptake of nitrogen into roots by extending their long thin bodies into the soil where they forage for scarce nutrients. The microscopic threads that comprise their bodies are called hyphae — or, when in mass, mycelium — and they act as conduits, moving nutrients and water from soil into roots. These fungi can also protect tree roots from heavy metals, tiny invertebrate grazers, and root pathogens hiding in the soil. The fungi themselves are able to eke out a living on photosynthetic scraps, sugars that leak from fine roots."

"‘Mycorr-’ means fungus and ‘-rhizal’ means root and the unions of these two entities, called mycorrhizae, are found on the roots of more than 80 percent of the plant species on Earth. This mutualism is not the exception, but the rule in nature, and all forests — except perhaps those of mangroves — depend on mycorrhizal fungi. This has been true for thousands of years."

"The group of fungi that attach themselves to woody plants, mostly trees, wrap themselves around the outside of roots to form what are called ectomycorrhizae. These tiny sock-like structures are found on each of the thousands of root tips throughout a forest. Although miniscule, ectomycorrhizae have a huge impact on the survival of trees, many of which could not maintain themselves in nature, especially in harsh climates, without these fungi. They are only visible when they reproduce and their fruiting bodies (i.e. mushrooms) push up though the soil to produce the spores that fly off in the wind to land, mate and continue the species’ life cycle."

NO TWO FUNGI ARE ALIKE

Credit: Dr. Cathy L. Cripps

Siberian slippery Jack (Suillus sibiricus)
ectomycorrhizal with whitebark pine

 "Just as each tree species is not interchangeable with another, so too one fungal species cannot be substituted for another without altering the biology of an ecosystem. There are thousands of species of ectomycorrhizal fungi in the world, each with its own unique ecology, physiology, and preference for certain tree hosts."

"As an example, Cenococcum is a tough hardy fungus with dense black mycelium that is found everywhere, often at low levels just below the radar. But it comes into its own during periods of drought, when it thrives while other fungi die, all the while passing the benefits of drought tolerance on to its tree partner. Another example is Piloderma, a promiscuous fungus that attaches itself to many different tree species; it not only gains sugars from tree roots but also has the ability to decompose dead organic material and pass the nutrients along to living trees. Its bright yellow mycelium can be observed in rotting wood or organically rich soils as well as on roots. Douglas-fir alone associates with more than 2,000 different species of ectomycorrhizal fungi, and some are only found with this species. A single tree in a forest can host any number of ectomycorrhizal fungi simultaneously, with each providing its own unique set of benefits. Often, there is a succession of fungi found on a tree over its lifetime. Certain ectomycorrhizal fungi are important in a tree’s establishment as a seedling, and other fungi come in later to provide benefits in mature forest situations."

FUNGAL ALLIES OF WHITEBARK PINE

Credit: Dr. Cathy L. Cripps

Slippery jacks are also part of the forest food
 chain. These were nibbled by a small animal

"Until recently, we knew very little about ectomycorrhizal fungi in whitebark pine forests. Our mycology lab at Montana State University (MSU) has discovered that from the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA) north into Alberta, these forests appear to host only a limited number of ectomycorrhizal species in great contrast to Douglas-fir forests. Some of these fungi are specialists and are only found with five-needle pines; some only occur with stone pines. There are several species of stone pines scattered throughout Europe and Asia, in addition to the whitebark pines of North America."

"A well-known fungal inhabitant of stone pine forests in Europe (P. cembra forests) and Asia (P. pumila forests) is the so-called Siberian slippery jack (Suillus sibiricus). Remarkably, this fungus also occurs with five-needle pines in western North America, and we now report it from most of the whitebark pine forests studied in the GYA. These records show that the Siberian Suillus has a long evolutionary history with stone pines in the northern hemisphere that may be an indication of its importance to these pines; it does not occur with other conifers or on two/three-needle pines. Other examples of specialists with whitebark pine include S. tomentosus variety discolor and S. subalpinus; the latter is only known from the Yellowstone region. A variety of mammals, large and small, devour the mushrooms produced by these fungi as a natural part of the forest food chain."

"Other special ectomycorrhizal fungi found in whitebark pine forests include Rhizopogon, commonly called “pogies.” These interesting fungi spend their whole life underground. Instead of mushrooms, they produce subterranean tuber-like fruiting bodies often called false truffles. These marble- to golf-ball-sized tubers have unique odors that attract squirrels, voles, deer and bears — including grizzlies — which sniff them out and dig them up as a food source. When ripe, these pogies can smell intriguingly musky, fermented fruity or sour — even like blue cheese. The spores located inside the pogies are capable of traveling through the digestive tract of a mammal unharmed and are eventually deposited in pellets and piles. In a sense, these fungi have co-opted mammals as their spore dispersal mechanism just as whitebark pines have co-opted birds to disperse their seeds. Ultimately, the spores germinate and reunite with a root to form an ectomycorrhizal bond after passing through the gut of a mammal. When greasy scat samples of grizzly bears were brought into the MSU lab, examination with a microscope revealed a mass of one kind of spore. The bears had feasted exclusively on one particular kind of pogie, no doubt with a very attractive odor!"

"Coming full circle, while we see whitebark pines providing habitat for the animals that eat or spread its seeds and rest or nest in boughs and shade for the understory plants that proliferate at their base, there are even more intricate ecological relationships among these organisms, including the ectomycorrhizal fungi that help maintain the forests."

MISSING PIECE IN RESTORATION HARDWARE

Credit: Dr. Cathy L. Cripps

Roots of an inoculated seedling covered
with ectomycorrhizae

"Are these fungi a missing piece of the puzzle in whitebark pine restoration? Can they be used to jumpstart the whitebark pine seedlings being planted in such huge numbers to help a greater number survive?   

In Austria, forests on steep slopes were clear-cut to extend pastureland many years ago. Subsequent efforts were made to restore these forests which included the planting of European stone pine seedlings, a practice that continues today. Fifty years ago, a wise mycologist named Meinhard Moser discovered that adding the spores or mycelium of Suillus sibiricus (and related species) to nursery seedlings could significantly boost the survival of these nursery seedlings when they were out-planted. Today, mature forests are flourishing on the alpine slopes of Austria and the Siberian Suillus is still used on the stone pine seedlings in the Austrian Federal Nursery. Inoculation of nursery trees with ectomycorrhizal fungi is now status quo in Europe."

Credit: Dr. Cathy L. Cripps

Lonergan monitoring whitebark pine
 seedlings in the field.

"At MSU, graduate student Erin Lonergan and postdoc Dr. Eva Grimme examined how this practice might be applied to nurseries in the western United States. From their research, we now know that S. sibiricus can form ectomycorrhizae efficiently on whitebark pine seedlings in the greenhouse and that colonization will occur if given enough time (a few months) and if a low nitrogen fertilizer is used. High nitrogen fertilizers and fungicides prevent mycorrhizal colonization. The age of the whitebark pine seedlings at inoculation is also important since prolific side roots need to develop before colonization can take place. When successful, hundreds of tiny, white sock-like ectomycorrhizae can be observed on the roots of containerized seedlings."

(Article Source: American forests)

MSU study: Native fungus could be another tool for helping restore ghostly forests 

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Credit: Don Bachman

Cripps inoculating whitebark pine seedlings

The information and understanding of how our natural world really operates and functions has been known for quite a few decades now. Unfortunately such highly vauluable knowledge has been deliberately suppressed until now because of something called worldview. There is a time wasting strategy when it comes life's origins called "Argument from Poor Design." This has done more to hold back good valuable sustainable scientific practice far more than anything else. The reason is that this lame argumentation insists that nature is flawed, inept, inefficient and badly designed and all of this is proof that there is no intelligent designer. They argue that if there were an intelligent designer, he would have designed such and such in such and such a fashion because the design in their opinion is flawed. But how could anyone know this ? What experiment did they create using the scientific method to arrive at such a conclusion ? I couldn't do that, so how could they do that ?

Below is a glaring example of how the Industrial Science industry has attempted to indoctrinate the average person into adopting the flawed worldview of how vicious and cursed the planet was and in desperate need of Industrial Science's various services. Remember these mind dumbing commericals from the 1970s which trashed Nature ???

"Argument from Poor Design" (Exposing Nature's Flaws ???)

Believe it or not this is why biotechs refuse to actually replicate what nature does. They take their cue from some off topic lousy lame false religious concept such as the poor design arguments. They believe nature is flawed and poorly designed and only they can fix it. How well has that worked out for Mankind and Nature thus far ??? Do we live in a better world because of this dogma ??? The culture of science types are loathed to criticize industrial science (even the giant Environmental Organizations) because they fear the aweful backlash of being labeled as anti-science, which is a Biotech's cowardly way of justifying their business model. Incredibly all of this points back to Darwin and his writings. He actually started the bad design arguments. Here's an examples below given to us by none other than Richard Dawkins.

The above photo of a Tomato Hornworm caterpillar being victimized by the eggs of the wasp larvae, overlaid with Charles Darwin's famous 1860 "wasp feeding quote", which worked to teeter him away from a belief in a creator. Such examples of the supposedly bad designs which exist in nature have been utilized by people like Richard Dawkins, who admixtured in "selfish genes" + "Hamilton rule" + "blind forces", and used these Nature flaws as his main atheism movement to promote a purposeless universe ideology. But this has actually back fired on nature. How much good viable science and sustainable ecological technological innovation has been stifled because a handful of ideologues have a hard on towards Christensom ? Look, I get the argument against many of the religious institutions, but these people like Dawkins have stolen their playbook and made it their own with a plethora of failed their own version of blind faith Teleological arguments that have back fired on our natural world. The main problem has been when scientists and other researchers cannot explain something, the problem must lay with the flaws of natural design and not their own university cultivated intellectual ignorance. This is why they came up with Junk DNA as a label for the non-coding DNA. They didn't know what it did, could not find a useful function for it's presence and therefore concluded it must be a vestigial evolutionary hold over from the distant mythical past. It was touted as proof of evolution and no intelligent designer. But lo & behold geneticists are finding a wealth of instructions when all this imaginary *cough-cough* Junk apparently does have function when used within a context of other genes. This has become more and more to do with epigenetics or different gene expression triggered by various environmental cues. Now there is this big movement towards promoting biomimetics or biomimicry. Suddenly people who've for years dismissed this practice are now on board. However, to be taken seriously, they must first apologize to mankind for holding back good science and running our planet into the ground with their own unsustainable inept technological innovation based on nature being inept at designing anything. As yet they have refused to do this. Janine Benyus is one example. She won't touch this subject of bad design with a ten foot pole. 

Biomimicry: Streamlining Innovation for Environmentally Sustainable Products

The reason designs found in Nature are seriously being more considered now is that Scientists are now realizing too late that they have no choice but to consider these remarkable designs found throughout all of the Earth's ecosystems because their own degenerate past ideologically driven science has been wrong all along. This is not to say there have not been dedicated Scientists  out there over the last few decades who have been working hard all along to discover and create practical application of what they have observed and learned out in the field. I know because I've been following many of them for decades. What has always influenced the direction Science takes in research for decades has always been it's being shackled to their sources of funding that comes from big industrial agri-business interests. It is even worse now because Scientists who desire major funding for their pet projects must tow the corporate line or risk having their funding removed. 

This has actually happened to my former Agricultural Instructor who retired early from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He had a course on Sustainable Agriculture and apparently it was this class which he was teaching with regards to ecological and more sustainable farming practices which were found to be offensive to an Executive of an Industrial scale Feedlot business (Harris Ranch Beef) interest over in the San Joaquin Valley who threatened Cal Poly San Luis Obispo by withholding a certain promise of $500,000 in Grant Funding towards a new Butchering facility if he wasn't fired and his Sustainable Agriculture course dismantled. Also, at this same time period, they were peeved by a Campus visit of Michael Pollan who they also viewed as a radical or agricultural heretic.

Robert Rutherford

My wife and I went to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo this past June 2014 and saw the new state of the art butchering facility. Oddly enough I thought he would still be working there, but when I saw that the large new beautiful building had been built after all, I guess I knew then that he was gone. So I wrote an email to him when I got back to San Diego. He said he got fed up with the administration at Cal Poly and with this issue hanging over him, he realized he could no longer make a significant difference as he wanted, so agreements were made and he retired early. He said University Professors are rewarded for the status quo. They & their Industrial Ag partners are a sort of Band of Brothers. I really admire and respect him for not caving into their demands, sticking to his core principles and following what knows to be the truth. He now has his own business [Whole Options LLC] where he travels and lectures about sustainable Agriculture. In particular, pasture and grazing practices which are best for the environment.

Unlike my Ag Instructor, the man I quoted at the beginning of this post below the photograph with the dead whitewashed skeletons of Whitebark Pines was Edward O. Wilson a Harvard Biologist who wrote the book, "Diversity of Life" from which the quote was taken Unfortunately, Mr E.O. Wilson has gone down a much different road than my Ag Instructor. Here is that quote once more:

“Most life on land depends ultimately on one relationship: the mycorrhiza, the intimate and mutually dependent coexistence of fungi and the roots systems of plants.”

He is also an environmentalist of sorts and has many radical ideas such as giving back half of the Earth to Nature again. He just seems  so committed to Nature in that quote doesn't he ? Unfortunately it would seem that Mr E.O. Wilson has other commitments as well. I can almost agree with that sentiment of giving back much of the land to Nature, since I despise most cities and prefer the quiet solitude of Natural surroundings anyway. Unfortunately, I also read an interview he had done in "EarthSky Journal" in December 2011, where he was asked his views on what scientific advances in biology he sees advancing into the 21st Century. Unbelievably, this is what this same man said who wrote that environmental book and the quote about about how we should use Nature's Tool-Kit for maintaining living systems. 

"And within science, this is going to be a century of biology. We are entering an age of synthesis. So many discoveries have been made in biology in the cell, at the molecular level, and on up to the development of organisms."

"And we need all the biology and all the advances we can find in agriculture, especially. We’re going to have to switch worldwide to dry land agriculture. We don’t have enough water in enough countries to feed all those people and to restore soil to arable condition. So this means that we have to have genetically modified organisms. I’d take that as a given. Some people don’t like the idea. But that’s one of those necessities brought about by the human condition."

Image credit: Jim Harrison

Unlike my former Ag Instructor who stuck to his principles and standards on what he knows to be right by rejecting a good ole boys club, E.O. Wilson is a disappointment of sorts in that he sides with the billionaire  boys club. How can you make the same observation of pristine Nature and the various mechanisms and components within it's Tool-Fit for maintaining all ecosystem for eternity by championing this from one side of your mouth in an environmental book on Biodiversity and then turn directly around in an about face and from the other side of your mouth praise Industrial Science which continually takes a cheap shots at Nature through genetic manipulation and creating synthetic organisms and the dangerous chemicals that they are engineered to work with ? And why does Industrial Science do this ? Well, aside from the major lure of obscene profit demanded by share holders, it's because Industrial Science is influenced by those same ideologically driven philosophers that teach modern Mankind that Nature is a bad designer with major flaws and that they can fix it, for a price of course. Suddenly the praise for mycorrhiza, as Wilson called it, flies out the window and no longer has any meaning. Of course in that debate between Team Monsanto & Team Organic at that infamous Intelligence Squared Debates, it was said that Biotechs have consensus and peer-review on their side. You know, the #1 biggest problem with College Professors and Research Scientists who are shackled and committed to the funding by Industrial Agriculture is that when they do write their research papers, they are then peer reviewed by other committed industrial scientists, which are then consumed by yet other Industrial Corporate Scientist and you suddenly then realize there really is no such thing as honest scientific scrutiny. You finally have to come to the realization that an individual like E.O. Wilson is committed first and foremost to his own status as a celebrity icon. The trouble with the world of science is this potential for fame, glitter and glory which allows personal ambition and bias to hinder real science in pursuit of that goal.

Fortunately, researchers like Dr Cathy Cripps are looking at a more natural holistic approach in replicating Nature as it really works. In the decades past I was always told by government experts that it  was not necessary to inoculate the nursery stock before out planting. Why they said, "those mycorrhizal spores were everywhere in nature. Why those spores are floating around us in the very air we breathe." Fortunately I never listened to and bought into their theory and have proof to show for it. When you look at the above ground surface and see that many plants within almost every ecosystem around the globe are failing now days, don't you think that what lives underground may also itself be failing as well ? Nothing anymore is indestructible. Every living thing today is at risk. So maybe the microbiological activity under the ground needs a boost to. When humans destroy Earth's ecosystems as rapidly as they have during the past 100+ years of enlightenment, we don't have thousands of years to wait and see if it can heal itself or not. Clearly things need a push and helping hand. For the moment, California is getting what is considered a rescue of another El Nino  rainy season of sorts. In my own experience, it has always been these small windows of exceptional wet periods of when Nature can spring back the best and humans can help it to further heal if they know the exact tools and how to use them. But we are finding that these system mechanisms are now breaking down and need help and a jump start. Mycorrhizal Fungi and Beneficial Bacteria can performance enhance that recovery if those in charge are humble enough to admit they have been making mistakes for the past 100+ years and will make a 360 degree turn around and start working with Nature instead of against it. Now go back and read Dr Cathy Cripps' research again, and then go seek out advice on a reputable Mycorrhizal promoting website and order the right blend of material for inoculation of your own trees and shrubs. Maybe your own restoration project. And dump the we don't have to inoculate dogma, because yes you do.

There is no mysticism here. You want successful landscaping, farming or gardening then you have to inoculate. The only mystic fantasy here is that the human leadership that people have allowed to be put in charge of land management has been a miserable failure. Using Nature's Tool-Kit by learning to identify and use the right mechanisms will lead to many many success stories.

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Further Reading references

Mycorrhizal Applications Inc

http://holisticmanagement.org

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

The Agricultural Controversy

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2009/10/14/885164/criticism-from-harris-ranch-beef.html 

http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/beef-company-pressured-cal-poly-remove-agriculture-professor-819 

http://www.newtimesslo.com/news/3411/controversy-erupts-over-michael-pollans-poly-lecture