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

It's been building up in the News for the last couple of decades. The global Climate Change or Global Warming and now the worst drought to hit the southwestern states in years. The state of California of course is on top of the pile with differing regions showing varying degrees of  the drought's worst effects. Oddly enough when I went through the one region listed as being above the "extreme" level with the designation "Exceptional" in some places along this coastline in Central California, it was hard to tell if any coastal and immediate interior valleys were really suffering. Of course I've already partly written about this experience with my post:

 Palo Colorado Canyon Rd, Big Sur California 

Now further inland from the coast on the eastern side of the Santa Lucia mountain coastal chain & Hwy 101 from Salinas south to Paso Robles over to the San Joaquin Valley it did indeed deserve the label "Exceptional" Drought. The steep hills which should be chaparral covered have been grazed to the bare soil for more than 100+ years. Only a handful of rare pockets of chaparral and Oak/Pine woodland are present. The closest exact location of a photo I can find which matches the area we past through and the landmarks we witnessed in exceptional drought is from a Google Earth - Panoramio user, 'Patmon' who photographed an exact spot we drove through this past June 2014, only the date was in 2009. I was tough with myself not to take too many negative photos, but maybe I should have taken a few for educational purposes. The photo below is a bit deceiving if you drive through this area on Hwy 58 today. This picture is actually a lush grassland compared to the reality of what my wife and I experienced on the drive all the way from San Joaquin Valley town of Buttonwillow to Santa Margarita near Hwy 101. There literally is no grass at all at this very moment of writing. The entire landscape is nothing more than bare soil with not even a whisper of any stubble. Joel Salatin was right, the rule of grazing on hilly terrain should be, "If you cannot drive a tractor on it, don't graze cattle there."  The only exception of the presence of plant life of course were the pockets vegetation high up the ridges like chaparral and mature oak trees which you can see in the photo below and there were not many of those vegetation pocket islands to be found. 

Hwy 58 Buttonwillow to Santa Margarita California

What mankind has done in the name of Agri-business [We only  want to feed mankind] has been disastrous for the natural world. Stripping steep slopes of their weather moderating, cloud formation and rainfall creating mechanisms makes absolutely no sense and yet, 'lo & behold' lookie at where we stand today and the dire climate disruption crisis we're all facing. For all the supposed brain power which runs western science [Europe/North America], you'd think the collapse of many of their own collective Nation's ecosystems would provide a pattern for the developing world of what you shouldn't do. But unfortunately we're just not seeing that. Maybe all the folks who actually care about what's happening to the Earth's hydrological cycling should stop telling those in positions of environmental responsibility and oversight who seem to blunder time and again, "Just how stupid can you people be?"  I'm beginning to think that many of these world leaders appear to be taking it as a challenge. Well, it's just an observation.

image Mine: Along Cabrillo Highway at Big Sur California

Given the designated label of "Exceptional Drought" status by the U.S. Drought Monitor for this central coastal California location, I was surprised to see that so many streams were running with a fair amount of water, with even many of the smaller brooks up Palo Colorado Canyon and beyond at a good flow. The question of course that entered my mind was, Why ? Now when you look up any information about this part of the natural world and it's many ecosystems, the label Closed-Cone Forest comes to the fore. One also realizes that this is the southern end of the famous California Coastal Redwood tree in it's native range. But in the literature about the Closed-Cone Forest Climate description, you will find that rainfall totals from actual Pacific Storms during the wintertime's  rainy wet season only amount to about between 16 to 25 inches of actual rainfall from these storms and again it varies from location to location. Doesn't seem enough to support Redwoods and other trees like Madrone (Arbutus), Big Leaf Maple, California Bay, etc. But, there is of course another phenomena which needs to be factored in which contributes to higher moisture totals. The higher moisture readings are calculated from a unique phenomena to this area which also receives moisture in the form of heavy wet low marine clouds and fog which is said to push some area totals upwards to 60 or 70 inches annually. Again it still depends on the location. But still, does this explain why streams are running well with lots of water, enough for 100s campers to romp, play and bathe at Pfeiffer State Park at Big Sur when we came through this past June 2014 ? Even at the full blown average of 20 to 22 inches of annual rain along the coast, that doesn't really explain the volume I saw in many of these streams.

As we all know, things regarding climate and generally local weather in most areas have been trending poorly. Like the historical tracking chart above of San Diego for a last two decades which while showing a couple spikes above average, these still don't make up for the well below normal dry averages which are more common in recent years [especially the past decade]. Last Winter I actually followed the weather rain events and storm totals throughout Southern California. What I remember most is the lack of consistent rainfall amounts across the entire southland. Some areas were drenched while others got only a mere trace. San Diego which is supposed to average around 10.34 actually received only 5.05 this past season and that following two previous dry years which have progressively gotten worse - 2012 @ 7.09 & 2013 @ 6.55. There is one particular rainfall record I also followed, though it's unofficial, it matches identically those of the official reporting stations throughout California. The record is on a blog called "Breathing Treatment" and written by Brent Morgan who lives in Rancho Palos Verdes along the coast in Los Angeles County. The way he went about reporting was by storm/Date, not monthly totals. I think this illustrates beautifully just how the total rainfall here recorded actually becomes worse when you consider where it went or rather where it didn't go.

Brent Morgan recorded the 2013/2014 rainy season by Storm Event with Date - Month/Year

October 27, 2013 - 0.15

November 20, 2013 - 0.54

November 29, 2013 - 0.4

December 7, 2013 - 0.27

January 29, 2014 - 0.001

February 2, 2014 - 0.19

February 6, 2014 - 0.28

February 7, 2014 - 0.02

February 26, 2014 - 0.83

February 27, 2014 - 1.5

 March 1, 2014 - 1.0

March 25, 2014 - 0.02

August 2, 2014 - 0.09  

 Total Storms 13 - total rainfall for season  5.29 inches

(Rainfall Totals Source) 

Now what is interesting to me with Brent's Rainfall Record and more importantly it's not so much the total rainfall amount at the end of season, but the low storm event amounts and significant time lapse between the storm events. There is almost no real measurable percolation into the soil, with the exception of maybe a little over three inches between February 26th through March 1st. No beneficial moisture even came close to penetrating the subsoil to sustain any newer season plant growth, which explains why many shrubs refrained from putting on any new growth this season [my firsthand observation] with the  shedding of more leaves as a result of drought stress and the fact that even weeds and other annual grasses made very little if any showing in many areas this year. This was even worse up north of here in Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties which are at the center of the "Exceptional Drought" Zone. Now factor in the present drought over the past three years which has actually halved most of those same California annual average totals in almost every location throughout the State, which would bring numbers way down further, this still is a puzzle as to what exactly is sustaining not only the good stream flows along those central coastal areas, but what must also be sustaining the massive usage necessary to maintain the large volume of old growth forest for this region. So what gives ?

"Hydraulic Redistribution", but especially & more specifically "Hydraulic Descent"

image mine: Big Sur coastline with fog and low clouds rolling inland

Researchers have known for quite some time that these Central and Northern California regions with those towering majestic old growth Redwood Forests would have never gotten that far in the sky without a little help from those coastal fogs and low elevation moisture rich marine layers. You see, Sequoia sempervirens has poor stomatal control in response to a drying atmosphere. Without help, it would be difficult for the Coast Redwood to reach great heights without a little help from above. Hence, rates of water loss on very dry days/nights can reach up to 40% during the midday summer season for which the tree on it's own is incapable of replacing water lost without the help of the Fog Belt marine layer. So it appears that the fog and low clouds with heavy moisture content have a greater role in suppressing this water loss from leaves of those extremely tall trees and thereby improve upon the daily water stress by providing supplemental water to foliage in the upper canopy. This is why the coastal Redwoods thrive in such fog belt areas in central and northern California and do not exist down in Southern California. Yes, of course people in SoCal do plant them in the landscape, but like many other similar trees not native to that environment, their requirements change and increase as they age. Pay close attention to the needle burn of many older aged Redwoods in Southern California gardens and any public landscapes. So the Fog/Marine cloud layers offers at least two services that we do know of. First, it clearly prevents very much evapotranspiration [water loss from leaves] from the foliage. Second, it also has the ability to hydrate the upper foliage canopy  for which these extremely tall Redwoods appear to have a tough time mechanically doing on their own by transporting water way up possibly a couple hundred foot high from their root systems far below. But there may be a third important benefit from these Fog Belts effects, that of Hydraulic Descent all the way down into the root system. 

An article published back in 2010 by the journal Scientific American, dealt with the work of Hydraulic Redistribution researcher Todd Dawson who I have repeatedly quoted and referenced on this blog. You may recall that Dr. Dawson discovered, that deep-rooted sugar maples were so well equipped with the ability to pull water from deeper layers in the subsoil and equally as well as any desert sagebrush. Drawing upon this deep water, the trees were able to water their neighboring plants within the ecosystem which ensured their survival during summertime back east. Dr. Dawson estimated that a 40-foot-tall maple was able to deliver between 40 and 60 gallons of water to the upper soil layers every night. He is also on record as stating in his belief of a health forest's ability at hydraulically descent of excess surface water to deeper subsoil layers and even regenerating deep aquifers. The 2010 Scientific American article itself was alluding to the very real possibility of these Fog Belt regions of the eastern Pacific disappearing altogether as climate change continues to advance. That would be devastating to these southern region Redwood Forests. That would create a Mediterranean climate in central California more like that of Southern California where Redwoods are not native. But there were a few paragraphs I'll quote from that article which were intriguing. 

"From 25 to 40 percent of the moisture in the system comes from fog," says Todd Dawson, who has been studying the relationship between the coastal fog and the redwoods for two decades. Some of the fog simply covers the leaves and prevents evaporation. But some of it also enters the stomata, or tiny pores, on the leaves and is drawn down through the branches to the roots. This is the reverse of transpiration, the normal flow of water from the roots to the leaves that exists in most trees. Redwoods are the first trees found to move water in both directions, though others have been identified.

Fog is not just a vital element for the redwoods—it's also crucial to the entire redwood forest ecosystem. Some of the moisture drips off the redwood leaves, landing on the forest floor to water the trees and young saplings. "It's not just a drip, drip, drip," says ecologist Holly Ewing of Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, who also worked with Dawson. "The moisture can descend into the ground up to 35 centimeters deep, and that's a lot of water."

Scientific American: "Clearing and Present Danger? Fog That Nourishes California Redwoods Is Declining"

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 Deep-rooted plants have much greater impact on climate than experts thought

UC Berkeley News - Press Release 2006 (selected paragraphs)

Trees, particularly those with deep roots, contribute to the Earth's climate much more than scientists thought, according to a new study by biologists and climatologists from the University of California, Berkeley.

The new study in the Amazonian forest shows that trees use water in a much more complex way: The tap roots transfer rainwater from the surface to reservoirs deep underground and redistribute water upwards after the rains to keep the top layers moist, thereby accentuating both carbon uptake and localized atmospheric cooling during dry periods.

Trees have long been known to lift water from the soil to great heights using a principle called hydraulic lift, with energy supplied by evaporation of water from leaf openings called stomata. Twenty years ago, however, some small plants were found to do more than lift water from the soil to the leaves - they also lifted deep water with their tap root and deposited it in shallow soil for use at a later time, and reversed the process during the rainy season to push water into storage deep underground. Dawson discovered in 1990 that trees do this, too, and to date, so-called hydraulic redistribution has been found in some 60 separate deeply rooted plant species.

During the wet season, these plants can store as much as 10 percent of the annual precipitation as deep as 13 meters (43 feet) underground, to be tapped during the dry months. 

(Source)

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For Further information along these lines, I've actually created a resource page, so as not to over load the post here, which goes further into this amazing and fascinating phenomena which should be made simplified and inserted into every High School and College textbook around the globe:

 How Forests Attract Rain: An Examination of a New Hypothesis called the "Biotic Pump"

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After all this time I still don't know why the role of vegetation in our Earth's hydrological cycle has to remain so controversial and a mystery. Incredibly, around the globe, local indigenous peoples in many partially forested regions have always believed that forests attract rain, but climatology has until the last decade or so had no real scientific explanation for that belief. Of course many intellectuals will discount what many of these people say because they are often looked upon as illiterate and lack the Alphabet Soup credentials of those in charge of informing humankind just how the Earth functions. From the latest studies now, we know the roles these trees play in even simple cloud formation. Unfortunately, back in the Industrial Science News spotlight once again are Roger C. Bales and Michael Goulden adding their take to the controversy. You may remember that Roger Bales believes trees and chaparral are harming the Sierra Nevada Mountain's rivers and streams and therefore tree thinning by logging and salvage logging after wildfire should be championed to bring water flows [which he thinks trees & chaparral waste] to the San Joaquin Valley Industrial Agricultural business ventures. You may also remember Goulden along with Anne Kelly who slammed Jon Keeley & Dylan Schwilk for their take on why plants were moving up Santa Rosa Mountains above Palm Desert ? Anyway, they are pushing vegetation is evil hypothesis again, because they insist vegetation hogs water from rivers and streams needed to supply industrial farming interests in the valleys below. Therefore whether it's a "Burn Baby Burn" policy or removal by Salvage Logging by Timber Industry interests, Nature in the end is taking another beating besides the breakdown of it's own weather creation mechanisms which are no fault of it's own !!!

 Credit: NSF Southern Sierra Critical Zone Observatory/Jenny Park

Research at NSF's Southern Sierra CZO links snowmelt with downstream water supplies. 

"Trees growing higher on the slopes will soak up water before it can run into rivers" Roger C. Bales

"The paper's results should be "another call to improve forest management to protect the water system," Roger C. Bales

"Managers need to understand what's going to happen to the water runoff from the mountains," says Bales "This paper is another piece to help inform that and will hopefully get more people's attention."

National Geographic: "As California Warms, Greener Mountains Will Mean Less Water for People" 

UPDATE: John Muir Project of Earth Island Institute is now pushing the Roger Bales Water Scam

https://www.facebook.com/JohnMuirProject/posts/3055613241179056

Berkeley Lab study finds California wildfires increase runoff, groundwater

You have to also understand this business nonsense of cutting forests down to allow snow to reflect heat back into the atmosphere came out long before the John Muir Project pushing this narrative of wildfires are wonderful because they help water infiltration came out long before in 2013. The John Muir Project's, Chad Hanson, says he is against forest thinning or even clearcutting because it's bad for the environment, but a deveastating wildfire which nukes the landscape of all living biological things is supposedly a good thing because it facilitates water percolation and infiltration into the soil ??? Seriously ??? Really ??? Here's a 2013 Huffington Post article championing and waving Pom Poms for clearing the planet of forest trees because it's good for snow and cooling the planet.

Huffington Post: "Can Cutting Down Trees Actually Help Save The Planet?"

Here's my previous post on the Roger C. Bales Water Scam

Earth's Internet: "BREAKING NEWS: Apparently Trees don't really Gulp, Guzzle & Water Hog, only Humans do that"

Conclusions:

I really don't want to get into Bales and Goulden's latest whining or even Chad Hanson's narrative of wildfire as the Grand Creator, but their worldview take on exactly how Nature actually works stands in stark contrast to what Todd Dawson/Inez Fung & Victor Gorshkov-Anastassia Makarieva have put together and published. And why are Gorschkov/Makarieva's research papers the ones that are given the label, "controversial" and not Bales' and Goulden's work ? Here's a better question, whose Funding backers stand to gain financially over such research work conclusions ? In any event, I'm banking on the later work of Dawson & Fung, Gorshkov & Makarieva for a more real world honest assessment. Do the hydraulic Redistribution abilities of Redwoods, Bigleaf Maples, California Bay and other native trees have the ability of sustaining stream flow within the coastal Santa Lucia Range ? So do I know for sure what is going on with consistent stream flow ? Not for a certainty, but I have a clear inference as to what the mechanisms could be. The fact that foliage transpiration is limited in such a marine coastal environment and that hydration mostly comes from marine layer moisture excesses rather than from roots to canopy, surely something far more important is secretly going on down below within this regional area marked by the U.S. Drought Monitor Authority as "Exceptional Drought Zone"

image Mine: Dense old growth forests in Palo Colorado Canyon Rd, Big Sur

Dense Forest and Chaparral cover drying up of Streams and Rivers Theory just doesn't jive here in the Big Sur location of Central California

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Update: September 17, 2014

Remember the Pine Tree Health gauge ? The less there are past historical year's needles present, the more stressed and close to death a Pine tree is. Now judge for yourself the health of the largest tree in Idyllwild from the middle of the tree to the top of it's crown. So how much time do you believe this tree has left of life ? In the old days, you could never see the branching structure through the dense foliage. This is probably the last remnant of massive trees leftover from the early logging days when that Timber Industry stripped the Strawberry Valley of most of it's old growth which were as big as Redwood trees. For Jeffreys it was common for there to be 400 - 500 year old trees. The oldest on record I believe is a 631 year old Jeffrey in the Sierra Nevada ranges. Such old growth Ponderosa and Jeffrey pines will never come back again under the present system of mismanagement.

Wildlife Biologist Tom Robert's Forest Prophecy Fulfilled

Wildlife Biologist Tom Roberts

The tree below here should not be a surprise to anyone. I wrote about this tree up in Idyllwild California which is actually growing on Taquitz Drive and right next to Strawberry Creek. The rooting infrastructure must be deeply entrenched within the Strawberry Valley's aquifer and yet  this tree is clearly struggling here. The Mountain's ecosystem clearly doesn't have enough water to provide healthy it's hydration needs beyond the tree's middle trunk. Only a couple season's needles are clearly present, something that never existed a couple decades ago. Back in 1983, I went and visited Wildlife Biologist Thomas Robert's at his office where Town Crier Newspaper now resides. He had just published a report on the Ponderosa and Jeffrey Pines of Strawberry Valley and other surrounding communities around Idyllwild, in fact the Town Crier had carried his article in interview. He mentioned that most of the present trees, which were on average 90 years old at the time would all disappear in about 30-40 years and his recommendation was to replace them with Sequoia giganteum (Sierra Giant Sequoias) which were a tougher tree which would resist smog & drought much better. At the time it was a hard sell to believe in. Even though the trees all along Strawberry Creek were only 90 years old, they were so huge, large diameter trunks and vigorous foliage. The forest floor was so dark and nothing like the present openness it is today. I thought surely he must be wrong. Unfortunately he was dead on accurate. Most of those large trees are gone. Starwberry Creek in many parts are a stark naked contrast to their former glory. This seems to be the well extension global pattern everywhere. Humans are going to have to go after newer building and construction materials. Remember, 90% of the old growth Redwood is gone and the restoration plantations are incapable of providing the same service of weather mechanisms that old growth forests provide. This was also the information provided by the studies with regards the phenomena of "Biotic Pump" which I'll address at another time. Once again, look below at a powerful giant failing at life. The mechanisms which kept this beautiful majestic pine tree alive for 400+ years are no longer functional.

Photograph is mine from Idyllwild California 2013

Update 2017 The Ponderosa Pine giant above is now gone and cut down as of March ths year 2017. I've updated the post below with a video.

"Saturday in Idyllwild viewing it's most gigantic Ponderosa Pine" (May 2013)

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 Further Reading of Interest

Foliar water uptake: a common water acquisition strategy for plants of the redwood forest

Controversial research outlines physics behind how forests may bring rain

Getting to the Root of why Natives rule & Exotics struggle or outright fail

For those particularly interested in Landscapes in the Southwest, you need to seriously pay attention

animation: Beatrice the Biologist

Whenever I am out anywhere in Nature, I am often intrigued with the natural underground networks which I believe make the beauty above ground all possible. Although usually unseen, I know there is something more going on with a luxuriant Chaparral shrub, especially when it first off appears to the eye to be in an impossible hot dry setting. In any event, it's always in the back of my mind and when I stumble upon a prime example while exploring, I record the scene straight away. I did recently stumble across these exact circumstances last week as my wife and I revisited Torrey Pines State Reserve between  Del Mar and La Jolla California. While walking the Park road back to Visitor Lodge from the Guy Flemming Trail, I noticed along the road cut out where the bank was crumbling and fractured rock debris was falling down to the road, there were numerous chaparral plant roots exposed as a result. This sand stone here looks to be a fairly dense impenetrable material where even water would merely run off the surface rather than percolate. Yet there they were, the cracks and fractures underneath being exploited by the plant's root system. It brought back to mind something that was reported on in a recent article and which I wrote about (Here) with the importance of plant roots being able to open up not only the surface ground layers, but also the sub-soils which further allows water percolation and deeper earth penetration by means of hydraulic descent. If course they exploit the hidden cracks and crevices with the Earth through their spiral drilling mechanisms. Take a look at three interesting photographs I took at Torrey Pines State Reserve which illustrate the intense natural engineering lengths at which California Chaparral species will take in order to survive.

Image: Torrey Pines State Reserve Park Rd

image: Torrey Pines State Preserve Park Rd

image: Torrey Pines State Reserve Park Rd

I was also further amazed by something I found regarding California Fan Palms this past weekend west of Ocotillo California in a canyon between Dos Cabezas Springs and Mortero Palms Oasis. To be honest, I never really paid much attention when it came to Fan Palm root structure and viewed their network as something which never strayed far from the tree. I mean after all, they always seem to be located near springs or seeps which run close to the surface. But I again stumbled upon something interesting again and in a location most hikers normally avoid or pay little attention to. The parking area for setting out on the long strenuous hike to Mortero Palms Oasis is in a separate canyon from that of the Oasis, but up that canyon there 5 or 6 good medium sized California Fan Palms along with smaller ones. There does also exist an older fallen log of a grand daddy which I can tell you has been there for years. The dry hot desert air tends to mummify wooden things in a sort of preservation phenomena. But aside from the usual placement of the odd palm here and there, it was the root system with in the area's fractured granite rock strata which actually caught my eye. First off, there was this one interesting fan Palm which was the first palm you come to climbing up the wash. Everything looked pretty much normal until you squeezed around to the back behind it. This is where I started paying attention once again to the ground and the network of root systems. Take a look at the photo below here where all is not what it seems from a visual perspective

This California Fan Palm was intriguing for one particular reason. I actually had to squeeze by this granite boulder here where I saw an interesting growth anomaly which took place decades back history where flood waters had knocked this tree down flat on the wash bottom as a youth, but through gravitropism it was able thereafter to right itself back up where from a frontal view looks perfectly normal and opposite in the back door. Nothing out in the wild can be attributed to ideal conditions. Everything is a tough struggle with some slight ideal conditions which allow for the success and survival. Of course in the urban landscape, things can be ideal, but understanding the mechanisms by which things succeed out in the wild will enable you to establish a landscape which will be more likely to flourish on it's own, especially during times of water availability and uncertainty. This is the goal that should be sought after anyway under any conditions. A landscape developed and maintained on a life support scenario, otherwise known as welfare, will not survive such tough times. The degradation of 75% of Southern California yards is proof that something has to change.

For the moment, take a look at this Fan Palm to the right. This tree was at the top of a rocky outcropping higher in the wash with it's roots extending downwards and also broadly running in a side pattern horizontally almost 15 feet away from the base of the tree. As solid as the granite bedrock was, it had numerous fracture lines running vertically as well as horizontally. This is where these delicate, yet tough fan palm roots found a conduit channel for seeking out further water seepage. I never though the roots ever went that far away from the tree and actually they went further beyond down the wash, but these pictures are of what I could verify on the surface. I have no real idea of how deep a setting the Fan Palm roots will venture. It would seem however they may go some feet in deep sandy wash type soils where aeration is exceptional. Given their presence in washes with regular flash flooding and debris sediment movements, I have seen some which have been buried far above their normal root line. Also there is the fact that many in a sheltered landscape setting, as they age and mature do start showing the protrusion of roots growing down from the trunk a foot or two above the ground level higher up on the trunk base. So who knows what the possibilities of actual depth with which could be obtained by these trees as long as there is good healthy aeration.

image: Mine

PalmBob 2009

The photo above of the fan palm roots are about 12-15 foot at the bottom of the wash away from that tree above. The roots actually followed the cracks and fractures within the exposed granite bedrock and have been revealed by continual ongoing natural flooding within the wash. They actually proceed beyond this picture on the left to deep down inside the level sandy wash down stream to the right in the photo where the original large ancient palm trunk has fallen over. Although I didn't photograph them, there were also lateral roots which grew at great distance sideways across the wash to the other side, once again following the cracks in the bedrock. The other photo of a Mexican Fan Palm to the right is for illustrative purposes only. Older Palms develop roots a foot or two above the soil line where the bark splits and reveals root growth expansion which not only adds to it's water and nutrient uptake if it's successful in reaching the ground, but also adds a wider base for the strength of the larger tree as well. Under natural normal wild conditions, the palm frond skirting would hide these roots and protect them from the drying elements of the harsh sun, making it possible for them to expand all the way down into the soil. It's important in understanding how things actually work or have the potential to work out in Nature. Without practical application, for me none of this would be of any real value. This is important in understanding the physiology of any plant's growth, especially in later life and the geology of your own landscape and what can and cannot be planted and why or with what in a community planting. How does everything work and harmonize for the benefit of the other plants ? Which mycorrhizal applications should I use to further enhance the plant's ability to thrive in the landscape ? While I never thought it possible, recent research has uncovered that palms can be colonized by ecto-mycorrhizae and not just endo-mycorrhizae. This is an important find and one I'll share later in another post. It's incredible because one of my favourite fungi are mentioned as doing the colonization, Pisoliths tinctorius (Dog turd Fungus).

Below here is one final photo. This is the bottom of the canyon where the wash opens up and fans out in the alluvial plan. This is a specimen of Holly Leaf Cherry (Prunus ilicifolia). Most of you won't believe this, but this particular old chaparral plant was present in the late 1960s when I first ventured here as a Boy scout. It is also a fascinating phenomena considering it's placement in the wild landscape. This area is extremely hot and dry, often well over 100 F or 40+ C. It's root infrastructure is clearly tapped into a permanent water source. It's the only Holly Leaf Cherry I have ever found near here and mostly likely was placed here by means of Coyote scat as opposed to being washed downstream. The placement above the wash may support this. The main point here is this chaparral species and the giant Sugarbush (Rhus ovata) in the next wash over can succeed in harsh climates given access to regular water. This is why natives should be used more often in the landscapes where as time pants on to the end, survival is becoming more and more of an issue than at any time previously.

image: Mine

I've benefited tremendously from observation and replication of various plant community scenarios observed in Nature. Despite recent climate change and drought in California, I have been successful in three landscape examples I installed last year (2013) in the interior valleys and mountains of San Diego County. I'll reveal the photos and report on them later. Of course everything is native plants and respect for underground root infrastructure and the interconnections between plants of the same community. Sadly, many of my techniques I fear will not work in remote wild places without human intervention, as the ongoing climate shifting and drought have changed the rules. In the landscape however, you have more control and success can be easily achieved by respect for some basic fundamentals and principles. If the climate were to ever change by way of improvement, then the native landscape will also respond in kind. The genetic information and detailed instruction are still in place, just waiting for this to happen. Sadly, I also fear that this year Torrey Pines State Reserve could and will be lost to wildfire if circumstances don't change. The chaparral and pines up there look terrible. The chaparral in many areas hasn't put on new growth and is struggling to maintain what's left by shedding well over half their leaves. The pic below says it all.

image: Mine

The chaparral everywhere here was suffering terribly and sadly it will be blamed when a disastrous wildfire strikes and it will, trust me. This should also be a wake-up call to home owners whose landscapes are in horrible condition and I say this from first hand on the ground observation. While the incredible amazing root infrastructure is all still there and in existence within all the plant communities, it means nothing without a normal rainfall pattern coming back again.

image: Mine

There were many stressed Torrey Pines, especially on the highest points where annual needle bundles located along the yearly growth whorls were from this years growth and that of last year. Most healthy pines in general should have as far back as six year's needle growth still present. The fact that these trees here exhibited only two or three years at best proves the stress they are under as they eliminate what they are incapable of maintaining. Armed with this knowledge, folks should inspect their own home landscape and be observant to the tell tale signs of a weakening system within their landscape. This is one of the main problems with the recent San Marcos Fire last month where News Helicopters revealed many neglected stressed or outright dead trees in their landscape which caused a greater firestorm. Although the State Park by it's very rules won't allow trimming of branches and dead material, in the interest of the park as a whole, something of a maintenance plan should be devised. There should be a rethinking of all Park and Wilderness rules where the conditions of climate and ecosystem health under which those rules originally formulated do not any longer exist. The conditions and rules by which Nature once operated no longer exist and humankind changed the rules.

image: Mine

Further Reading Interest:

Old Growth Tree Roots are far far more than Nature's Climate Thermostat

How much Reverse Engineering of Earth happens before Humans Admit there's a Problem ?

Hydraulic Lift and Redistribution of Water for the Benefit of other Plants in San Diego County

Deep Irrigation Methods for Training Deeper Rooting networks

YouTube: Planting trees with "deep pipe" irrigation

Hydraulic Descent

An Ecosystem's Tool for Filling Vast Underground Reservoirs

Image: Crayon.com

The above picture shows a pristine scene from a sink hole in a clean healthy environment, probably some southeastern Asian rainforest where monsoonal rains are emptying into a sink hole in some limestone underground cave network. Beautiful yes. Most efficient way Nature has programmed for getting water into it's subsoil layers, No! Continuing along the same subject line of the brilliant purpose driven mechanism schematics & blueprints encoded into the natural world's health and maintenance information driven tools of 'Hydraulic Lift & Redistribution' , there is yet another one of those terminologies closely associated with those terms and it is called 'Hydraulic Descent'. There seems to be less public info on this fantastic phenomena outside of the usual hidden info, with the exception of privilege found only within the scientific researcher's world.  Joe/Jane Gardener/Landscaper/Ecosystem Restoration Volunteer as usual has very little in the way of this amazing info to not only help them understand the basics of how vegetative systems work, but how to use such information in terms of practical applications in their organic garden, urban landscape or ecosystem restoration projects. And I highly doubt that many nature volunteers who donate time to such restoration projects actually know and understand the deeper mechanisms and forces which run, work and function, other than their own personal "I'm a green loving eco person and I love Nature things, so I'm doing my part as a volunteer." That's certainly a great motivation and attitude, but more is needed to actually make it a part of you. Learning how nature really works is a great enhancer that will always be imprinted on your mind.

When I was a kid in the 1960s, I was in a number of nature conservation programs and clubs like something called "Indian Guides" , Summer Nature Kamps up in the mountains and of course one of the most popular Groups of the times, the Boy Scouts of America. These organizations today are either extinct or heading that way as young minds are being trained and entertained by the modern worlds electronics technology booms. Especially in the Industrialized Technologically Advanced Countries are children less interested in nature(anything outdoors) than at anytime before, In times past it was always the norm for young boys to be curious about the natural world around them. Remember the old time favourite description of boys being "Sticks and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails" ? If updated today it may read something like "Cellphones, Dames and Internet Games".  Most young people don't have a real life in the outdoors world anymore and the 3rd world developing Nations are catching up with their industrialized cousin counterparts.

In the middle 1960s, I remember being either on a school field trip or Boy Scouts outing and listening to a Forest Ranger explain how important forests were to our environment. He said something that at the time didn't seem to make much sense, or rather no doubt because of my ignorance I couldn't relate to it at the time. But today with newer discoveries and my own personal deeper appreciation it makes a ton of sense. He said that healthy old growth tree and shrub forested slopes of mountains, hills and valleys were better water reservoirs than any of those concrete Dams built by humans to hold back seasonal rainfall in some remote valley outside the city. At the time and even many years later I had always assumed water percolating into the ground filling the water table was simply a matter of rainfall eventually saturating it's way all by itself through the soil to eventually after some decades later make it's way to the deep underground Aquifers. Part of that is true, water certainly does saturate the earth and percolate downwards, but under the best circumstances it requires the perfect soil structure to do so efficiently. Sandy loam soils are great soils, yet how does water get through clay, hardpan soils or even down past bedrocks ?

The answer of course is certain plants found in any ecosystem around the globe who we've briefly mentioned in the previous post as having the amazing ability to bring water from deeper layers of the earth and share it with their plant friends around them through the amazing "Mycorrhizal Networking Grid". But how many of you knew that these same plants have the ability to reverse this hydrological cycle and absorb the saturated soil on the surface during rainy seasons and actually pump it into the deeper subsoil layers ? How many really knew that not only can they perform this task, but even do so when they are in their winter/rainy season dormancy sleep-like state ? It's true and that is what the phenomena scientist's now call "Hydraulic Descent". But again, there still is some limited info on this for the public benefit. Let me take the example of the southwestern USA desert Mesquite Tree (Prosopis). For any readers from Asia, Africa, Australia or South America, you will likely identify with other familiar trees like Acacia and so forth which accomplish these same tasks on subsoil water injection.

Image - Johnathan DuHamel - Arizona Daily Independent

Velvet Mesquite (Prosopis velutina)

Here is a link to an article written on the subject of not only 'Hydraulic Lift & Redistribution' but also the observance of the third phenomena of 'Hydraulic Descent' from the dormant desert tree of Velvet Mesquite (Prosopis velutina) (As a special mental note for those of other parts of the world, substitute Acacia when reading the effect of this phenomena)

Blackwell Publishing, Ltd. - "Hydraulic redistribution by a dominant, warm-desert phreatophyte: seasonal patterns and response to precipitation pulses"

Functional Ecology 2004

While referring to the already understood phenomena of 'Hydraulic Lift & Redistribution' here is a quote of the article in the Discussion section where they make special note of the  rainy season dormancy state where the mechanical function of "Hydraulic Descent" is not only acknowledged, but it's possible important implications and importance to the ecosystem are alluded to, though more research is recommended.

Here is the quote:

"After adjusting for differences in sapwood area among the tap-roots of the three trees, maximum rates of reverse flow (l day−1) in the two trees instrumented during the dormant period were 69 and 73% of the maximum nightly rate of reverse flow observed in the tap-root of a third tree during the summer, while nocturnal reverse flow in the tap-root of the third tree was 25–50% of daytime positive flow during transpiration (cluster not shown). Based on these observations, 3–6 days’ reverse flow during the dormant season potentially could supply the tap-root with enough moisture to meet the transpiration for 1 day during the growing season. We caution against strict conclusions based on a few individual trees. Nevertheless, given that crown dormancy in Prosopis velutina at this site typically lasts about 5 months, hydraulic descent during wet winters could supply the tap-root with several days, or even several weeks, of water for growing-season consumption as long as a water-potential gradient is maintained within the root zone."

"The relative importance of hydraulic descent to plant water balance depends on the fate of shallow soil water if it is not otherwise redistributed by the root system. Soil water from winter precipitation apparently does not recharge deep soil layers along the alluvial river terrace (Scott et al. 2004), nor at other upland sites in this region (Scott et al. 2000). Thus much of the water that remains in shallow soil layers is either taken up early in the growing season by co-occurring shallow-rooted plants such as the perennial tussock grass Sporobolus wrightii, or is potentially lost to evaporation, as potential evapotranspiration during the winter and early spring remains relatively high in semiarid climates. The ability to ‘bank’ water during winter dormancy for later consumption presents a win–win scenario for deep rooted plants, as there is a very small carbon investment to maintain the fine-root systems that act as conduits for redistribution during winter dormancy (Widen & Majdi 2001; Burton et al. 2002). Nevertheless, the significance of hydraulic descent to the water balance of mature mesquite plants in floodplain ecosystems is an open question, as mature plants have access to groundwater throughout the growing season (Scott et al. 2003). Fig. 5. (a) Total daily nocturnal sap flow of the stem, taproot and lateral root of Tree 3 calculated from half-hourly measurements from 20.00 h to 05.30 h during the 2002 growing season. Negative values represent reverse flow (away from the crown). (b) Daily precipitation totals (mm day−1) at the field site during the study. Fig. 6. Relative change in soil-water content after initial measurements on 17 June 2002. Measurements were conducted with cross-borehole ground-penetrating radar. Values are the mean from two adjacent vertical transects." 

K. R. Hultine et al. © 2004 British Ecological Society, Functional Ecology

Dormant-season hydraulic descent may play a much greater role in the water balance of mesquite growing in upland habitats where groundwater is not available within the rooting zone, or in young plants in the floodplain that have not yet grown roots into groundwater.

During years of little or no winter precipitation, the balance of redistribution is towards the upper soil layers (hydraulic lift). Hydraulic lift during extended periods of the dormant season provides water storage in the upper soil layers that can be rapidly extracted during spring leaf flush, as the upper soil layers generally contain the highest root-length densities (Jackson et al. 1996). However much of the water that is deposited from deep soil layers to shallow soils may be lost to evapotranspiration before leaf flush, or to other co-occurring plants. Further work is needed to establish a clear connection between dormant-season hydraulic lift and whole-plant water balance.

Regardless of its role in plant and ecosystem water balance, dormant-season hydraulic redistribution has several potentially important implications for plant nutrient balance (Richards & Caldwell 1987). Mineral nutrients are generally most abundant in the upper soil layers. However, the early growing season in most of the south-western USA is characterized by warm daytime temperatures with little or no precipitation until the onset of the monsoon (usually mid-July). For P. velutina trees at our field site, this represents between 80 and 120 days between spring leaf flush and the onset of the monsoon. Thus the mobility of nutrients in the dry shallow soils is potentially low before the monsoon, and diffusion to roots is inhibited. Hydraulic lift during the dormant season can prolong the life span of fine roots and micro-organisms and thereby enhance nutrient ion mobility and uptake during the dry periods of the growing season. Likewise, the dormant-season transfer of mineral nutrients with hydraulic descent to deeper soil layers can potentially smooth the spatial heterogeneity of nutrients, and therefore, enhance plant nutrient uptake during the early growing season when water extraction is primarily from deep soils (Emerman 1996; Burgess et al. 2001a). 

For plant roots to redistribute water between soil layers, they must maintain axial (xylem) hydraulic conductivity (Kx). In many regions xylem conduits in above-ground tissues typically become dysfunctional during the winter due to freeze–thaw cavitation (Cochard & Tyree 1990; Sperry 1993; Pockman & Sperry 1997). Conversely, xylem conduits in roots may not completely embolize where soils insulate roots from freezing temperatures. 

In the present study, P. velutina roots in the upper 50 cm of soil maintained 35% of maximum conductivity during winter, and 70% during summer before the onset of the monsoon (data unpublished). The relatively high xylem conductivities in winter are not surprising considering soil temperatures at 15 cm never reached freezing, despite the fact that minimum air temperatures at mid-canopy reached −15 °C during the winter. Prosopis velutina roots at the site are rarely found near the soil surface above 15 cm depth, particularly in the intercanopy spaces where high temperatures in the upper top few centimetres of soil during the growing season are lethal to living root tissues. 

Soil moisture levels in deep soil layers (−1·5 to −9·5 m) increased during the monsoon. Observed soil moisture changes were probably due to hydraulic redistribution; moisture throughout the vertical transect increased 318 mm between 17 June and 25 September (DOY 168–268). Calculated values of capillary rise from groundwater fluctuations and direct infiltration from summer precipitation could account for only 45 mm of moisture within the GPR profile (R.L.S. and co-workers, unpublished data). Even if all precipitation inputs (248 mm) were transferred below −1·5 m (highly unlikely), the combined inputs from capillary rise and direct infiltration still would not explain the observed change in moisture in the deep soil layers. Moreover, Scott et al. (2004), using profiles of soil moisture probes in the upper 1·0 m of soil at this site, report that infiltration of precipitation below 0·5 m rarely occurred during 2001 and 2002. Only one infiltration event was observed below 0·5 m, and this resulted in only a 2% change in soil moisture content at 0·7 m. 

The above argument requires reasonably accurate estimates of vadose zone θ. Although a site-specific calibration of apparent dielectric constant vs soil moisture content has not yet been established, Alumbaugh et al. (2002) argued that the precision error for this type of cross-borehole GPR measurement is ≈0·5% in moisture content estimation. Therefore the changes seen in the profile are arguably significant. Water content changes between ≈5·75–7·25 m depth could not be estimated as there was too much attenuation of the waveform for an accurate estimation of the travel time. At this depth interval, well logs reveal a thick layer of clayey material.

After the onset of the monsoon, nocturnal reverse flow in the tap-root was typically lower in magnitude than its daytime flow towards the stem, suggesting that the water content of deep soil layers should still be depleted (although at a lower rate) after precipitation wetted the upper soil layers. However, water content increased during the monsoon in the deep soil layers despite the absence of direct recharge of precipitation below 1 m. It is likely that lateral roots, fine roots and root hairs extend from the tap-root in relatively dry soil layers as well as the shallow groundwater table or capillary fringe. Thus the bulk of daytime positive flow in the tap-root was probably derived from the extraction of groundwater, and nocturnal reverse flow was a consequence of redistribution to the dry soil layers above the water table. Unfortunately, measurements of root sap flow alone cannot detect the source or fate of water that moves through woody roots. There were substantial differences between Trees 1 and 2 in the pattern and direction of root sap flow during the dormant season prior to irrigation. Sap in the tap-root

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Here is yet another article specifically dealing with the exact same mechanisms referenced above, with the quote 

Abstract: & Link:

 http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2003AGUFM.B51A..06S

The Ecohydrological Interactions Between Mesquite and its Water Sources

Abstract:

"Velvet mesquite (Prosopis velutina), a native woody plant to southern Arizona, USA and Sonora, Mexico, has successfully expanded its range and encroached into both upland and riparian grasslands during the 20th century. In this study, we examined the interactions between mesquite and its water sources in order to determine how the trees responded to moisture availability. This study took place in a riparian area and because the trees had access to both deep groundwater and surface water, these interactions resulted in important hydrological and ecological consequences. Surprisingly, we found that the mesquite responded to and even manipulated both surface and deep soil moisture even though they apparently had access to a stable groundwater source throughout the growing season. During dry season nights, observations of root sap flow showed that the trees moved moisture upwards in the taproot and out into the surface soils in lateral roots. As a consequence of this "hydraulic lift", diurnal soil respiration measurements showed that the soil microbes were stimulated following the nocturnal release of moisture into the near-surface regions. During rainy season nights, there was sap flow movement toward the tree in the surface lateral roots and downwards in the taproot indicating "hydraulic descent". Borehole GPR measurements of the deeper, 2 - 10 m, vadose zone moisture content increased apparently as a result of this tree-facilitated water movement. Also, hydraulic descent influenced water table elevations indicating direct groundwater recharge via plant pathways."

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Now while acknowledging the benefits of reverse flow descent into the deeper layers of the Earth during it's period of cold winter rainy season dormancy, they advise caution as they do not understand the full impact of this on the environment without further studies. Keep in mind that this particular study was in 2004. Today much more has been learned since. We also lack many of the old growth  Mesquite Bosques (Ancient Old Growth Mesquite Forests) that were originally observed by the early pioneers who conquered the West and brought in European Agricultural practices which ruined the pristine landscape. In many ways, we can only assume what and how such systems must have functioned and maintained like in the good old days. Though there are very few old growth Mesquite examples today, can you imagine the potential 'Hydraulic Descent' capabilities of an old growth tree like this South American Huarango tree pictured along side men to give it scale in my previous article:

Now that's what I would call a natural industrial sized pump as opposed to the average sized Mesquite which by comparison would be nothing more than a Honda Generator by comparison. Below I'm going to close with a large linked list for online viewing regarding this natural phenomena. As per the norm, the articles are not meant for Joe/Jane Q-Public, but rather for other researchers. Nevertheless, they are condensed important resources collected for the benefit of others. Hopefully my story line above gives some sensibility to an interesting natural mechanized phenomena. I'm also adding links to African Acacia tree studies dealing with such species as Acacia tortilis.

Further References:

Influence of soil texture on hydraulic properties and water relations of a dominant warm-desert phreatophyte 

New study finds 400,000 farmers in southern Africa using 'fertilizer trees' to improve food security As World Food Day puts focus on food crises, research shows potential for rapid, radical transformation on smallholder farms

Impact of Fertilizer Tree Fallows in Eastern Zambia:  A study on Impacts of Agroforestry

Quantifying Riparian Evapotranspiration: - "The Water-Banking Mesquites"

http://ddr.nal.usda.gov/bitstream/10113/21015/1/IND44045056.pdf

Ludwig F. (2001). Tree-grass interaction on an East African Savanna: The effects of competition, facilitation and hydraulic lift.

Hydraulic redistribution by deep roots of a Chihuahuan Desert phreatophyte

 Modeling Water and Nutrient Transport through the Soil-Root-Canopy Continuum: Explicitly Linking the Below- and Above-Ground Processes

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Some Conclusions: 

So what do we get from all of this other than some often times academic observational takes by some University researchers on one of their field trips to study how nature works ? 

Quite simply this. Humans for centuries have in ignorance bastardized our planet's natural resources. The have often taken and never put back. Rather than work with nature, they have insisted they knew better than nature and bulled ahead with their own purpose driven goals often motivated by greed and selfishness. Our present generation is paying the price for our ancestors ignorance and stupidity. 

Let us see what we've learned about Hydraulic 'Lift' - 'Redistribution' & 'Descent' which are three major components of the plant world that are brilliantly engineered into the system for constant recycling & renewal. Human science-based technologies when it comes to managing water is to straight channel it on it's way to the sea. Straight channeling also allows for that ever important commercial trafficking of goods from various parts of the earth to other parts to be used in an economic philosophy where consume, consume, consume is the only way our world's global economy is able to survive. Any disruption of the status-quo causes chaos to enter the economic system and sends vibrational upset across the globe which results in some countries civil unrest. So nothing changes and still the environment pays the cost, which eventual leads to our wallet.

It is hoped that readers here will understand that the Earth's Network is engineered to slow water down. The idea when it comes to technology is that once that raindrop hits the Earth, we want to slow it down before it goes out to sea. It's not the aim or goal to prevent it from doing so, but merely to slow down the process. Viktor Schauberger had much to say about ecological river custodialship. He saw the way nature handled water in streams and rivers by a slowed down process of allowing water to meander back and forth in a zig-zagged cris-cross motion aided by rocks, log jam debris, streamside vegetation, etc. The benefit is that the water table rises and saturates the subsoils in the surrounding landscape. 

The cooperative association of the fungal networks assisting the hydrological processes carried on by the plant's internal structure which employ this hydrological functions in ant plant community system for which hydration of the deeper layers is possible even under the poorest soil structural conditions. Science based Reservoir systems want to halt water and store it in inundated valleys which no longer support life and have long ago replaced it. Nature's way was to pump it deep inside the Earth and thereafter allow slow release of that stored water through springs and seeps which then turn into streams, then to rivers and finally making their way to the sea to start the cycle all over again, but in an orderly non-destructive fashion. All the while humans could be allowed to draw off some of this precious gift from wells and other sources, yet using it responsibly and efficiently. 

From the patterns of historical behavior, it is clear that human governments and big business institutions (this includes much of conventional old school thinking of science) will never get the sense of the important discoveries and benefits that some responsible researchers are bringing to light. It is mostly hoped that individual readers here will share the positive discoveries and make their own personal practical applications and share them with others. In a way, it's a sort or type of positive genomic imprinting or educational epigenetics that can be passed on to future generations. We unfortunately don't live in that kind of world presently where positives push forward without the proverbial price tag attached to it. I'm not so blind as to believe that humans will necessarily do this on their own. At any one time in the history of mankind's existence on this globe, there has only been a small minority(when compared to the globe's entire population) who have ever done the right thing in any one generation. But humans have accelerated things to a point where something has to change. 

Though this particular blog is not necessarily pushing a spiritual viewpoint, there are never the less some scriptural references which apply here. For example, on the point of genomic imprinting, most of the research shows the consequences of negative experiences lived by one generation can have negative impacts on descendants even generations removed. If that is true, then a reverse of what this scripture says could be true also if we work at applying the positives in our lives. It goes something like this:

Jeremiah 31:29 (NW)

“In those days they will no more say, ‘The fathers were the ones that ate the unripe grape, but it was the teeth of the sons that got set on edge*.’

* footnote: got blunted or dulled

Here's a cross reference scripture - Lamentations 5:7 (NW) 

"Our forefathers are the ones that have sinned. They are no more. As for us, it is their errors that we have had to bear."

Those scriptural references have great practical application not only when it comes to living life properly when it comes to the way we treat our fellow man, neighbour, stranger, child, parent, husband or wife, but also the responsible or irresponsible choices we make when it comes to proper or improper decision making when it comes to custodianship of our wonderful planet earth. If it's true that negatives can have great impacts on later generations, then most certainly positives can have a healing effect to reverse those negatives. It's up to all individuals to make the right choices and decisions in their personal lives. There are consequences to present generations making bad choices on an ecological level which effect future generations. We all now experience the stupid choices and decision making by the early European pioneers who by means of ambitious conquering of other lands in Empire building and it's indigenous peoples and exploiting their natural resources for their own economic greed have left all of us with a number of badly broken down functional systems, some being destroyed altogether. Since 1990 with the failure and fall of communism, those country's various attempts at creating their own capitalistic machines for wealth infusion into their economies and promoting a consumerism mindset, have almost surely doubled and tripled the rapid search and exploitation of Earth's raw materials. Various charts & graphs of historic deforestation, CO2s, Temps, etc are a testament to this truth. Keep one thing in mind, the rise in destruction of forests and other various vegetative ecosystems around the globe ALWAYS precedes the rise in other damaging components referenced on those climate charts. Incredible, NONE of the climate scientists ever bring this to the public's attention. Question now is, WHY ?

Can You Imagine the restoration possibilities with recognizing a Forest Mechanism ?   

Future articles will be posted on the hydrological processes mentioned as I will news update from time to time.

 Thanks for reading.