[NatureNS] Cornell Article

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From: Nick Hill <fernhillns@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 11 Aug 2019 09:07:14 -0300
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&gt; likely at least 3 litres of pits in total in North Alton. I am
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Typo Sorry...a shift in mycorrhizal type has been noted away from
ectomycorrhizae to arbuscular mycorrhizae is said to accompany frequent
clearcutting that disrupts the humus root associations. It goes against a
mimicking of nature to try to be tidy and take it up and burn it. Why would
we think it would not go against forest process?

N

On Sun, Aug 11, 2019, 9:00 AM Nick Hill, <fernhillns@gmail.com> wrote:

> A key difference between a known old growth area (eg Abraham's lake,
> sporting lake and Cape chignecto) is , yes, the big trees uneven aged snags
> and downed logs, but as much, the depth of humus.
>
> Our observations were spotty it was long ago but we went into old growths
> and then "working" landscapes which had been cut over repeatedly and
> collected soils for microbial characterization. The hypothesis was the old
> forests might have stress tolerant actinomycetes that could have useful
> antibiotics in their long term struggles against fungi and other microbes.
>
> We never unfortunately got that far but the working landscapes had
> virtually no organic covering over he mineral soil while the old growths
> had deep humus.
>
> With forestry, that humus layer will e reduced but it should be valued
> because of it is enriched in many forest nutrients..N P Ca..that are
> deficient in the mineral layer. The humus is also the seat of the
> mycorrhizae and other microbes we may not understand. Forests are said to
> have u undergone a shift in my original types in response to the break up
> of this humus root layer. We could do ecological forestry and that would
> mean working with the key ecological processes..decomposition
> mineralization  mycorrhizal associations.. and doing our best to conserve
> the humus layer.
>
> Ecological forestry means no Amazonia like burn piles, no glyphosate which
> wipes out early regen and amphibians and plant biodiversity, and attention
> to mimicking forest processes. It would be excitng to be involved in this
> post Lahey planning.
>
> Stay tuned and stay vigilant
>
> Nick
>
> On Sat, Aug 10, 2019, 10:55 PM David Webster, <dwebster@glinx.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi Donna & All,
>>
>> Here I am being the devil's advocate again--- but I have problems with
>> the following passage.
>>
>> "Most of our forests presently require centuries of recovery just to
>> nurse depleted soils back to health from fires, acid rain, and
>> clearcutting.  One thing each of us can do is encourage hardwood growth,
>> with deep rooting structures that help improve soil conditions."
>>
>> First of all have most of our forests been burned ? If not then they
>> don't need centuries to recover from fires,.
>>
>>      Acid rain is a different story entirely. The LRT hype has been
>> tucked into a back room somewhere but acid rain is ongoing and, even if
>> it had stopped, recovery of naturally acidic soils in a podsol region,
>> from the effects of acid rain is a pipe dream.
>>
>>      Failure of government to act has been a great disappointment.
>> Salmon and Trout have taken a hit and there is no excuse for this other
>> than irresponsible government and perhaps the notion that with time
>> everything will be nice again. High soil acidity and exchangeable Al go
>> hand in hand. Consequently one may expect the Al concentration of
>> groundwater, entering natural waterways from acidic uplands to increase
>> as soil acidity increases; unless the soils are derived from and
>> underlain by basic rocks such as limestone or Basalt so the acidity of
>> leachates can be moderated in transit.
>>
>>      In my view it should be standard practice to apply agricultural
>> grade limestone to all clearcut areas at a rate of 20 tons per acre. To
>> clearcuts because application of limestone using soil based equipment is
>> prohibitive by air and clearcuts make application by ground equipment
>> possible.
>>
>>      Apart from perhaps physical damage when soils are puddled by
>> traffic when the soil is too wet or eroded along wheel tracks (In the
>> 70's I saw the impact hauling wood out with narrow tires on wet soil;
>> ruts eroded more than 3'deep down long slopes. That would be much less
>> likely to happen now. And I have subsequently not seen it.) what is the
>> evidence that clearcutting  damages soils ?
>>
>>      In one area which I had clearcut, except for scattered deciduous
>> trees, when all Spruce shed needles in June there was breast high rank
>> growth by late summer of Goldenrods etc (perhaps due to a tree-free area
>> to the west which acted as a seed source ). But I understand from
>> contact with those who thin regrowth on clearcuts that ground cover is
>> typically complete within a year. In case of doubt it would make sense
>> to sow something which would take root rapidly. This is why I am fond of
>> Buckthorn. If seeds are present they establish within a year thereby
>> decreasing leaching loss.
>>
>>      With regard to Hardwoods, I understand these are currently
>> suppressed or killed in regrowth after cutting. I think this is unwise
>> and consequently wrong. In diversity there is strength. But I am not
>> clear how "each of us" can encourage hardwood growth.
>>
>>      It is easy enough if you own woods and cut your firewood but I
>> think relatively few on Naturens are that fortunate. But getting back to
>> the deep rooting of Hardwoods. This is myth to a large degree; they can
>> be deep rooted but so can many other trees. Given the right well drained
>> sandy soil (e.g. Cornwallis  Sandy Loam) White Pine is very deep rooted.
>> And one rarely sees Yellow Pine windfalls so I suspect they also are
>> deep rooted. Spruce can cope with constantly wet soil but given well
>> drained soil is windfirm in the open and therefore deep rooted. (There
>> were two Spruce hedges on the farm where I started life, well spaced so
>> exposed to wind and some 4-5 trees near the house; about 35 trees total
>> and typically about 1.5' diameter at breast height. At least one broke
>> off in a high wind but none were ever uprooted and therefore deep rooted.)
>>
>>      My experience with planting trees has been largely negative. Many
>> decades ago I read that Oaks were dependent upon absent minded squirrels
>> who buried acorns and then forgot where they were; sure. So I gathered
>> about 5 litres of acorns, spread them on a small area of garden an