Photo: Farm in northeastern China, Inner Mongolia. © 2012 Delena Norris-Tull
Permaculture
Bill Mollison, an Australian biologist, and David Holmgren, an Australian environmental designer, developed the sustainable farming techniques called Permaculture. They adopted their strategies based on the influence of various farming experts, including Fukuoka and Haikai Tane. Permaculture differs from Fukuoka’s approach, as it involves a more planned design, rather than evolving out of nature. Permaculture is a “sustainable agricultural system based on a multi-crop of perennial trees, shrubs, herbs (vegetables and weeds), fungi, and root systems.” Focused on enabling communities to develop self-subsistence, permaculture has evolved to include training in economics and legal strategies to assist households and communities to become financially self-sustaining.
The first Permaculture Institute was developed to “teach the practical design of sustainable soil, water, plant, and legal and economic systems.” Holmgren, author of several books on Permaculture, argues that invasive plants are an important part of natural systems, and thus should not be eliminated from agricultural systems.
In a report presented within a series of seminars on “Contentious Perspectives on Weeds” at the 45th Annual General Meeting of the Weed Society of Victoria, Holmgren, 2011, states that, “Land design and management informed by permaculture principles tends to regard naturalized species of plants as assets that should be managed to stabilize water and soil, build biomass, fix nutrients, ameliorate microclimate and provide habitat, fodder, fuel and food in the early stages of system development. While naturalized species may be given a lower value in permaculture design than species regarded as indigenous to the site and region, the typical designation of naturalized species as 'invasive species' or 'environmental weeds' is typically rejected as anti-ecological thinking.”
Holmgren, 2011, argues against the designation of non-native species as weeds or invasives. He states, “I prefer the term ‘naturalized species’ to describe all plants that have developed self reproducing populations outside of their supposed natural range where they are ‘indigenous’. The term ‘naturalized’ has long been in use by botanists, and recognizes species that have achieved the first level of ecological functionality in establishing a self-maintaining population.”
Permaculture values the “use of pioneer [naturalized] species to quickly stabilize soil and water resources, build organic matter, fix nutrients, ameliorate microclimate and quickly provide habitat and resources while more delicate, longer lived climax species become established.”
Holmgren, 2011, describes two of the five primary influences on the development of the Permaculture model: indigenous hunter-gatherer culture and economic botany research. “For example, the Arran’da people of the central desert [of Australia] have a word that means ‘of the land’. All things ‘of the land’ have moral status and can be appropriately used but not abused.”
Pointing to the work of economic botanists, Holmgren draws attention to the many plant species, both native and naturalized, that have economic value but that have often been overlooked within agriculture. One has only to examine the origins of the many plants naturalized within the USA to recognize that for many, although not all, their introductions here were due to their economic values elsewhere.
Holmgren, 2011, points out that, “Climate change has been widely predicted to lead to mass movement of species. Evidence of these adaptive behaviour movements is already accumulating, but native species that have been successful in moving in response to human induced environmental change are commonly labelled as undesirable invasives by some biologists and land managers… Within the invasion biology field [naturalization] is typically discussed as an ecological disaster that is best prevented by ensuring no seed sources of potential invasive species, leaving the field open to indigenous species. This perspective ignores the evidence that many exotic species have greater potential to better stabilize soil and water resources than locally indigenous species. Novel ecosystems [including both native and naturalized species] are the laboratories where we can study how native and migrant species might combine in this future of disruptive climate change.”
Holmgren, 2011, states that, “The low level of interest in economic botany of trees and long-lived perennials in the 20th century can be attributed to abundant cheap oil that undercuts the value of renewable resources. I see permaculture as prefiguring a revival of interest in both native and migrant species as valuable resources in the energy descent future.”
Addressing rising energy costs, which are increasing the costs of chemical treatments used in agriculture, Holmgren, 2011, says, “Higher energy costs are already flowing through to food and all other resources, both renewable and non-renewable. Resulting economic contraction will see less money for weed control, while the high embodied energy cost of herbicides will reduce options for weed control.”
Holmgren, 2011, goes on to say, “In highlighting the positive aspects of naturalized and migrant plants to balance what I believe is an anti-ecological and damaging orthodoxy, I don’t want to give the impression that I believe caution is not required in the introduction of new species. In my teaching of permaculture I have always emphasized the distinction between animals (especially vertebrates including fish) and plants when considering the potentially problematic introduction of these organisms to new environments: clearly top predators are the most problematic of all introductions. That being said, prohibitions on culture of (for example) Redfin perch in central Victoria is meaningless when this species has been naturalized in all streams and most dams for at least a century.”
Holmgren, 2011, concludes with, “The nativist ideology that has largely captured public policy, resource allocation and instigated increasing regulation, as well as influenced the personal decisions of farmers and land managers, makes the following assumptions that I believe are all ill founded:
1. All species naturalizations at all scales represent ecological degradation, and should be avoided.
2. Ecosystem services provided by naturalized species are insignificant or trivial.
3. New resource opportunities from naturalized species are insignificant or trivial.
4. Control and/or extermination of already naturalized species is a high priority in land management.
5. Collateral damage to soil and water resources, and to other life forms from use of toxins and machinery is minor.
6. That the war against weeds can be won.”
Delena’s commentary: The inspiration that caused me to tackle this examination of invasive plant species management was based on a fundamental question I had developed over the years: Can the war on weeds be won? Holmgren provides a compelling argument that says, No, that war is already lost.
I also refer you to Tao Orion’s book, Beyond the war on invasive species: A permaculture approach to ecosystem restoration. Orion has a degree in Environmental Studies with a focus on agroecology and sustainable agriculture. She teaches permaculture design at Oregon State University. In the book’s introduction, Orion, 2015, states, “Permaculture taught me that every organism is intrinsically connected to the ecosystem of which it Is a part and that addressing the ecological conditions that promote a species’ proliferation, whether you wish to discourage or encourage its survival, will enhance the ecosystem overall.”
Orion’s early work in habitat restoration in Oregon helped shape her concerns about treating plants as invasive. When she started working in wetlands habitat restoration in Lane County Oregon, she was appalled to learn that the first step in restoration was to use three years of annual broadcast spraying with RoundUp, followed up with spot treatment with herbicides. Based on her experience working at an organic farm, she succeeded in convincing her supervisors to let here try spot burning, rather than spot spraying with herbicides. This seemed successful at first, but then she grew concerned with the amphibians that she inadvertently burned. Then she started noticing that the invasive species she was trying to eradicate actually were fulfilling a useful role in the wetlands, providing pollen for honeybees and native pollinators, and that frogs were able to thrive despite living in an “invaded” environment. Another step planned by the County for restoring the wetlands was to remove tens of thousands of dump truck loads of soil, to reach the water table. Orion was troubled by the additional damage that these actions had on the site, such as the soil compaction caused by months of use of bulldozers and excavators and trucks for soil removal. Ultimately, replanting the site with native seeds was not successful in keeping the invasive plants at bay.
Out of this experience, Orion began to apply knowledge from the field of permaculture to the field of restoration ecology. She said, “Because permaculture design is focused on the relationships among elements rather than on considering an element in isolation, it offers a unique way to understand how rampancy of a particular species might be indicative of larger processes at work… Permaculture design offers a unique framework to understand invasive species and engage in a more holistic, and more successful, restoration planning process… The process of permaculture design is ethically based, meaning that every action and decision should evaluate how best to care for the earth, care for people, and reinvest surplus into regenerative systems.” Orion’s book attempts to provide this framework to the reader. In it, the author addresses a variety of problems related to invasive species, such as dissecting the causes of the spread of tamarisk trees.
References:
Links to additional Agricultural Best Practices:
Links to additional Innovative Solutions:
Permaculture
Bill Mollison, an Australian biologist, and David Holmgren, an Australian environmental designer, developed the sustainable farming techniques called Permaculture. They adopted their strategies based on the influence of various farming experts, including Fukuoka and Haikai Tane. Permaculture differs from Fukuoka’s approach, as it involves a more planned design, rather than evolving out of nature. Permaculture is a “sustainable agricultural system based on a multi-crop of perennial trees, shrubs, herbs (vegetables and weeds), fungi, and root systems.” Focused on enabling communities to develop self-subsistence, permaculture has evolved to include training in economics and legal strategies to assist households and communities to become financially self-sustaining.
The first Permaculture Institute was developed to “teach the practical design of sustainable soil, water, plant, and legal and economic systems.” Holmgren, author of several books on Permaculture, argues that invasive plants are an important part of natural systems, and thus should not be eliminated from agricultural systems.
In a report presented within a series of seminars on “Contentious Perspectives on Weeds” at the 45th Annual General Meeting of the Weed Society of Victoria, Holmgren, 2011, states that, “Land design and management informed by permaculture principles tends to regard naturalized species of plants as assets that should be managed to stabilize water and soil, build biomass, fix nutrients, ameliorate microclimate and provide habitat, fodder, fuel and food in the early stages of system development. While naturalized species may be given a lower value in permaculture design than species regarded as indigenous to the site and region, the typical designation of naturalized species as 'invasive species' or 'environmental weeds' is typically rejected as anti-ecological thinking.”
Holmgren, 2011, argues against the designation of non-native species as weeds or invasives. He states, “I prefer the term ‘naturalized species’ to describe all plants that have developed self reproducing populations outside of their supposed natural range where they are ‘indigenous’. The term ‘naturalized’ has long been in use by botanists, and recognizes species that have achieved the first level of ecological functionality in establishing a self-maintaining population.”
Permaculture values the “use of pioneer [naturalized] species to quickly stabilize soil and water resources, build organic matter, fix nutrients, ameliorate microclimate and quickly provide habitat and resources while more delicate, longer lived climax species become established.”
Holmgren, 2011, describes two of the five primary influences on the development of the Permaculture model: indigenous hunter-gatherer culture and economic botany research. “For example, the Arran’da people of the central desert [of Australia] have a word that means ‘of the land’. All things ‘of the land’ have moral status and can be appropriately used but not abused.”
Pointing to the work of economic botanists, Holmgren draws attention to the many plant species, both native and naturalized, that have economic value but that have often been overlooked within agriculture. One has only to examine the origins of the many plants naturalized within the USA to recognize that for many, although not all, their introductions here were due to their economic values elsewhere.
Holmgren, 2011, points out that, “Climate change has been widely predicted to lead to mass movement of species. Evidence of these adaptive behaviour movements is already accumulating, but native species that have been successful in moving in response to human induced environmental change are commonly labelled as undesirable invasives by some biologists and land managers… Within the invasion biology field [naturalization] is typically discussed as an ecological disaster that is best prevented by ensuring no seed sources of potential invasive species, leaving the field open to indigenous species. This perspective ignores the evidence that many exotic species have greater potential to better stabilize soil and water resources than locally indigenous species. Novel ecosystems [including both native and naturalized species] are the laboratories where we can study how native and migrant species might combine in this future of disruptive climate change.”
Holmgren, 2011, states that, “The low level of interest in economic botany of trees and long-lived perennials in the 20th century can be attributed to abundant cheap oil that undercuts the value of renewable resources. I see permaculture as prefiguring a revival of interest in both native and migrant species as valuable resources in the energy descent future.”
Addressing rising energy costs, which are increasing the costs of chemical treatments used in agriculture, Holmgren, 2011, says, “Higher energy costs are already flowing through to food and all other resources, both renewable and non-renewable. Resulting economic contraction will see less money for weed control, while the high embodied energy cost of herbicides will reduce options for weed control.”
Holmgren, 2011, goes on to say, “In highlighting the positive aspects of naturalized and migrant plants to balance what I believe is an anti-ecological and damaging orthodoxy, I don’t want to give the impression that I believe caution is not required in the introduction of new species. In my teaching of permaculture I have always emphasized the distinction between animals (especially vertebrates including fish) and plants when considering the potentially problematic introduction of these organisms to new environments: clearly top predators are the most problematic of all introductions. That being said, prohibitions on culture of (for example) Redfin perch in central Victoria is meaningless when this species has been naturalized in all streams and most dams for at least a century.”
Holmgren, 2011, concludes with, “The nativist ideology that has largely captured public policy, resource allocation and instigated increasing regulation, as well as influenced the personal decisions of farmers and land managers, makes the following assumptions that I believe are all ill founded:
1. All species naturalizations at all scales represent ecological degradation, and should be avoided.
2. Ecosystem services provided by naturalized species are insignificant or trivial.
3. New resource opportunities from naturalized species are insignificant or trivial.
4. Control and/or extermination of already naturalized species is a high priority in land management.
5. Collateral damage to soil and water resources, and to other life forms from use of toxins and machinery is minor.
6. That the war against weeds can be won.”
Delena’s commentary: The inspiration that caused me to tackle this examination of invasive plant species management was based on a fundamental question I had developed over the years: Can the war on weeds be won? Holmgren provides a compelling argument that says, No, that war is already lost.
I also refer you to Tao Orion’s book, Beyond the war on invasive species: A permaculture approach to ecosystem restoration. Orion has a degree in Environmental Studies with a focus on agroecology and sustainable agriculture. She teaches permaculture design at Oregon State University. In the book’s introduction, Orion, 2015, states, “Permaculture taught me that every organism is intrinsically connected to the ecosystem of which it Is a part and that addressing the ecological conditions that promote a species’ proliferation, whether you wish to discourage or encourage its survival, will enhance the ecosystem overall.”
Orion’s early work in habitat restoration in Oregon helped shape her concerns about treating plants as invasive. When she started working in wetlands habitat restoration in Lane County Oregon, she was appalled to learn that the first step in restoration was to use three years of annual broadcast spraying with RoundUp, followed up with spot treatment with herbicides. Based on her experience working at an organic farm, she succeeded in convincing her supervisors to let here try spot burning, rather than spot spraying with herbicides. This seemed successful at first, but then she grew concerned with the amphibians that she inadvertently burned. Then she started noticing that the invasive species she was trying to eradicate actually were fulfilling a useful role in the wetlands, providing pollen for honeybees and native pollinators, and that frogs were able to thrive despite living in an “invaded” environment. Another step planned by the County for restoring the wetlands was to remove tens of thousands of dump truck loads of soil, to reach the water table. Orion was troubled by the additional damage that these actions had on the site, such as the soil compaction caused by months of use of bulldozers and excavators and trucks for soil removal. Ultimately, replanting the site with native seeds was not successful in keeping the invasive plants at bay.
Out of this experience, Orion began to apply knowledge from the field of permaculture to the field of restoration ecology. She said, “Because permaculture design is focused on the relationships among elements rather than on considering an element in isolation, it offers a unique way to understand how rampancy of a particular species might be indicative of larger processes at work… Permaculture design offers a unique framework to understand invasive species and engage in a more holistic, and more successful, restoration planning process… The process of permaculture design is ethically based, meaning that every action and decision should evaluate how best to care for the earth, care for people, and reinvest surplus into regenerative systems.” Orion’s book attempts to provide this framework to the reader. In it, the author addresses a variety of problems related to invasive species, such as dissecting the causes of the spread of tamarisk trees.
References:
- Holmgren, D. (2011). Weeds or wild nature: A permaculture perspective. Plant Protection Quarterly, 26(3):92-97.
- Orion, T. (2015). Beyond the war on invasive species: A permaculture approach to ecosystem restoration. London: Chelsea Green Publishing.
Links to additional Agricultural Best Practices:
- Ecologically based Successional Management
- Perennial Crops, Intercropping, beneficial insects
- Soil Solarization
- Natural Farming
- Organic Farming
- Embedding Natural Habitats
- Conservation Tillage
- Crop Rotation
- Water Use Practices
- Tree Planting: Pros & Cons
Links to additional Innovative Solutions: