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--- notes_aare [2018-04-16 10:06] – theunkarelse
+++ notes_aare [2018-06-12 20:01] (current) – theunkarelse
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 ==== Notes Aare ====
+Landscape degeneration is a phenomenon at planetary scale. Some see this century as the age of ecological regeneration; bringing areas back to life, with the return of water, vegetation and all manner of organisms re-appearing. This would be 'The Great Work' for humanity. But are humans best suited for all aspects of this task? This lab proposes to push the narrative beyond human-centric perspectives. Could landscapes engage in self-regeneration if they form alliances with the right technologies? What would such systems entail?\\
+\\
+This lab brings together field-workers and field-thinkers from the environmental ‘avant-garde’ who work at the level of community, technology data to design and develop actual applications of autonomous agents in regenerative ecological practice.
-=== Degraded land: ===
+=== Existing resources on location: ===
+  * mineral content
+  * sunlight
+  * atmosphere
+  * latent seed stock? (typically desert flora can go dormant for extensive periods, but this is man made desert so how vital is the latent seed stock?)
-== Existing resources: ==
+=== Lacking: ===
-** mineral content
+  * rain
-** sunlight
+  * water retention
-** atmosphere
+  * organic matter in soil
-** latent seed stock? (typically desert flora can go dormant for extensive periods, but this is man made desert so how vital is the latent seed stock?)
+  * soil retention (erosion)
+  * microclimates
+  * economy
+  * infrastructure (electricity, etc)
-== Lacking: ==
+=== Techniques ordered in sequence: ===
-- rain
+  * condensation (water harvesting, shadow) > **out**: pioneering vegetation
-- water retention
+  * ditches or 'contour ridges' (increase geodiversity) > **out**: water retention, erosion, microclimates, hydrologic corridors, ‘housing’ for ground dwelling fauna)
-- organic matter in soil
+  * biodegradable 'waterboxx' to grow trees (Pinus silvestris)
-- soil retention (erosion)
+  * mucuva: seeding an area with biodiverse mix of local species (increases tree diversity from 160 to over 2000 species per hectare initially and over 5000 after a decade)
-- microclimates
+  * refugia (at large scale) vegetation pockets in the most favourable areas that serve as basecamps to grow from
-- economy
+  * assisted migration (zoochory) > **out**: dramatically speeds up regeneration
+  * assisted evolution?? (like Cobalt-60 exposure)
-=== Techniques: ===
+=== Second phase techniques: ===
-- condensation (water harvesting, shadow) > out: pioneering vegetation
+  * transplantation ecology (disperse topsoil samples) **out**: dramatically speeds up regeneration
-- ditches (increase geodiversity) > out: water retention, erosion, microclimates, hydrologic corridors, ‘housing’ for ground dwelling fauna)
+  * structural complexity enhancement (jump towards late-successional diversity) knock over some of the trees and expose roots, strip bark from some of the trees to create snags (standing dead trees) breaking up canopy cover, make piles of branches, or somehow bring in heavy longs from elsewhere > **out**: creates habitat for insects, birds, mammals, amphibians that mitigate disease, pests and renewed space for pioneering vegetation and the associated wildlife
-- refugia (at large scale) vegetation pockets in the most favourable areas that serve as basecamps to grow from
+  * atmospheric water cycle: canopy cover starts to work as an atmospheric moisture pump (near coast or on mountain side)
-- mucuva: seeding an area with biodiverse mix of local species (increases tree diversity from 160 to over 2000 species per hectare initially and over 5000 after a decade)
+  * establish forestfire corridors
-- assisted migration / transplantation ecology (zoochory or in second phase: disperse topsoil samples) > out: dramatically speeds up regeneration
-- assisted evolution (like Cobalt-60 exposure of crops)
-== Second phase techniques: ==
-- structural complexity enhancement (jump towards late-successional diversity) knock over some of the trees and expose roots, strip bark from some of the trees to create snags (standing dead trees) breaking up canopy cover, or somehow bring in heavy longs from elsewhere > out: creates habitat for insects, birds, mammals, amphibians that mitigate disease, pests and renewed space for pioneering vegetation and the associated wildlife
-- atmospheric water cycle: canopy cover starts to work as an atmospheric moisture pump (near coast or on mountain side)
 === Niches: ===
-- primary trophic layer > pioneering vegetation / foundation species > annuals and algae > in: water / out: mine and accumulate available nutrients, create biomass, water retention, microclimates
+  * primary trophic layer > pioneering vegetation / foundation species > annuals and algae > **in**: water / **out**: mine and accumulate available nutrients, create biomass, water retention, microclimates
-- secondary trophic layer > insects, small herbivores > in: ‘accommodation’ / out: pollination, trophic
+  * secondary trophic layer > insects, small herbivores > **in**: ‘accommodation’ / **out**: pollination, trophic
-- third trophic layer > birds, carnivores > in: canopy or shrubbery / out: pest mitigation, zoochory (seed dispersal, microbe dispersal, nutrient dispersal)
+  * third trophic layer > birds, carnivores > **in**: canopy or shrubbery / **out**: pest mitigation, zoochory (seed dispersal, microbe dispersal, nutrient dispersal)
-- foundation species: a strong role in structuring a community (grass, trees, kelp, ants)
-- indicator species (as a way of analysing system health) lichen
+  * foundation species: a strong role in structuring a community (grass, trees, kelp, ants)
-- keystone species: high regulatory impact in relation to its abundance (often predators) wolf, wild boar,
+  * indicator species (as a way of analysing system health) lichen
-- nuisance species: that tend to discourage human occupation: leech, hogweed, mosquito
+  * keystone species: high regulatory impact in relation to its abundance (often predators) wolf, wild boar,
-- hyper-acumulators (in case of toxins in the ecosystem) tuberous plants
+  * nuisance species: that tend to discourage human occupation: leech, hogweed, mosquito
+  * hyper-acumulators (in case of toxins in the ecosystem) tuberous plants
 === Pioneering (early successional) vegetation: ===
-- first stage: algae and annuals (herbs)
+  * first stage: algae and annuals (herbs)
-- second stage: shrubs and first trees (contour hedge rows to maximise impact)
+  * second stage: shrubs and first trees (contour hedge rows to maximise impact)
-- third stage: tree cover, nitrogen fixing trees: root deep, self seed, grow quickly, grow easily from cuttings (automated tree nursery)
+  * third stage: tree cover, nitrogen fixing trees: root deep, self seed, grow quickly, grow easily from cuttings (automated tree nursery)
-(Some ecologists call this making a ‘vegetation forecast’)
+(Essentially we're making a ‘vegetation forecast’)
+=== Functional traits required: ===
+  * shade giving
+  * high water retention
+  * deep rooted
+  * fruit bearing (to attract more life)
+  * high characteristic return time: rate at which a population recovers from disturbance
+  * high jump dispersal: can cover long distances over inhospitable habitat in one generation (typically: seeds, insects, birds)
+  * high speciation (allopatric)
-=== Functional traits: ===
+=== Weaknesses of an establishing ecosystem: ===
-- high characteristic return time: rate at which a population returns after disturbance
+  * low cryptic diversity (genepool)
-- high jump dispersal: can cover long distances over inhospitable habitat in one generation (typically: seeds, insects, birds)
+  * low tipping point
-- high speciation (allopatric)
+  * low buffering capacity
-- high water retention
-- deep rooted
-- fruit bearing
--
-== Weaknesses: ==
+=== Potential locations: ===
-- low cryptic diversity (genepool)
+  * [[https://goo.gl/maps/VKA3926kXRF2|Albacete region in Spain]] (google maps)
-- low tipping point, buffering capacity
+  * [[http://thegreendeserts.com/news/plantation-of-the-projects-first-year-2011-203.html| potential tree species for Spain ]]
+see also: [[environmental_machine_learning]]