wolfyvegan

joined 1 week ago
 

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/20381758

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“Let’s not do the old plant-and-pray” method, said Hurteau. “Let’s plant where we know that their chance of survival is quite high.”

Forest Service rules generally require planting the same species at the same elevations as before a fire, but the agency will “need to be flexible moving forward,” said Jason Sieg, acting supervisor of the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests & Pawnee National Grassland.

This is important. Finding suitable places to plant the trees can make a big difference in the survival rate. Trying to force plants to grow in a pre-determined location, regardless of current environmental conditions, is basically what industrial agriculture is doing (and using huge quantities of water and fertiliser in order to sustain).

For now, that might mean replanting at different elevations or collecting seeds from another location. Eventually, researchers say it could require planting species not found in an area originally — an option many have resisted.

“I’ve seen people go from saying, ‘Absolutely, we cannot move trees around’ to, ‘Well, maybe let’s try it at least, and do a few experiments to see if this will work,’” said Camille Stevens-Rumann, interim director at the Colorado Forest Restoration Institute.

“We need to start being creative if we want trees on our landscapes,” she said. “We’re in a place of such drastic climate change that we are not talking about whether or not some of these places will be a different kind of forest, but whether or not they will be forests at all.”

In desperate situations, when the goal is simply to get some type of forest growing back in a particular location, then it's important to choose "the best trees for the job" regardless of where they come from. Usually those will be native species, but not necessarily, especially in very disturbed ecosystems and those severely affected by climate change. If foreign trees aren't likely to pose a threat, then we mustn't discriminate against them; that would be the plant equivalent of speciesism and xenophobia. (If farmers discriminated in such a way, then there would be no peaches in North America, no tomatoes in Europe, no watermelons in Asia, and so on.)

 

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submitted 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago) by wolfyvegan@slrpnk.net to c/memes@slrpnk.net
 

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/8286702

[–] wolfyvegan@slrpnk.net 2 points 3 days ago

Not just strictly aquatic animals, either.

On the basis of monitored natural inland wetlands (including peatlands, marshes, swamps, lakes, rivers and pools, among others), 35% of wetland area was lost between 1970 and 2015, at a rate three times faster than that of forests.


Brazil’s Pantanal is at risk of collapse, scientists say (2022):

The Pantanal, which means “great swamp” in Portuguese, is the world’s largest tropical wetland, even bigger than the state of Florida.

This wetland savanna lies in the heart of South America and boasts one of the continent’s highest concentrations of plants and animals.

Pantanal’s intense blazes stoke fears of another destructive fire season (2024):

The clearing of vegetation for large-scale agriculture is also a growing problem in the wetlands. The Pantanal lost more than 49,600 hectares (122,600 acres) of native vegetation last year, according to MapBiomas, a 59% increase in deforestation from the previous year. “Because of the drought, people are clearing areas, deforesting, in the center of the Pantanal,” Rosa said.

Act now or lose the Pantanal forever (2024):

This year, over two million hectares of the world’s largest wetland, the Pantanal in Brazil, have burned, as agribusiness drains it and climate change dries it, reducing river flows and allowing fires to spread.

While the fires that ravage [the Pantanal] are often set by individual ranchers, they are worsened by a toxic mix of drought and extreme weather caused by the climate crisis, land clearing for cattle ranching and monoculture farming, mining, road construction, and hydropower. It is also largely unprotected – around 93% of the Pantanal is private land, and 80% of that is used for cattle ranching.


Indonesia is clearing vast peatlands to grow food. Climate costs are dire. (2024):

From 1995 to 1998, Indonesian dictator Suharto led a project to cultivate nearly 2.5 million acres. To drain wetlands in Kalimantan, more than 2,000 miles of canals were dug, many of them so wide that they’re still visible from airplanes decades later. A group of visiting European researchers said at the time that it would take centuries for the ecosystem to recover. “Peatland destruction,” they warned, “is an irreversible process.”

World’s biggest deforestation project gets underway in Papua for sugarcane (2024):

A total of 2 million hectares (5 million acres) of forests, wetlands and grasslands in Merauke district will be razed to make way for a cluster of giant sugarcane plantations, part of the Indonesian government’s efforts to boost domestic sugar production.

Indonesian forestry minister proposes 20m hectares of deforestation for crops (2025):

The clearing of 20 million hectares of forests could release up to 22 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the annual emissions from nearly 5,300 coal-fired power plants.


The same patterns keep repeating. Until humans learn to consider other beings and their habitats, the problem will continue to get worse.

Veganic agricultural practices, including syntropic agriculture and agroforestry techniques, can produce food sustainably, free up land currently used for grazing and "livestock" feed, and spare vulnerable ecosystems like wetlands, all while mitigating climate change.

[–] wolfyvegan@slrpnk.net 2 points 3 days ago

Not just strictly aquatic animals, either.

On the basis of monitored natural inland wetlands (including peatlands, marshes, swamps, lakes, rivers and pools, among others), 35% of wetland area was lost between 1970 and 2015, at a rate three times faster than that of forests.


Brazil’s Pantanal is at risk of collapse, scientists say (2022):

The Pantanal, which means “great swamp” in Portuguese, is the world’s largest tropical wetland, even bigger than the state of Florida.

This wetland savanna lies in the heart of South America and boasts one of the continent’s highest concentrations of plants and animals.

Pantanal’s intense blazes stoke fears of another destructive fire season (2024):

The clearing of vegetation for large-scale agriculture is also a growing problem in the wetlands. The Pantanal lost more than 49,600 hectares (122,600 acres) of native vegetation last year, according to MapBiomas, a 59% increase in deforestation from the previous year. “Because of the drought, people are clearing areas, deforesting, in the center of the Pantanal,” Rosa said.

Act now or lose the Pantanal forever (2024):

This year, over two million hectares of the world’s largest wetland, the Pantanal in Brazil, have burned, as agribusiness drains it and climate change dries it, reducing river flows and allowing fires to spread.

While the fires that ravage [the Pantanal] are often set by individual ranchers, they are worsened by a toxic mix of drought and extreme weather caused by the climate crisis, land clearing for cattle ranching and monoculture farming, mining, road construction, and hydropower. It is also largely unprotected – around 93% of the Pantanal is private land, and 80% of that is used for cattle ranching.


Indonesia is clearing vast peatlands to grow food. Climate costs are dire. (2024):

From 1995 to 1998, Indonesian dictator Suharto led a project to cultivate nearly 2.5 million acres. To drain wetlands in Kalimantan, more than 2,000 miles of canals were dug, many of them so wide that they’re still visible from airplanes decades later. A group of visiting European researchers said at the time that it would take centuries for the ecosystem to recover. “Peatland destruction,” they warned, “is an irreversible process.”

World’s biggest deforestation project gets underway in Papua for sugarcane (2024):

A total of 2 million hectares (5 million acres) of forests, wetlands and grasslands in Merauke district will be razed to make way for a cluster of giant sugarcane plantations, part of the Indonesian government’s efforts to boost domestic sugar production.

Indonesian forestry minister proposes 20m hectares of deforestation for crops (2025):

The clearing of 20 million hectares of forests could release up to 22 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the annual emissions from nearly 5,300 coal-fired power plants.


The same patterns keep repeating. Until humans learn to consider other beings and their habitats, the problem will continue to get worse.

Veganic agricultural practices, including syntropic agriculture and agroforestry techniques, can produce food sustainably, free up land currently used for grazing and "livestock" feed, and spare vulnerable ecosystems like wetlands, all while mitigating climate change.

[–] wolfyvegan@slrpnk.net 2 points 4 days ago

Not just strictly aquatic animals, either.

On the basis of monitored natural inland wetlands (including peatlands, marshes, swamps, lakes, rivers and pools, among others), 35% of wetland area was lost between 1970 and 2015, at a rate three times faster than that of forests.


Brazil’s Pantanal is at risk of collapse, scientists say (2022):

The Pantanal, which means “great swamp” in Portuguese, is the world’s largest tropical wetland, even bigger than the state of Florida.

This wetland savanna lies in the heart of South America and boasts one of the continent’s highest concentrations of plants and animals.

Pantanal’s intense blazes stoke fears of another destructive fire season (2024):

The clearing of vegetation for large-scale agriculture is also a growing problem in the wetlands. The Pantanal lost more than 49,600 hectares (122,600 acres) of native vegetation last year, according to MapBiomas, a 59% increase in deforestation from the previous year. “Because of the drought, people are clearing areas, deforesting, in the center of the Pantanal,” Rosa said.

Act now or lose the Pantanal forever (2024):

This year, over two million hectares of the world’s largest wetland, the Pantanal in Brazil, have burned, as agribusiness drains it and climate change dries it, reducing river flows and allowing fires to spread.

While the fires that ravage [the Pantanal] are often set by individual ranchers, they are worsened by a toxic mix of drought and extreme weather caused by the climate crisis, land clearing for cattle ranching and monoculture farming, mining, road construction, and hydropower. It is also largely unprotected – around 93% of the Pantanal is private land, and 80% of that is used for cattle ranching.


Indonesia is clearing vast peatlands to grow food. Climate costs are dire. (2024):

From 1995 to 1998, Indonesian dictator Suharto led a project to cultivate nearly 2.5 million acres. To drain wetlands in Kalimantan, more than 2,000 miles of canals were dug, many of them so wide that they’re still visible from airplanes decades later. A group of visiting European researchers said at the time that it would take centuries for the ecosystem to recover. “Peatland destruction,” they warned, “is an irreversible process.”

World’s biggest deforestation project gets underway in Papua for sugarcane (2024):

A total of 2 million hectares (5 million acres) of forests, wetlands and grasslands in Merauke district will be razed to make way for a cluster of giant sugarcane plantations, part of the Indonesian government’s efforts to boost domestic sugar production.

Indonesian forestry minister proposes 20m hectares of deforestation for crops (2025):

The clearing of 20 million hectares of forests could release up to 22 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the annual emissions from nearly 5,300 coal-fired power plants.


The same patterns keep repeating. Until humans learn to consider other beings and their habitats, the problem will continue to get worse.

Veganic agricultural practices, including syntropic agriculture and agroforestry techniques, can produce food sustainably, free up land currently used for grazing and "livestock" feed, and spare vulnerable ecosystems like wetlands, all while mitigating climate change.

[–] wolfyvegan@slrpnk.net 5 points 4 days ago (1 children)
[–] wolfyvegan@slrpnk.net 5 points 4 days ago (3 children)

I did not know that. I had seen similar posts and thought that it was acceptable.

@hydra@lemmy.world, if you agree with jagged_circle, please remove this post.

[–] wolfyvegan@slrpnk.net 8 points 4 days ago (5 children)

Is that against the rules?

[–] wolfyvegan@slrpnk.net 1 points 4 days ago (4 children)

I don't think it's so easy to say that burning biomass is superior (from a carbon sequestration perspective) to preserving old-growth forest even if that means relying on fossil fuels (e.g. natural gas for heating). I don't know the answer, but considering that burning biomass does not allow that carbon to accumulate in the soil over time as it would in a mature forest, the alternative to burning biomass would need to have very high emissions in order to come out ahead.

Of course I am not advocating for burning fossil fuels; I am only advocating for protection of forests. I don't think that biomass would be a viable fuel for air travel in particular due to the energy density needed, but if so, and if non-combustion energy sources could be used everywhere else, then farming some young trees to continually cut to use for biofuel for air travel wouldn't have so much of an impact if that land would not be forested anyway. Freeing up land currently used by animal agriculture to use it for this purpose would be an improvement, but "chopping down a forest" would be highly questionable.

Do you have any hard numbers comparing the total lifecycle emissions of fuelwood to those of other fuels (coal, gas, jet fuel, whatever), taking into account soil carbon as well? If the carbon emissions argument for protecting forests doesn't make sense, I will stop using it. Deforestation brings plenty of other problems (biodiversity loss, habitat fragmentation, increased run-off and erosion...) that I/anyone could focus on instead.

[–] wolfyvegan@slrpnk.net 1 points 4 days ago

OP: Whenever you're looking for a specific plant, it helps to give the scientific name, as many plants share vernacular names or go by different vernacular names in different areas. I think that "white clover" pretty much always refers to Trifolium repens, but including the scientific name is still a "best practice" to keep in mind.

For anyone else reading, Fedco (Not Sponsored™) sells bulk white clover seed in the USA:

[–] wolfyvegan@slrpnk.net 1 points 4 days ago

"A solarpunk culture would strive to dissolve every form of social hierarchy and domination – whether based on class, race, gender, sexuality, ability, or species – dispersing the power some individuals or groups wield over others and thus increasing the aggregate freedom of all; empowering the disempowered and including the excluded. It is rooted in the legacy of such liberatory movements as anti-authoritarian socialism, feminism, racial justice, queer and trans liberation, disability struggles, animal liberation, and digital freedom projects."

Source

[–] wolfyvegan@slrpnk.net 1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Another politician promises to save the rainforest? Good luck with that.

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