Many people have asked what does the term 'Natural Sequence' mean??
Here is my colleague's, Professor David Mitchells, interpretation:
" The term “Natural Sequence”, embodied in the title, Natural Sequence Farming which is now widely used for the land management procedures developed by Peter Andrews, appropriately describes the interconnected relationship between sedimentation, soil fertility and plant growth, which is revealed in the geomorphology of the river catchments and floodplains of the current Australian Landscape".
Reproduced with the kind permission of
David S Mitchell
Adjunct Professor
School of Environmental Sciences
Institute of Land, Water and Society
Charles Sturt University
Definition of the term Natural Sequence
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Shirley Henderson
- Posts: 356
- Joined: Sun May 06, 2007 4:03 pm
- Location: Thirlmere
Rock breaks down into small particles, collects in crevices when blown by wind or moved by water. This provides a support for plant roots and plants growth.
Plants that require low fertility can grow in those conditions.
The more vegetation the more sedimentation will build.
Organic matter from these initial plants being hardy, resilient and requiring hardly any nutrient grow providing food, shade, and stability in the sediment by binding it with their roots.
Plants and other living matter in due course recycles into the soil creating fertility in the inert sediment.
Organic matter improves fertility for other plants to grow that require improved fertility and nutrients.
Water moves through the soil enabling plants to drink and take up life source and nutrients.
The more organic matter (including the life that is now supported such as micro organisms, insects, animals and birds, plus their recycled droppings and bodies) the more nutrient.
The more improved fertility the more diverse plant production.
Sequence of plants are primary colonizers, fast or vigorous growers.
These provide conditions for the next sequence of plants that require better fertility and sometimes need a more protected environment from harsh weather conditions.
Grass follows last which likes the best fertility.
Ground covering retains moisture and cools the surface.
All plant cover provides transpiration (recycling of water) temperature moderation, recaptures evaporation and retains soil from washing away.
Valuable water is prevented from disappearing into the atmosphere and instead is able to be used to create food sources and cycles of life that sustain all us.
Soil and fertility is continually built, landscapes are formed in micro and macro climates that continue these cycles perfectly.
Natural Sequence to me means a naturally occurring event that will happen regardless of human intervention.
It occurs naturally and perpetually.
Shirley
Plants that require low fertility can grow in those conditions.
The more vegetation the more sedimentation will build.
Organic matter from these initial plants being hardy, resilient and requiring hardly any nutrient grow providing food, shade, and stability in the sediment by binding it with their roots.
Plants and other living matter in due course recycles into the soil creating fertility in the inert sediment.
Organic matter improves fertility for other plants to grow that require improved fertility and nutrients.
Water moves through the soil enabling plants to drink and take up life source and nutrients.
The more organic matter (including the life that is now supported such as micro organisms, insects, animals and birds, plus their recycled droppings and bodies) the more nutrient.
The more improved fertility the more diverse plant production.
Sequence of plants are primary colonizers, fast or vigorous growers.
These provide conditions for the next sequence of plants that require better fertility and sometimes need a more protected environment from harsh weather conditions.
Grass follows last which likes the best fertility.
Ground covering retains moisture and cools the surface.
All plant cover provides transpiration (recycling of water) temperature moderation, recaptures evaporation and retains soil from washing away.
Valuable water is prevented from disappearing into the atmosphere and instead is able to be used to create food sources and cycles of life that sustain all us.
Soil and fertility is continually built, landscapes are formed in micro and macro climates that continue these cycles perfectly.
Natural Sequence to me means a naturally occurring event that will happen regardless of human intervention.
It occurs naturally and perpetually.
Shirley
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Shirley Henderson
- Posts: 356
- Joined: Sun May 06, 2007 4:03 pm
- Location: Thirlmere
When I said above about Natural sequence happening with or without human intervention, I would like to clarify. Human intervention or interference can delay the inevitable but to work with nature instead of against it, is what I believe Peter Andrews can teach.
He has understanding and thankfully he has opened my eyes. Yes, I work with weed eradicators, yes,, I am involved with that mind set but I am doing everything I can to teach what Peter has taught me. What better place to begin!
Water and plants shape the land. We do not shape it by conrolling water and plants. The natural sequence goes on. We can only hinder or help.
Thanks Peter for perservering. It is just sad that with all your perserverence and determination smart people refuse to listen.
To quote another very clever man
"You have the right to the gifts of nature, to the real world, to have riches here below, here and now in this life. You must not surrender to the folly of money! (jean Giono "Les Vraies Richesses" (True Riches), )
He has understanding and thankfully he has opened my eyes. Yes, I work with weed eradicators, yes,, I am involved with that mind set but I am doing everything I can to teach what Peter has taught me. What better place to begin!
Water and plants shape the land. We do not shape it by conrolling water and plants. The natural sequence goes on. We can only hinder or help.
Thanks Peter for perservering. It is just sad that with all your perserverence and determination smart people refuse to listen.
To quote another very clever man
"You have the right to the gifts of nature, to the real world, to have riches here below, here and now in this life. You must not surrender to the folly of money! (jean Giono "Les Vraies Richesses" (True Riches), )
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Shirley Henderson
- Posts: 356
- Joined: Sun May 06, 2007 4:03 pm
- Location: Thirlmere
THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES
Has anyone out there read a book called “THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES”?
It’s an amazing story about a man who did just that.
A young man went walking through bleak country. He calls it a dreary wasteland, desolate beyond description. All life had vanished. No water, hot sun, cloudless sky and abandoned ruins of houses are just some of his description.
Finally he met a shepherd who lived quietly with his sheep and his dog. The young man gratefully spent the night as he understood the villages few and far between were full of unhappy poor people with never ending conflict. Always there was the ever present wind constantly grating on the nerves. Suicide, madness and murder occurred in many cases.
It’s hard to cut this story short but the loner shepherd gathered acorns and planted oak trees. He did not own the land; it belonged to people who did not care about it. He had been planting for 3 years. Out of 100 thousand, 20,000 had come up. Of these he still expected to lose half. It was his opinion that the land was dying for lack of trees.
5 years later the young man returned to the barren lands. As he approached he saw a greyish mist in the distance and thought about the 10,000 trees. He met the loner shepherd again. The oaks of 1910 were now ten years old and taller than either of them. They spent the whole day walking through that forest which was now 11 km long and 3km wide. This was the work of one man. He had also moved on to Birches. Nature in turn had just followed her natural cycle. On the way to the village there was now water flowing in the streams which previously had always been dry. Past excavations had found fish hooks which proved long ago there had been water there once. The wind had scattered seeds too and now Willows, reeds, meadows, gardens, and flowers grew. The change had come about so gradually that it was taken for granted. People thought it had always been there. If they had suspected it was mans work they would have interfered. One year he planted more than 10,000 maples. Another year he was even approached by the authorities about lighting fires in the forest. In 1935 the forest was placed under government protection.
The last time the young man saw the shepherd was in 1945. He did not recognise the barren slopes; everything was different-even the air. Instead of harsh dry winds, there blew a gentle breeze, filled with fragrance. There were sounds of rushing water and rustling through the forest. Young families lived there with happy and comfortable lives. They grew gardens and vegetables. It was a place people wanted to live. Crops grew and meadows were turning green.
Just one human had turned a desert into a flourishing land.
The shepherd died in 1947.
Most words borrowed from the book
THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES
By Jean Giono
It’s an amazing story about a man who did just that.
A young man went walking through bleak country. He calls it a dreary wasteland, desolate beyond description. All life had vanished. No water, hot sun, cloudless sky and abandoned ruins of houses are just some of his description.
Finally he met a shepherd who lived quietly with his sheep and his dog. The young man gratefully spent the night as he understood the villages few and far between were full of unhappy poor people with never ending conflict. Always there was the ever present wind constantly grating on the nerves. Suicide, madness and murder occurred in many cases.
It’s hard to cut this story short but the loner shepherd gathered acorns and planted oak trees. He did not own the land; it belonged to people who did not care about it. He had been planting for 3 years. Out of 100 thousand, 20,000 had come up. Of these he still expected to lose half. It was his opinion that the land was dying for lack of trees.
5 years later the young man returned to the barren lands. As he approached he saw a greyish mist in the distance and thought about the 10,000 trees. He met the loner shepherd again. The oaks of 1910 were now ten years old and taller than either of them. They spent the whole day walking through that forest which was now 11 km long and 3km wide. This was the work of one man. He had also moved on to Birches. Nature in turn had just followed her natural cycle. On the way to the village there was now water flowing in the streams which previously had always been dry. Past excavations had found fish hooks which proved long ago there had been water there once. The wind had scattered seeds too and now Willows, reeds, meadows, gardens, and flowers grew. The change had come about so gradually that it was taken for granted. People thought it had always been there. If they had suspected it was mans work they would have interfered. One year he planted more than 10,000 maples. Another year he was even approached by the authorities about lighting fires in the forest. In 1935 the forest was placed under government protection.
The last time the young man saw the shepherd was in 1945. He did not recognise the barren slopes; everything was different-even the air. Instead of harsh dry winds, there blew a gentle breeze, filled with fragrance. There were sounds of rushing water and rustling through the forest. Young families lived there with happy and comfortable lives. They grew gardens and vegetables. It was a place people wanted to live. Crops grew and meadows were turning green.
Just one human had turned a desert into a flourishing land.
The shepherd died in 1947.
Most words borrowed from the book
THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES
By Jean Giono
Happy NY Shirley
You have made a great start to the forum in 2009.
I have just read your post above and look how it fits with the writings of the Guoyu...(see Ancient Wisdom blog)
"If the mountain forest are over-exploited, the forest at the foot of the mountains will be destroyed, the swamps will be exhusted, the peoples strength will be used up and the fields will be devoid of crops and full of weeds. The gentlemen will express shock and regret. Moreover, how will there be any happiness?"
This is the natural landscape sequence...it is everywhere.
You have made a great start to the forum in 2009.
I have just read your post above and look how it fits with the writings of the Guoyu...(see Ancient Wisdom blog)
"If the mountain forest are over-exploited, the forest at the foot of the mountains will be destroyed, the swamps will be exhusted, the peoples strength will be used up and the fields will be devoid of crops and full of weeds. The gentlemen will express shock and regret. Moreover, how will there be any happiness?"
This is the natural landscape sequence...it is everywhere.