News and links from April 2001 to April 2002

Index of articles and links

Understanding dryland salinity

An article by Christine Jones:

There is absolutely no doubt that an increase in dryland salinity is closely linked to the loss of perennial native vegetation -- but I believe it is the "overlooked understorey" which has undergone the most dramatic changes. That isn't to say that too many trees have not been removed from the landscape in some areas. However, in the majority of cases the reduction in soil health has been a function of declining organic carbon levels BELOW ground more so than above ground, due to the loss of perennial groundcover and the types of disturbance regimes which stimulate soil forming processes. The consequent reductions in root biomass, soil organic matter and surface litter on our agricultural land can be linked to many degradation processes including soil structural decline, nutrient decline, water repellence and increased soil acidity and sodicity.

Read more on landholders.tripod.com website:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Posted 2 April 2002

How four Australian farm families manage their land in common

See the summary from Australian Broadcasting Corp's Landline on four families who manage in common, using a holistic goal and planned grazing for their cattle and goats.

"All the properties which are part of the common were set stocked and what we are now able to do is to rotate our herd across all those properties and very much enjoy the benefits of rotational grazing, so we've improved our pasture base. There are periods now when the stock are entirely off one property for a length of time which gives each landholder a bit of a rest from the duties of managing a herd and it also gives us huge benefits for our pasture resource," Phil Coop said.
Posted 23 March 2002

Mountain pine beetles aren't just pests

According to an article in the Spring 2002 issue of Ecoforestry (see the Ecoforestry website), mountain pine beetles and their cohorts -- blue stain fungi and bacteria -- "are a complex constituting an important agent of natural selection and succession. It was designed to break down dense stands of seral species in order to release more permanent communities, and simultaneously release nutrients, seedbed and soil-building materials, and to protect water-capturing mechanisms. The complex brings about normal and functional mosaic structures to western forests in general, and assures continuing dynamic interactions between all forest life."

"These beetles do not suddenly explode and work along, they are not simply 'forest pests,' as taught in most schools."

"Current and past unproven 'control measures' that use cutting trees to save trees typically use mass extractions without scientific verification that those procedures control anything."
Posted 25 March 2002

Wallowa County Business Facilitation

In January 2001, Wallowa County Business Facilitation (WCBF) began providing free and confidential management coaching to people in our northeast Oregon county who are serious about starting, strengthening, or expanding a business. Our full-time business facilitator, Myron Kirkpatrick (below), was trained by Ernesto Sirolli, who pioneered this Enterprise Facilitation method in Esperance, Western Australia. Links: