Biochar

                Biochar seems an appropriate subject considering the curriculum this week is on soils and minerals. Recently biochar has been marketed as a soil amendment by many gardening companies. It is something that can occur naturally in soils around the world. Biochar is the result of burning vegetation in low heat in the absence or reduction of oxygen. This has been an agricultural practice in the Amazon for over 2000 years. The result of the burning is an extremely dark charcoal like substance with amazing properties. It is capable of sequestering carbon and has an enormous number of pores. These pores enable it to better hold nutrients and water, making it an ideal soil amendment. Corporations have recognized this and are selling it to home gardeners. Many scientists are interested in the potential to store carbon in the soil. There is promising research surrounding biochar. One estimate suggests we could store 2.2 gigatons of carbon a year by 2050 using biochar. That would be a substantial amount of carbon in our battle against climate change. 

http://www.biochar-international.org/biochar

                During my first year at the University of Vermont I participated in the greening of Aiken internship. This provided me with a great opportunity to work with a wide array of talented teachers. We broke off into smaller groups to tackle the various problems associated with the renovation. I chose to work in the living machine group. Under the supervision of Matt Beam, the graduate student who designed the machine, we began testing. Our goal was to solve a common issue with living machines: the inability to filter ecoli. We acquired our effluent and set up a series of filters. All of the filters were run with aquarium pumps, through a 5 gallon bucket, tubing and back down a bright red funnel. The first was a control that just pumped water in a loop. The second was a biochar filter. A third filter was set up with oyster mushrooms grown on cardboard. In the final filter we combined the biochar with oyster mushrooms. By far the most successful filter was the mushroom and biochar filter. The oysters seemed incredibly healthy growing on the biochar. It was amazing to see the level of success produced by this all natural filter. Since this experiment I have been encouraged to seek out more natural solutions to problems. These solutions are gaining popularity across the globe and are especially popular in the field of biomimicry. 

Island Time

                I have been reading "The Song Of The Dodo: Island Biogeography In An Age of Extinctions" by David Quammen. The primary focus of this book is extinction on Islands, especially in regards to Madagascar. It begins by outlining the means by which islands are populated. Some of the methods of colonization include wind dispersal, floating, past land bridges, and flying. Once on the island the species must find a way to establish itself and breed. This can be an incredibly difficult task, especially for large mammals. Typically the larger and older islands have higher biodiversity. Madagascar is both relatively large and old. It exhibits incredibly high diversity and the species differ significantly from mainland Africa. The classic savannah animals, such as lions, giraffes, and antelope are all absent from Madagascar. On the other hand they have an incredibly high diversity of Lemurs, a species only found on Madagascar. This high diversity is under a variety of threats both from human and non-human sources. Islands typically face much higher extinction pressure, which is drastically elevated by climate change. Madagascar has a variety of unique habitat types that are separated by natural boundaries. These divides combined with deforestation have led to isolated and diverse populations. Many of the species are highly specialized, unable to survive anywhere else in the world. The smaller the niche a species occupies the greater chance that it will go extinct. In Madagascar even a small amount of warming can lead to devastating changes in the ecology. When one species passes it can lead to a series of trophic cascades, with unforeseen consequences. (Quammen)

                In an article entitled “Climate Change Adaptation Capacity” it states that Madagascar is one of the lowest carbon emitting countries on the planet. Regrettably this country faces disproportional consequences from climate change. Seventy five percent of their economy is based on natural resources. Most of the population is poor and as sea levels rise and resources decline it will be difficult to survive. Few of the residents are equipped with scientific knowledge or skills to mitigate climate change. In 2005 warm water bleaching occurred damaging eighty percent of the coral on the northeast coast. This country is in dire need of help from the outside world. In attempting to help this country it will be important to consider the culture and livelihoods of the inhabitants. Working in conjunction with residents will be essential to the success of climate adaptation. (Climate Change Adaptation Capacity)

Works Cited

"Climate Change Adaptation Capacity." WWF. World Wildlife Fund, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2013.

Quammen, David. The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions. New York: Scribner, 1996. Print.

The Start

                For as long as I can remember I have been interested in the natural world. I grew up hiking in the White Mountains. My parents introduced me to the wonderful world of hiking and camping. It didn’t take long for me to develop a deep passion for the wilderness. Day hikes turned into overnight hikes and multi-day camping trips. Soon my friends and I were bagging 4000ft peaks on a regular basis. Hiking and camping lead me to pursue mountain biking, canoeing, rock climbing, and snowboarding. It didn’t take long for all my hobbies to revolve around wilderness.

                These hobbies allowed me to explore wide tracts of natural places. At first I appreciated the scenery provided by the trees, rugged mountain tops and pristine waterways. Unfortunately I didn’t know much about the plants, animals, mushrooms and microorganisms within these natural systems. At the University of Vermont it seemed like an easy decision to pursue an environmentally related major.  Through these classes I began learning about the birds, animals, mushrooms, and plants of the northeast. It was this knowledge that led to an even greater appreciation of these amazing places.

                While I learned a lot about individual components of ecosystems it wasn’t until later in college that I began receiving the bigger picture. The upper level classes began laying the foundation for the bigger picture. I liked these classes because they explained how important the relationships were between the separate parts of the system. Before such classes it wasn’t clear why a certain species was important. A bird may be pretty; however, I wondered how the ecosystem would be altered without it. Initially I believed the bird to be insignificant and only to play a small role in the ecosystem. After taking a class entitled Eastern Wilderness my perspective was significantly changed. Removal of small roles can result in cascading changes throughout the ecosystem. I’ve studied the concept of Keystone predators in Yellowstone, Colorado and a number of other places, which has allowed me to truly appreciate the impacts that one species can have.

                In addition to looking at systems in a larger perspective I have developed an interest in GIS and the ability to model, manipulate and present data. Ecosystem Ecology seemed to be the perfect fit to blend my interests. In this class I hope to learn skills that allow me to effectively communicate and alter policies. It will be exciting to further explore the modeling capabilities of Dynamica.