Subject: Botany in ecosystem creation?

From: [email-masked] (Paul Weihe)
Date: 14 Jun 1995 18:21:49 GMT

I would like to take up Dr. Smith's suggestion and raise a topic for
discussion.

  Humans have taken upon themselves the ambitious goal of restoring and
creating ecosystems.  What do you  think are the proper botanical issues
and concerns which should be addressed when building ecosystems?

  Some questions I can think of off the top of my head include:  How do we
jump-start succession?  Should we introduce plants?  Which ones?  How much
should we worry about the genetics of the introduced plants?  What about
"exotics" (and what geographic/political unit is appropriate for the
definition)?  Need we be concerned with microsymbionts, pollinators,
etc.?  How much do we know about and can rely on natural colonization
processes?  Anyone with practical experience want to share an anecdote or
two?

  I am willing to summarize personal replies (names deleted) and post a
message to the group later, if necessary.  But I imagine this topic
relates to many areas of botany.

Paul Weihe, Environmental Science Program
Ohio State Univ., School of Natural Resources
2021 Coffey Rd., Columbus OH 43210-1085 USA
e-mail: [email-masked]
==============================================
Hooray!  I passed my generals!  Can I please have a life now?

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From: [email-masked] (Marco_Bleeker)
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 1995 09:23:52

>and concerns which should be addressed when building ecosystems?

  Building where ?  Form scratch like "Biosphere II" ?

>Some questions I can think of off the top of my head include: [...]
>Should we introduce plants?

  Yes of course !  If you want oxygen and food that is...

> Which ones?  How much
>should we worry about the genetics of the introduced plants?

  Only the usefull ones :-)  What I do not understand in the Biosphere II 
(Arizona) experiment, is the large number of species and all the biotopes they 
want to include.  I think we know enough about nature and the individual 
species to construct a working unit. You need a diversity, but I wood not 
start with the larges diversity possible, but at the other end. Start with the 
most simple system you can think of. Then expand only where and when needed...

  bye, Marco

<[email-masked]>------------<http://www.euronet.nl/users/mbleeker/>
>-------------<Plants, Programs, Primitive creatures>------------------<
<Marco Bleeker>------------<Nl-En-De-Fr>------------<Amsterdam, Holland>

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From: Mateo Rutherford <[email-masked]>
Date: 30 Jun 1995 19:52:03 GMT

What a fascinating topic.  I will enjoy reading future responses and 
please keep me posted.  I am about to embarc on a doctoral project which 
I believe will take me into the question of how can we recreate a 
tropical cloud forest ecsystem in (hopefully contingent) abandoned 
agricultural or deforested lands.  I will probably be looking 
specifically at the role or potential role of tree ferns (Cyathaceae in 
particular) in achieving these goals.  I am interested to find out if 
these plants can create conditions adecuate for regeneration or 
introduction and survival of "climax species" in the cloud forests.  It 
should be interesting.  I'll keep you posted.

[email-masked]