Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Juile told me about this book "back from the brink" check out the tv article on the author



link

Yep, Peter Andrews is an unsung environmental hero IMHO.... his ideas that we need to mimic natural system to repair, renew and sustain human intereaction with naturaql systems are just so much commonsense and "holistic" that I find it hard to understand why he has at times been subject to so much criticism....

Here's the link to his "Natural Sequence Farming" website...

http://www.nsfarming.com/andrews.htm

And a YouTube link (other parts on page) that interviews Peter as he explains some of his theories.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jx94ZVxmoVU

Trying to find the original ABC video that got me interested... think it was a LandLine episode....

Nice one, will watch Ruperts links later, but surely there is a native tree that does the same job as the willows?

awesome work by the old fella!

I think there is, or there is a group of trees that would do similar work. however I bleieve that thes would take a lot longer to take root, as they are more delicate, and there are more 'tree dominance transitions' (that's my term) willows do a great job, and they do it now. perhaps once everything is working better they can be systematically removed and native trees can be planted in the advanced ecosystem? I don't know enough about it to say really.

ROZ, I think it was Australian Story. They actually did it as a 2 part episode, the only time the ABC have ever done that I believe.

I have a copy of the book and I passed it on to my BIL who runs cattle on 2000 acres near Roma. Next thing I hear from my sister is that he is asking where can he source trees and he's out with the bulldozer reshaping the eroded creek banks. While this is a long term project, I was quietly satisified with myself that he had actually taken notice and action.

I saw a barn there that would be perfect for Aquaponic's *grin*

Nothing short of amazing what he has done there.

I'd say thats probably true KP... for instance I know that the Red River Gum has the ability to lift vast amounts of water... so much so that it's able to lower the water table..

For this reason it's being used to remediate areas where the water table has [s]dropped[/s] risen and left the land with severe salinity problems.

Edited : Had that water table round the wrong way - thanks EB


Because of the same ability to lift water it is also being used in desert/semi-desert areas to stabilise creek and river bed banks that are prone to erosion during wet season downpours.

Apparantly the Red River Gum is easily cloned and is being exported and widely used in Saudia Arabia and similar countries.


The use of the willow is as you say because of it's fast growth, wide expansive root structure that binds the soil and resists flood forces.

The willow has been widely used in England for centuries for precisely this reason.

Part of Peter's Natural Sequence process incorporates the felling of the willows over time and the growth of natives in their place......

Unlike conventional wisedom however "Natural Sequence" principles leaves the felled or fallen trees where they lay.... enabling them to provide a weir like capacity which resists erosive flood forces, pools the flood waters out onto and over the flood plain.....

This not only staurates the flood plain and helps drought proof it, but also traps and spreads alluvial material... re-carbonising the landscape, an essential element in "Natural Sequence" theory to revitalize lands.

It prevents the flood force from cutting downward into the river/creek bed, rather it "wells" the central flood waters upward and outward in a "convex" motion.

The felled/fallen trees, branchs,stumps etc also provide habitat and shelter for animals and fish and overtime decay returning carbon to the system.

I watched the Australian story show with great interest a couple of years ago. I was a little peeved that they didn't give more information about his methods and ideas, but I spent a fair bit of time last night watching lots of different online video clips of him explaining his methods and ideas..

He claimed that the willows often get smothered by the sheoaks, and over time the willows just die, which is kind of handy..

Isn't it the other way around Rupe? That the water table has risen bringing the salts from deep in the earth, up to the surface? Thats generally how it is with a lot of the salt problems in W.A. at least, and you need to plant the trees to try and lower the water table...

When travelling through Turkey I was amazed at the number of eucalypt trees in some places..

Opps, think you're right about the direction of the water table EB...

Think it's because of the River Gums ability to draw water from far down in the water table, and the fact that it's very salt tolerant, that it's used in such areas.... other trees just wouldn't grow.

Think that the drawing of water from low down in the water table helps pull the whole water table downward as you say EB

I'm probably at an unfair advantage, my old man spent his whole life working in salt land re vegetation, and trialling the use of different salt bush species for land repair and fodder crops. I guess some of it has rubbed off...

I know he was rather peeved that he spent about 40 years trying to get people to listen to him and it was only after he retired that the government started to throw money at the problem..

http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/s ... sub078.pdf

What is it they're using now in salt areas EB.... worth a motza... can't think of it....

Edited :

Sandalwood.... that's it... like I say worth a bloody fortune...

http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/ ... 908473.htm

Yep, sandalwood is great stuff, I have a few chunks of it myself, very fragrant when you light it up..

As with most things, great if it's cultivated and harvested, but unfortunately in the past people have been cutting it from natural stands and destroying the environment, and it grows in very fragile environments...

Every land is fragile no matter where it is no matter how wet or fertile look at the desert of maine.

http://static.flickr.com/28/42170703_65de35a3d5.jpg

http://www.desertofmaine.com/

anyone pick up on the comment he made in that vid i linked to about "carbon sinks" ? all those weeds go back into providing organic carbon back into the DUST they call soil