Mechanisms of Landscape Rehabilitation and Sustainability

The conception of landscape rehabilitation is based on the investigation of natural processes, which proceed in the soil and in the plants. Authors of this book not only describe the soil function but also their ideas on sustainability and regeneration of the eco-sphere elements and human participation in these processes.

Homo sapiens, during their further evolution, need to develop both an understanding and a practical means to protect themselves against mechanisms of self-degradation. As integral parts of the Earth’s ecosystem, intelligence demands that humans protect and maintain the various functions of the primary biosphere cycles so as to prevent the loss of soil and desertification, the pollution of air and water, the formation and expansion of the hole in Earth’s ozone layer, the reduction of biodiversity, and global warming. The evidence is formidable that these harmful processes are the results of human activity in the industrial age.

This book presents discoveries and proposals that have emerged from the authors’ research and experimentation on ways to protect Earth’s ecosystems against further degradation. These proposals are founded on the philosophy of sustainable development and its application to various aspects essential to the long-term success of human beings: community coexistence, education, water purification and recycling, agriculture, the production of fabricated soil for landscape rehabilitation, and the preservation and propagation of wild flora. Strategies for both indoor and outdoor systems are covered in this publication.

Any conception of alternative technologies presupposes the integration of information which makes human life healthier and more in harmony with other species and elements of the biosphere. In nature, both small and large cycles exist for the turnover of elements and substances. Human activity often results in the degradation and sometimes the complete breakdown of these cycles, which leads to the accumulation of wastes and pollution of the biosphere. Therefore, the search for alternative forms of energy is urgent for the healthy development of human communities. Humans use non-renewable forms of energy which are located mostly in the lithosphere. This brings about the pollution of air by carbon dioxide and the pollution of water and soil by substances such as iron, aluminum and organic residues. Such ecological degradation modifies the normal succession of biological species and results in a reduction of biodiversity. Contamination of soil and desertification lead to the destruction of the soil ecocommunities (a loss of about 20 million hectares per year). The creation of new super-productive forms of crops leads to the leaching of high amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus.

Human communities need to search for new paradigms for living and for ways to integrate human activities into the natural biological cycles of the biosphere. This is the only way to ensure the continuation of our species on this planet. The modeling of such alternative approaches is described in this book.

In general all chapters deal with restorations of biospheric cycles which are uncoupled during the human activity. Therefore this book deals with subjects from molecular biology to human ecology and covers such kind of main subjects like botany, plant physiology, microbiology, biochemistry, soil science, human behavior in the ecosystem. Due to human activity in the discovery of phytohormones and chemical regulators, it was possible to help people achieve the highest of the crop. Ideas of molecular biology in the combination of plant science help now to get the highest productivity of the crops. In the same time, in order to protect soils against destruction, authors proposed unique mechanisms of the application of fabricated soil for landscape rehabilitation.

This book will be of particular interest to biologists, soil scientists, ecologists, agronomists, architects and students of colleges and universities.

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The authors express cordial thanks to all researchers and collaborators who developed the ideas of sun-plant-soil relations. In addition, heartfelt appreciation goes to family members for their passion and support, without which we could not write and publish this book. We also thank to Shari Mastalski and Ajda Coker for technical assistance of the book organization.

This chapter deals with general functions of soil in biosphere. The mail conception of soil is the participation with the geological substrate and plants as sources of the organic elements of the soil. Water relations are important components of plant- soil relations. In the chapter are reviewed the elements of landscape sustainability and harmonization of soil uses. Protection of soil during agricultural and industrial use is also discussed.

The participation of soil, plants and water in the development of human communities is the main idea of this chapter. The conception of socio-economic metabolism in the environment is discussed in the connection of the interaction of eco-systems and communities. Soil protection in the European Union is described as a model of complex solution of interacting biospheric, factors in socio-eco systems. The factors of the sustainability of soil sphere in the industrial and rural societies is the main idea of this chapter.

This chapter dedicated to soil sustainability and soil management. One of the most important functions of the soil is production of biomass. This is a link of the soil with solar energy via photosynthesis, Physicochemical properties of soil components is a basis of biological habitat and gene reserve is the next soil characteristic. Soil is also involved in socio-economic structures. Soil is also geo-genomic and cultural heritage. Tropics were selected as an example of strategy of sustainable soil management in tropics

Land protection could be carried on by the fabricated soil as a tool for landscape restoration. The composition of this soil is based on the structure of natural profile and on the analytics of natural spoil components and their properties. The main idea of the construction of FS is carried on proper ratio of carbon – nitrogen components as well as supply of water retaining aluminum-silicate materials.

This chapter deals with biological activity of fabricated soil (F). Effect of FS on plant growth, microbial cenosis, as well as interaction of bacteria and fungi during FS development. Thus, bacteria and fungi are considered here as factors of plant residue transformation (necropolis). Very important are components of microbial cenosis which split carbon polymers such as cellulose, starch and lignin.

Higher plants form their cenosis later than the process of the development of the microbial eco-system. Grassy plants are the sources of organic matter for the Fabricated Soil (FS) as well as sources of nitrogen substances which were formed in the plant nodules of roots of Fabaceae, legumes. About 20% of nitrogen could come to FS thanks to roots nodules activity (Alfa Alfa, clovers and other). The composition of plant patterns on FS could be changed during the season.

Thus, air components are the sources of biomass formation on the FS. Carbon dioxide is the starting gas for the plant photosynthesis and nitrogen of air participates in the process of nitrogen fixation. The biosynthesis of nitrogen containing products- amino acids, proteins and alkaloids is a result of the activity of nitrogen- fixing organisms. The activation of the process of nitrogen fixation is based on gene modification of plant – bacterial symbiosis.

The components of FS were changed during the seasons. Nitrogen compounds were reduced in FS during 5 years. More stable were P. K and Ca. Still FS is a good substrate for landscape rehabilitation. The level of macro elements beside nitrogen could be restored by additional application of ash or mineral fertilizers.

Solar energy as a renewable form is a key source of photosynthesis and plant biomass accumulation. The composition of plant biomass is based on the formation of primary and secondary products of photosynthesis. Some of them are carbon containing polymers like starch, cellulose and lignin. These components of plant organism could convert to soil organic matter (humus and its components).

The accumulation of plant biomass in plants is regulated by two factors – genomes and plant growth regulating system. Hormones as growth regulating factors are located in different zones of plant organisms. They have specific effects in plant bodies like auxins (roots induction), gibberellins (stem elongation), cytokinins (cell multiplications).

Soil bacteria Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Agrobacterium rhizogenes are able to modify plant cell genome and activate the level of plant growth hormones Thus, the gene mutated plant cell cultures could form new types of plants with the higher amount of phyto-hormones. This modification is a result of interaction of soil bacteria with higher plant cells.

This chapter deals with the different properties of the growing plants. Starting point is photosynthesis. Products of this process are connected with different forms of growth processes, which are under the genetic control. Dwarf and semi dwarf plants could absorb different amount of mineral nutrients from the soil. Genetically modified plants have different amount of plant hormones and inhibitors.

Secondary substances are the products of photosynthesis which form in plants from primary products like sugars and amino acids. Among them are alkaloids, terpenoids, phenolics, lignins and alkaloids. Plant hormones are also members of secondary substances. Some of them play an important role in the allelopathic interactions between the plants in the eco-cenosis.

Some plant species have not only morphological but also physiological peculiarities. When it is difficult to determine the species by morphologic characteristics, it is possible to use physiological and biochemical parameters. Thus, different willow species have different reactions of auxin during rooting. Other species have different reactions during dormancy process. These reactions are very important for the selection of willow species for the propagation on the fabricated soil.

The main factor of plant growth is periodicity- rhythms of stem elongation. We selected fast growing willow and poplar forms for the propagation on the fabricated soils. Therefore, we determined the types of stem growth of willows and compared these processes with the stem differentiation processes. This last process is connected with the lignifications of stem cells.

This chapter combines the processes in plants photosynthesis, growth and differentiation with the processes of humus formation in the soil. Chloroplasts in leaves are responsible for phenolic products formation whereas soil micelles are the units, which could be considered as alumni-silicate matrix covered by humus envelope. The plant residues in the soil could participate in humus formation.

There are some specific substances of the phenolic nature between different willow species which will help to identify the willow species in the comparison of morph- and physiological property of each specie. Among flavonoids, coumarins and phenolic acids there are some specific products corresponding to some species which help to determine the willow systematic property.

Plants are considered as biological filter for waste water cleaning and reuse it. The population of papyrus plants is applied for gray water transformation. Black water and humanure compost could be used for perennial plants, trees and shrub propagation. These cycles could be applied for closed eco-systems creations.

Conception of biological processes in Space is also based on plant – soil-water relations in closed systems. The ideas of reuse of waste water in plant growth and application of some plants as biological filters could be applied in the control of biological processes in the space. Relations of plants with microorganisms and soil components in the space, in the closed eco-models are considered in this chapter. It is important to consider the effect of solar energy for these biological models, taking into consideration the processes of photosynthesis, photomorphogenesis and photoperiodism.

This chapter summarizes the soil functions for human civilization. The most important is the way of the soil preservation. Land quality is considered from six point of view including agriculture, forestry, human well being, sustainability of eco-systems. The role of soil in the process of the sustainability of human civilization is a main goal of this chapter. Thus, soil is a leading component of bio- sphere, where plants are the direct link between solar energy (photosynthesis) and humus production in the soil.

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