One of the by-products of observing deforestation is that it allow ecologists to study how a forest works. It appears that a forest that covers 2.5 acres will contain about 365 kg of Calcium. About 8 kg of this is lost each year, mostly in run-off from rain water, streams, etc. Most of the forests calcium is recycled, reclaimed from rotting leaves and then taken up by the plant roots to do another circuit. If you do your sums that is an amazingly low 2% loss each year, with 98% of the calcium being recycled. That other lost 2%, can be made up from dissolved calcium in the rain and by rocks weathering, from the actions of roots and the millions of small creatures in the soil. That 98% recycling efficiency is a bit better than those targets we set for own recycling programs (25% - 33%). And it is definitely a bit better than the Agro-Chemical farming methods we use, where heavily fertilised fields loose 25% - 60% of their calcium annually. If we want to really become a sustainable society the forest can teach us a lot.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 04:18:08 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015