Historical BackgroundHistorical BackgroundHistorical BackgroundHistorical BackgroundNREM 461

Dr. Greg Bruland

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I. Historical Context of Soil & Water C tiConservation

A. Shift ~ 8,500 BC from hunter-gatherer (HG) to agricultural (AG) lifestyle (Diamond 02)agricultural (AG) lifestyle (Diamond 02)

B. 1.1.

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Hunting scene from 4th millennium B.C. (Hillel 2006)

2. 2

Art depicting early Mesopotamian & Egyptian irrigation & agriculture

(Hillel 2006)

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C Past 12 500 yrs ~C. Past 12,500 yrs

D Ri & f ll f AG i ili tiD. Rise & fall of AG civilizations

1. Examples:a. Mesopotamiab Asiab. Asiac. Europed. South Americae Polynesiae. Polynesia

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a. Mesopotamia: Lebanon & Babylon

i. Babylon: ancient city built w/ cedars of Mt. Lebanon

ii.

iii.

(Lowdermilk 1947, Hillel 2006) 5

The ancient city of Babylon

(Lowdermilk 1947) 6

Hillel’s 4 Stages of DegradationHillel’s 4 Stages of Degradation

(Hillel 2006) 7

(Lowdermilk 1947) 8

b. Asia

i. Records of soil conservation in China from 956 B.C. 1.

ii. Confucianism

iii ~500 BC:iii. 500 BC:

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10Contour terrace rice fields in Yunnan Province, China.

Distribution of Soils in the 9 provinces of Ancient China

Province of Ancient China

Description from YugongSoil Color Texture

Ji Bai Rang White Loam

Jing Tu Ni Gray Loamy clay

Liang Qing Li Dark Loamy clayg g y y

Qing Bai Fen, Hai, Bin Guan Chi

White Clay loam

Xu Chi Zhi Fen Red Loamy clay

Yan Hai Fen Black Clay loam

Yang Tu Ni Gray Loamy clay

The 9 provinces of ancient China about 2500 B.P.

Yong Huang Rang

Yellow Silty loam

Yu Rang, Fen Yellow Loam

(Lin 1996)

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Lu

c. Europei. Greek & Roman writers

commented on effects of erosion, deforestation (900 BC 250 AD)deforestation (900 BC-250 AD)1.Lucius Junius Moderatus

Columella

ii. Columella:

iiiiii.

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iv. Proposed perhaps 1st test of soil quality

Dig a hole & refill it

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St F i f A i i (1180 1220 AD) d f t tiv. St. Francis of Assisi (1180-1220 AD): deforestation → concern for nature

1.

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d. South Americad. South Americai. Incas (1000-1500 AD):

ii. Originally

iii. Developed

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Incan terracing systems

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e. Polynesiai. Polynesian cultures developed watershed-based mgmt

systems Hawai‘i:Yap:Fiji:Fiji:Solomon Islands:

ii. Radial systems

iii. Managed

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Polynesian Watershed Management Systems

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E. ~1750 AD?

1. Western societies transform from AG. to industrial

a. AG society: population lived among fields that sustains them

i.

b. IR resulted in migration of pop. to cites

ii.

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2. 1850s: Liebig, a German chemist, establishes mineral content of plants

a. Why important?

Justus von Liebig (1803 1873)(1803-1873)

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Liebig’sLiebig s Law of the MinimumMinimum

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3. Haber & Bosch (1910-20)?

Wh i t t?a. Why important?

b. w/o N fertilizer

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Fritz Haber (1868-1934)19041904, 1908, 1909, 1918 Nobel Prize in Chemistry1918, Nobel Prize in Chemistry

“for the synthesis of ammonia from its elements”

Carl Bosch (1874-1940)1910, 1913, 19141914, 1931, Nobel Prize in Chemistry

“chemical high pressure methods”

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F. Iceland 1800s

1. Experienced massive erosion (Di d 04)(Diamond 04)

a. b. c. dd.

2 1st country to est Soil Conservation Agency 19072. 1st country to est. Soil Conservation Agency-1907

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G. U.S. 1930s, “the Dirty 30s”1. Dust Bowl, writers (Steineck), folk singers

(Guthrie) publicized need for erosion control

, y

(Guthrie) publicized need for erosion control

2. Dust storms prompted formation of Soil Consevation Service (SCS) in 1933, & Soil & Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs)

33.

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The Father of Soil ConservationThe Father of Soil Conservation

“If this is to be a permanent nation we mustpermanent nation we must preserve the soil.”

Hugh Hamond Bennett

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“A nation that d t it ildestroys its soil destroys itself”

F.D. Roosevelt

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H. Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) 1. Founded in 19452. Becomes agency of UN in 1946, HQ in Rome

g g ( )

2. Becomes agency of UN in 1946, HQ in Rome3. Purpose?

a. Focus?

FAO HQ in Rome31

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I. 1950s-Present: Green Revolution (GR)

1. Increases in ag. production outpace human pop growth due to?pop. growth, due to?

2. GR driven by fossil fuel energy sources-negative/unintended consequences such as?negative/unintended consequences, such as?

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J. 1960s/70s: Environmental Movement1. Rachel Carson 1962:

2. Non Gov’t Organizations formeda. Friends of the Earthb. Sierra Clubc. Council for Preservation of Rural

England, etc.

3. 1st Earth Day?

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K. 1970s/80s: Global efforts to combat degradation

1. 1st S&W Cons. Legis. in U.S. passed in?

a estab limits of loss rates for eacha. estab limits of loss rates for each soil type

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2. Gaia hypothesis (Lovelock 1979)

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3. World Soils Charter (U.N. 1982)

a. Establishes principles for the optimum use of the world's land resources

b Charter calls for a commitment on part of gov’t,b. Charter calls for a commitment on part of gov t, international orgs, & land users to manage land for long-term

c. Special attention is called for land-use policies which create incentives for people to participate in soil conservation

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L. 1990s UNCED Rio 921. Earth Summit: U.N. Conf. on Environ-ment & Development2. Addressed 3 issues:

M. 2000s Advances in Remote Sensing & GIS1. improves monitoring of soil, water at p g ,various scales

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(NASA)

N “Anthropocene” Era:N. Anthropocene Era: 1. Paul Crutzen, Nobel Prize-winning1. Paul Crutzen, Nobel Prize winning

atmospheric chemist, proposed this term in 2000

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Human activities influencing gwatershed character, soil erosion, transport &transport, & deposition on the S. shore of Moloka‘i

lover several centuries

41(Field et al. 2008)

synthetic satellite image

t tFlorida Florida

reconstructs 1850 landscape EverEver--

gladesgladesglades glades

FloridaFlorida Population

1900: 528,000

42U.S. Bureau of Census

http://sofia.usgs.gov/sfrsf/rooms/hydrology/water/ wherebefore.html

Present Land Cover Data

Present South FloridaFlorida

Population: ~6,000,000

l d

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Source: Florida Dept. of Statehttp://sofia.usgs.gov/

sfrsf/rooms/hydrology/ water/wheretoday.html

Eleventh Commandment, W C L d ilk SCS 1947W. C. Lowdermilk, SCS, 1947

“Thou shalt inherit the holy earth as a faithful stewardThou shalt inherit the holy earth as a faithful steward, conserving its resources and productivity from generation to generation. Thou shalt safeguard thy fi ld f il i th li i t f d ifields from soil erosion, thy living waters from drying up, thy forests from desolation, and protect thy hills from overgrazing by thy herds, that thy descendants may have abundance forever. If any shall fail in this stewardship of the land thy fruitful fields shall become sterile stony ground and wasting gullies and thysterile stony ground and wasting gullies, and thy descendants shall decrease and live in poverty or perish from off the face of the earth.”

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