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When the BBC informs us about reforestation in Ethiopia.. It is Dr Tewolde-Berahan who informs BBC's Justin Rowlatt about the work that is done in preparation of planting trees.

It is a humorous piece of information that gets the message across; you can plant where trees were absent for generations and make the (local) climate change.

Consider; you now want to seriously know more about reforestation in Ethiopia. Where do you go to? Wikipedia, in all its magnificence, is rooted in its articles and thereby dated. Through its references however, there are links to its authors, to many more authors and their publications. Every article has in this way its concept cloud and it could be translated in a Scholia for an article.

The current Scholias are itself already a rabbit hole that leads in many directions and a Scholia for an article would be something different again. The article links to subjects, has its papers and by inference authors, they may link to newer papers, more papers, contradicting papers. They may lead to scientists who research similar notions for another locality.. Why not reforest Spain in France? When reforestation is possible in Ethiopia, what would be different to make this unfeasible in Europe?

And all this becomes possible when you consider Wikipedia as the jumping off point in any and all directions, not just within Wikipedia..
Thanks,
     GerardM

NB I know there are two fellows of the Ethiopian Academy of Science related to this subject. Who are they and how are they connected to Dr Tewolde-Berahan?

Dear #Vogelnieuws - more birds for the #Oostvaardersplassen

In an editorial the Dutch birding organisation is pleading for a more bird friendly Oostvaardersplassen. They specifically want room for the Eurasian Spoonbill and Eurasian Bittern. The reason why they are in decline are carp, mature carp. They eat anything including small fish and, they can live to be some eighty years old. There is no real predation on the carp.

There is only one predator that will have a significant impact when it finds its way into the Oostvaardersplassen; it is the Wels Catfish. A current proposal is to drain the Oostvaardersplassen regularly consequently most water animals will die and repeats will be "needed". When the Wels Catfish is introduced after a drainage, they will eat the maturing carp and ensure a more healthy age distribution in carp and make room for birds and other fish as well.

In this way we come to rely on ecological processes and realise a more complete (age) distribution of species. In the editorial they call for ecological connections so that animals can migrate for optimal results. Introducing such connections for fish as well would be of a huge benefit for the birds that predate on smaller fish. One of the fish that would find its way into the Oostvaardersplassen is the Three-Spined Stickleback. It serves birds like the European Spoonbill really well.

One other thing to consider; the Oostvaardersplassen was developed to support the goose, a bird that was rare at the start of the Oostvaardersplassen. When we make the ecosystem more complete, we will end up with a different environment, an environment that will be more diverse with more species finding their niche.
Thanks,
     GerardM

#Oostvaardersplassen - unintended consequences

When there are too many animals and there is too little for them to eat, they die. This happens regularly in winter in the Oostvaardersplassen, a nature reserve in the Netherlands.

The Oostvaardersplassen were created to provide a place for geese to feed. It takes deer, cattle and horses to prevent the development of a wood. Geese like grass short and it is why these animals were released in the Oostvaardersplassen

In the past there have proposals to provide more room for the animals because in winter they die in huge numbers. Providing room is not possible by an unending cycle of adding new grounds to the Oostvaardersplassen but it is possibe to make a connection to the Veluwe and extend this to the nature alongside of the Dutch rivers connecting even further to Germany. This plan that was actively developed was at the last moment shot down by politicians.

Given that "animal lovers" are bringing hay feeding some of the animals, it resulted in such an upheaval under the animals that Staatsbosbeheer prefers to feed them themselves. In the past they pronounced what they would do when pressed. They will shoot the animals and bring the numbers down by half maybe even more. Nature will respond positively after such a catastrophe. It will invigorate nature and make the Oostvaardersplassen less of a meadow.

Natural predation like by a pack of wolfs would make a difference. Wolfs are finding their way into the Netherlands, they only have to find their way to the Oostvaardersplassen and call it home.
Thanks,
       GerardM

European cranes want to be free

  

This wonderful video of European crane courtship is currently copyrighted and not freely licensed. The video comes with a button that allows you to embed it in a website and its article has a button where you can order the video.

The video is on the website of Stichting Natuurbeelden and they made a nice offer; 50 of their videos will become available under the CC-by-sa license. There are many great videos to choose from and for all kinds of reasons, the initial offering is to choose at most 50 of them. 

Organising this selection will not be easy and the relevance of some videos is very much in the context of nature in the Netherlands. European cranes are breeding again in the last few years. When the fifty videos are selected and when they are used in our projects, these videos will be seen quite often. At the moment when I write this, the number of views for this video is only 136.

Thanks,

     GerardM

Wels #catfish are HUGE

In the #Oostvaardersplassen there are too many adult carp. The carp can be predated on by the Eurasian otter, the white tailed eagle and the wels catfish. The wels catfish can be found in the canals surrounding the Oostvaardersplassen and they represent the easiest way of improving the aquatic ecological pyramid. The problem is that it is not possible for carp to leave and for welsh catfish to get into this nature reserve.

I found a great Youtube movie showing adult welsh catfish; with a length that can be over two meters, they are fear inspiring fish... Enjoy !!
Thanks,
      GerardM

Reintroduce what became extinct

Every year the Summer news brings the message about the Oak Processionary. Every year a lot of money is spend on flaming, sucking many caterpillars to provide local relief.

The Forest Caterpillar Hunter is extinct in the Netherlands, it is widely used in the USA to keep the Gypsy Moth under control. It would be cheap and natural to bring this little beastie home.

Every year I try to get people to appreciate the notion that natural predation is to be preferred. This time I called the Dutch Ministery and Staatsbosbeheer. I send e-mails to both and I will report when I get a reply that is more meaningful then "we will study your suggestion".
Thanks,
      GerardM