4 ms·

The fact that this story of "dumped organic material composts and increases fertility" has gained so much reach really shows how disconnected we all are from na

by cwkoss 9y ago

The fact that this story of "dumped organic material composts and increases fertility" has gained so much reach really shows how disconnected we all are from nature. Maybe the way for science to speak to the masses is to just pretend that every confirmation study is a brand new piece of science. "New study finds that reduced caloric intake causes weight loss!"

QAPereo 9y ago
We're basically already there, it's how funding for a not inconsiderable number of studies is found.
jonchang 9y ago
If you read the original study there's a bit more going on than how the article portrays it. In particular, this site was host to invasive grasses, and after the orange peel input the site was flourishing with native species. Simply introducing nutrients into a system isn't guaranteed to get rid of the invasive species, and in fact it might make the problem even worse, so the fact that this happened is quite interesting and there's probably some interaction between the soil properties, decomposers, and orange peels that made this particularly good outcome possible. See also my top-level comment for my original take on it.
- micheljones 9y ago
  Acidity of the peels affected the acidity of the soil.
  - jonchang 9y ago
    This is what the authors hypothesized in the paper. They don't test it though so the causal link between orange peel acidity and forest restoration has not been established.
    - micheljones 9y ago
      I'm not trying to state that as a fact. Just that the acidity was affected. Which could have affected the restoration in different ways, most likely by effects of plant affinity for soil acidity. But I think that the main factor is simply the increase in biological matter.
pcmaffey 9y ago
"So wait a minute. What you're saying is that you want us to put water on the crops. Yes Water. Like out the toilet? But brawndo's got what plants crave. It's got electrolytes."
incompatible 9y ago
It seems similar to the Miyawaki method, which also uses organic supplements for accelerated forest growth. Another guy who uses the technique: https://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/industrial-engineer-quits-job-plant-mini-forests-everywhere.html https://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/industrial-engin...

by cwkoss 9y ago

QAPereo 9y ago

We're basically already there, it's how funding for a not inconsiderable number of studies is found.

jonchang 9y ago

If you read the original study there's a bit more going on than how the article portrays it. In particular, this site was host to invasive grasses, and after the orange peel input the site was flourishing with native species. Simply introducing nutrients into a system isn't guaranteed to get rid of the invasive species, and in fact it might make the problem even worse, so the fact that this happened is quite interesting and there's probably some interaction between the soil properties, decomposers, and orange peels that made this particularly good outcome possible. See also my top-level comment for my original take on it.

micheljones 9y ago
Acidity of the peels affected the acidity of the soil.
- jonchang 9y ago
  This is what the authors hypothesized in the paper. They don't test it though so the causal link between orange peel acidity and forest restoration has not been established.
  - micheljones 9y ago
    I'm not trying to state that as a fact. Just that the acidity was affected. Which could have affected the restoration in different ways, most likely by effects of plant affinity for soil acidity. But I think that the main factor is simply the increase in biological matter.

pcmaffey 9y ago

"So wait a minute. What you're saying is that you want us to put water on the crops. Yes Water. Like out the toilet? But brawndo's got what plants crave. It's got electrolytes."

incompatible 9y ago

It seems similar to the Miyawaki method, which also uses organic supplements for accelerated forest growth. Another guy who uses the technique: https://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/industrial-engineer-quits-job-plant-mini-forests-everywhere.html https://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/industrial-engin...