On Thu, 3 Nov 1994 11:43:50 +0200 Ryde.James@anu.edu.au wrote:
> From:Ryde.James@anu.edu.au> Date: Thu, 3 Nov 1994 11:43:50 +0200
> Subject: Costs and Benefits of Exotics
> To: forest@nic.funet.fi
>
> Philip J. Burton said he would be curious about different perspectives on
> exotics around the world. To prompt discussion he asked about radiata
pine
> and some other named species.
> The record of radiata pine in Australia, New Zealand and Chile is (in my
> opinion) one of overwhelminig sucess!
stuff deleted
> The question Philip Burton has posed (ie exotics good or bad ?) is a very
> complex one and to answer it you have to establish some criteria on which
> you can form a judgement and declare a point of view. Some people just
> don't like exotics. Here in Canberra the "man-made" capital of Australia
> some people advocate the boycott of the city's annual spring garden
> festival because it is based around beautiful tulip beds (originally a
gift
> of the Netherlands Government); just because they are exotic. The whole
> city of Canberra has been transformed from a near tree-less plain to the
> "Bush Capital" by the extensive and thoughtful planting of exotic tree
> species although some suburbs (as it happens the including the one I live
> in) were established in native forest that was carefully retained and
these
> have a distinct beauty of their own. The emotional preference for native
--------------------
> vegetation is hard to justify in unemotional terms; my exotic is your
> native,
How do you justify the assumption that a preference for indigenous
flora is purely "emotional" and without rational basis?
is "nature" really so wonderful that the deal she gave each country
> is the absolute best that could be done and to add another ingredient
will
> detroy some magic balance.
------------------
Again you resort to derisive language. Do you really understand so
little about the maintenance of diversity or are you just being
snide?
If we look past forestry we see some very
> spectacular sucesses for exotics: for Australia, horses, sheep and cows,
> sugar cane, pineapple and wheat to name a few quickly - and rabbits, cane
> toads and blackberry to name a few equally spectacular failures.
Ask a rangeland expert what they really think of the success of
sheep and you may be startled. Ask a soil scientist about the
erosion costs of sugar cane, pineapple and wheat - for each of
these the loss of topsoil can be expected to exceed the mass of
product produced.
> In my course of Timber Management I devote a lecture on the subjects of
> exotics, monocultures and the likelihood of disease disasters etc. This
> year one of my better students came to ask some questions afterwards and
> told me that that was one of my poorest lectures. When I asked why he
said
> I had presented no firm conclusion and left the whole subject hanging in
> the air. I my opinion I did a good job, this a subject on which it is
just
> not possible to make catagorical judgements for all times and places and
> those who do ----- shouldn't. Ryde James
>
Learn from your students! ;-)
>
___________________________________________________________________________
> Ryde James | Forestry/Science
> Tel: (61+6)249-4330 | Australian National University
> Fax: (61+6)249-0746 | Canberra, ACT 0200
> |
>
___________________________________________________________________________
> email: Ryde.james@anu.edu.au
>
___________________________________________________________________________
>
>
.
Dr Don Ewart D.Ewart@ForProd.CSIRO.Au
Granitgard Pty Ltd/CSIRO Div. Forest Products
Mail: Priv. Bag 10 Rosebank MDC, Clayton VIC 3169, Australia
Tel: +613 542 2271 Fax: +613 543 6613 Finger: 138.194.54.125
URL: http://www.mps.ohio-state.edu/cgi-bin/hpp?Termite.html
The opinions expressed above are entirely my own and in no way
may be taken to represent the views of CSIRO or Granitgard
.
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