Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday
Cemented trunk of mahogany, Quezon Monument, Elliptical Circle, QC
Prop roots of rubber tree, UST
A clump of Cyperus, UP Diliman. Pasture between coconut trees, Virac, Catanduanes
Prop roots of Pandan, TechnoHub, Diliman, QC
Single flower of pongapong (Amorphophallus campanulatus) emerging from the ground; carpet of algae and mosses - natural fertilizer (UST Botanical Garden)
Termites break down wood into humus. (Right) Looking for symbionts of a narra tree (UPLB Laguna): tree frog and millipede (below);
Give trunk adequate space. The roots need air, they need space to grow and search for food and establish anchor.
Eucalyptus soars to sky, trunk cemented like post.
The
right way to take care of trees is to give adequate space around the
trunk, at least one to two meters radius. The best way however is not to
cement the surroundings at all. Let nature do her work in maintaining
dynamic balance (homeostasis).
Don't Imprison the Roots, Don't!
12 Reasons
1. The roots will be stunted, so
with the tree itself, its branches do not develop well, and few flowers
and fruits will form - if at all - because there is not enough
nourishment. The tree cannot get enough sunlight exposure necessary for
photosynthesis; as a consequence the tree remains stunted, and is likely to die
prematurely.
2. The roots will be deprived of
oxygen and will die without our awareness, so with the corresponding branches,
because for every branch there is a counterpart main root below it. When the
roots are starved their corresponding branches will starve too, which explains
the differential development of branches, and that, not all branches bear
fruits.
3. The roots will fail to provide
anchor strong enough to keep the tree upright and strong, and resist wind and
flood, injury and erosion. Efficient anchorage depends largely on large
secondary roots and numerous tertiary roots, to reinforce the primary root,
thus forming an extensive root system, the mass of which approximates that
above the ground composed of the trunk, limbs, branches and stems.
4. The roots will fail to absorb
water for its present and future use (so with the surrounding plants) coming
from rain, dewdrops and other sources, including capillary water (water that
rises from the bottom to the top soil) and as a consequence the tree easily
succumbs to tight water regime, more so, to El NiƱo, a cyclical phenomenon of
extreme drought that occurs every 7 to 10 years .
5. The roots will be deprived of
providing symbiotic conditions with nitrogen-fixing microorganisms principally
the bacteria Rhizobium and Nitrosomonas, and a host of
fungi led by Mychorriza that convert free, inert Nitrogen into usable
forms - Nitrates - the universal food of plants, without it the earth
would be a plant-less, and most likely, a dead planet.
6. The roots will not be able to
provide conditions to attract the earthworm and nematode, termite and cricket,
snail and slug, beetle and cicada, arachnids and crustaceans, reptiles,
rodents, goats, ground fowls, and many other animals that find shelter and
food, giving in return symbiotic favors of protection and nourishment, and the
beneficial interrelationship of biodiversity through the food chain and web,
and the biological flow of energy.
7. The roots will fail to form
shoots that form secondary crowns to augment photosynthesis, to provide
propagules or planting materials - and even develop into new trees,
replacing the mother tree in the event of its death due to senility or fatal
injury, a phenomenon that makes trees among the oldest living creatures
on earth, such as the redwood, and the bristlecone.
8. The roots will not develop into
specialized roots such as the massive brace roots that grow to several feet in
height and length, and produce a deep gong sound when struck with the horns of
animals, which is a means of communication to attract mates or warn of danger.
9. The roots will not freely produce
prop roots, in the case of the banyan tree and the balete,
emanating from the limbs and branches and dropping to the ground as natural
posts, so massive after many years, in fact centuries, that these prop roots
shall then have walked far and wide from the main trunk. The
interconnecting prop roots and branches are welded by inarching to form natural
arches, walls, and chambers. The famed living temples of worship in India and
other parts of tropical Asia are housed under living old banyan
trees.
10. The roots would not produce
underground fruits like the nangka or jackfruit that draw curiosity and
awe; would fail to develop the protruding breathing roots or pneumatophores of
mangrove; would suppress the development of extensive prop roots of pandan
that enable this plant to resist the fury of nature.
11. The roots will fail to
produce stored food in the form of tubers (Irish potato), enlarged roots
(cassava, ube, tugui, yam), and nuts (peanuts), prevent the production
of runners and stolons (gabi, talahib, cogon), nature’s tools with which
these plants and their kin reproduce vegetatively, resist drought by becoming
dormant, colonize new areas, and compete with other species.
12. The roots will not develop into
an encompassing zone for playground and recreation - cool,
comfortable and shady, where playing children develop natural immunity, old
people find respite in hammocks and easy chairs, a promenade, a
lecture-demonstration area. The bare earth and lawn exude freshness, warmth
in cool months, and coolness in summer, and dust is trapped by moist
soil. The ground is one huge canvas to write and draw with stick, and
where the earth is dry and compact, serves to thresh palay and mungo, shell
corn and prepare other goods for the market, a place for loading and unloading.
Or, where one simply stops to rest on his way to work – or back
home.~
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