The Secret Wisdom on Nature - 3/17/21

 Hello Nature Lovers, 

Book 14: The Secret Wisdom of Nature: Trees, Animals, and the Extraordinary Balance of All Living Things - Stories from Science and Observation. (7/10)

Premise: How changes in nature create a ripple affect to the ecosystem around it, and how humans often do not realize how they are affecting the environment when they introduce or remove a species. 

Peter Wohlleben takes care of a forest in Germany, and also spends a ton of time looking into what make the ecosystem tick. According to Wohlleben "We don't really understand how the clockwork of nature functions, and as long as we don't, we shouldn't try to fix it". A large portion of this book is set on the domino effect of how humans interacting with certain things can have large effects we could never have dreamed of. 

  

Wohlleben starts this book by talking about one of the most common stories in how human inadvertently affect nature. How removing the wolves from Yellow Stone park changed the course of the river. No wolves, more prey, more prey less plants near the river bank, river bank is weaker and the water washes it away. After this he tells more serious tales about how human intervention has changed many ecosystems. Lots of his stories take place in Germany or nearby in Europe. 

In the last few chapters he changes course and talks about humans and if they should even attempt to put things back the way we found them. Should we remove a species of bird that a better hunter than other predatory birds? What about a type of plant that is causing prey animals to mass produce? It gives you a lot to think about, many interesting antidotes along the way. Wohlleben has an incredible sense of humor which he uses sparingly but almost always brought a smile. 

So leave only foot prints and take only pictures if you wander into nature. 

And remember dear reader, Stay Vivid.