Great discussion. As I was doing my morning cycle (only about 4km to deliver about 20kg of salt/phosphorous/mineral lick to my cattle and goats) I was wondering whether in prehistory times all of the water flowing in our rivers (Zambezi, Kafue, Limpopo etc.) might have come entirely from seepage from out of the soil, rather than from floods of surface runoff. If so, that might give us a goal to aim for.
I have long argued that the lowering of our water-tables (more or less worldwide) has been as big a contributor to wildfires as Climate Change. As Anastassia Makariena has pointed out, even if we could magically make all our agriculture sustainable and all our industrial/social activity carbon neutral tomorrow, it would avail us nothing if our water cycle remained broken because of our abuse of all these other cycles and natural eco-services. Bruce Danckwerts CHOMA Zambia
These days rivers get about half their water from groundwater. Its a good question if in prehistory it was a higher value....... Nice to hear that you have had that intuition about water table level being correlated with wildfire risk
The challenge is to convey this story to people who are not aware or only marginally familiar with the core issue: soil health. I wrote an article to suggest breaking down this complexity into relatable stories:
Since soil is a living organism, containing the vast majority of life forms on this planet, I'm not overly enamored with the "soil sponge" metaphor. Though then again, I'm really into soil microbiology and microbial ecology.
Regardless, I live only a few miles from the Pacific Palisades fire, so I know that area very well especially since I hike and forage in the parks in this area quite frequently.
One thing is that the areas in the valleys that have sunk (land subsidence) are areas where they've drained underground reservoirs including much deeper ancient fossil water reservoirs for irrigation. Though the San Joachim Valley hasn't been a lake for a very very long time. Though it was a very large grasslands areas with a lot marsh areas that would seasonally flood and become wetlands.
Another thing is that , approx 150 years ago, these S. Cal coastal areas were more coastal Douglas fir forested areas rather than redwood forests. Douglas firs have deep root systems. Redwoods surprisingly don't. Redwood root systems are more like spread footings that are wide and shallow. Coastal redwoods were further up the coast. They were all cleared in the mid to late 1800's and early 1900's for homes, trolley cars, and trolley tracks.
Ironically, due to all the sediment build up with dams, they're a large source of biogenic methane. Though so are beaver ponds. So what's really ironic with all the "zero carbon," "post carbon" and "net zero" rhetoric plus carbon tunnel vision is that there was a lot more biogenic methane emissions in these cool hydrated Californian landscapes 400 years ago than now.
Why?
California has drained 95% of its wetlands. Aquatic ecosystems emitted anywhere from 40 to 52% of all methane emissions (biogenic and thermogenic) according to one recent study: Rosentreter, J.A. et al 2021. Half of global methane emissions come from highly variable aquatic ecosystem sources.
Regardless, a really good book on the history of landscapes in California is called "A State of Change: Forgotten Landscapes of California."
Another good book that details the history of the water resource engineering in California is called The Destruction of California by Raymond F. Dasmann. This book is no longer in press but you can find used copies.
Great discussion. As I was doing my morning cycle (only about 4km to deliver about 20kg of salt/phosphorous/mineral lick to my cattle and goats) I was wondering whether in prehistory times all of the water flowing in our rivers (Zambezi, Kafue, Limpopo etc.) might have come entirely from seepage from out of the soil, rather than from floods of surface runoff. If so, that might give us a goal to aim for.
I have long argued that the lowering of our water-tables (more or less worldwide) has been as big a contributor to wildfires as Climate Change. As Anastassia Makariena has pointed out, even if we could magically make all our agriculture sustainable and all our industrial/social activity carbon neutral tomorrow, it would avail us nothing if our water cycle remained broken because of our abuse of all these other cycles and natural eco-services. Bruce Danckwerts CHOMA Zambia
These days rivers get about half their water from groundwater. Its a good question if in prehistory it was a higher value....... Nice to hear that you have had that intuition about water table level being correlated with wildfire risk
The challenge is to convey this story to people who are not aware or only marginally familiar with the core issue: soil health. I wrote an article to suggest breaking down this complexity into relatable stories:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/story-soil-silent-foundation-life-klaus-mager-4wysc/?trackingId=Alry%2FoC5RD6qoo8ybK8Xzg%3D%3D
Here is an AI generated Podcast based on the article:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1l_1FsfSI8qgSRrEdjABvSykh9n4vinhO/view?usp=share_link
Oh, I just commented on this over on what I suppose is Didi's substack. Here again are those comments.
====================================================
Since soil is a living organism, containing the vast majority of life forms on this planet, I'm not overly enamored with the "soil sponge" metaphor. Though then again, I'm really into soil microbiology and microbial ecology.
Regardless, I live only a few miles from the Pacific Palisades fire, so I know that area very well especially since I hike and forage in the parks in this area quite frequently.
One thing is that the areas in the valleys that have sunk (land subsidence) are areas where they've drained underground reservoirs including much deeper ancient fossil water reservoirs for irrigation. Though the San Joachim Valley hasn't been a lake for a very very long time. Though it was a very large grasslands areas with a lot marsh areas that would seasonally flood and become wetlands.
Another thing is that , approx 150 years ago, these S. Cal coastal areas were more coastal Douglas fir forested areas rather than redwood forests. Douglas firs have deep root systems. Redwoods surprisingly don't. Redwood root systems are more like spread footings that are wide and shallow. Coastal redwoods were further up the coast. They were all cleared in the mid to late 1800's and early 1900's for homes, trolley cars, and trolley tracks.
Ironically, due to all the sediment build up with dams, they're a large source of biogenic methane. Though so are beaver ponds. So what's really ironic with all the "zero carbon," "post carbon" and "net zero" rhetoric plus carbon tunnel vision is that there was a lot more biogenic methane emissions in these cool hydrated Californian landscapes 400 years ago than now.
Why?
California has drained 95% of its wetlands. Aquatic ecosystems emitted anywhere from 40 to 52% of all methane emissions (biogenic and thermogenic) according to one recent study: Rosentreter, J.A. et al 2021. Half of global methane emissions come from highly variable aquatic ecosystem sources.
Regardless, a really good book on the history of landscapes in California is called "A State of Change: Forgotten Landscapes of California."
Another good book that details the history of the water resource engineering in California is called The Destruction of California by Raymond F. Dasmann. This book is no longer in press but you can find used copies.
My comments
There are units that take water from the atmosphere
Why not set up stations throughout dry belts with wind and solar power storage units
Hook these units up to that grid voltage water 24/7
These units could be used world wide
Give me a call
Gerry MacKinnon
Calgar alberta
250.505.3925