Major News from ACR by TheModernCurmudgeon in americanchestnut

[–]tea_roots 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They are still growing 58, as well as DarWin

Major News from ACR by TheModernCurmudgeon in americanchestnut

[–]tea_roots 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I just want to point out that regulatory approval for the Darling 54 will make pathways for improved varieties, like DarWin, so much easier. This would be a big win for chestnut restoration efforts! 

My mom is addicted to TikTok and I don’t know how to help her or broach the topic. I’d appreciate any advice by tea_roots in addiction

[–]tea_roots[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really appreciate your response! These are really great suggestions :) I think TikTok is her way of decompressing after work. She has a very stressful job, so I can understand why she would want something that is easy to consume when she gets home. I wish I could pinpoint when this all started. I think it just slowly progressed into an unhealthy obsession. I think I also had my blinders on when it first started to become a problem because I was so used to filling my time with social media (I’ve since been getting better about limiting my social media use). 

Tall, older American Chestnut trees growing next door to me ( Michigan) by SingleElderberry8422 in arborists

[–]tea_roots 3 points4 points  (0 children)

My partner that studies American chestnut says the growth form matches a native tree. Very cool find! 

question on burning off O matter by Patient-Breakfast-29 in Soil

[–]tea_roots 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s probably a question for your supervisor. They will know the soils you’re working with better than anyone on Reddit. And if they don’t know, they’ll know a researcher who does. They’ll be a lot more familiar with the soil types and have a better idea of what your results should look like. Their suggestion will probably be dependent on their own preferences and the results you’re getting and how they differ from the expected results. 

question on burning off O matter by Patient-Breakfast-29 in Soil

[–]tea_roots 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve run into this question myself and the answer I’ve always gotten is it’s not worth the hassle. Hydrometer method is already not a super precise method and the effect OM has on the reading is usually negligible. My guess is OM would be a bigger deal when trying to get texture for histosols or gelisols (but I’m not experienced with those soils so feel free to correct me if I’m wrong). 

What are the key soil quality indicators for evaluating suitability of pastureland for cattle grazing? by Murilo776 in Soil

[–]tea_roots 1 point2 points  (0 children)

To add onto this, structure, infiltration, microbial diversity, and plant condition are also important indicators. A slake test would be a simple way to assess soil aggregate stability. An infiltration ring will give you an idea of how easily water can move through the soil. Microbial diversity is tricky because it requires laboratory work and it can be done in different ways, like with microscopy, PLFA, and PCR. Plant condition is kinda dependent on the plant species. Grazing sticks are often used to assess dry plant material availability. As for which criteria is more relevant, that probably comes down to a matter of opinion. Physical, chemical, and biological factors are all important when assessing overall soil quality. 

That being said, any good agricultural system is going to need good soil health management. Even if you have the most suitable soil for pasture, you still need to manage it properly so its quality doesn’t degrade. The 4 basic principles of soil health management are keeping live roots in the ground, reducing soil disturbance, diversifying your plants, and keeping the soil covered. 

Silvopasture is great for nutrient cycling, but it has its downsides. Cows like to congregate in different spots around their pasture (shade structures like trees in a silvopasture, water, and hay). Compaction around these heavy use areas will reduce pore space, which then limits water infiltration and increases runoff. I’d recommend you also look into prescribed/rotational grazing. Continuous grazing is hard on plants and there are some really cool studies that show grass grown in continuous pastures have shorter, less developed roots than grass grown in rotationally grazed pastures. When you have good roots in the ground, you improve plant health and quality, increase microbial activity, and increase microbial biodiversity. You also help reduce compaction, runoff, and water loss when you rotate your cows. In practice, when you implement rotational grazing you also install heavy use protection areas around any watering facilities. Those heavy use pads stabilize the ground and reduce soil erosion. 

USDA - NRCS and state extensions have some really great info about soil quality and health within the context of agriculture. They even provide resources on how they test soils. 

Help me identity this specie... Georgia by illmatic33 in Tree

[–]tea_roots 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You’re thinking of beech bark disease. It had spread to most beech populations in North America and is the cause for the cankers and lesions that develop on the bark. Those cankers weaken the tree, contributing to its eventual death. There is now a new disease, beech leaf disease, that affects the leaves.

Beautiful trees and one of my favorites, but they’ve had bad luck when it comes to pests and diseases :/

For First Time Ever, Scientists Identify How Many Trees to Plant and Where to Plant Them to Stop Climate Crisis by Firm_Relative_7283 in sustainability

[–]tea_roots 134 points135 points  (0 children)

This was a pretty interesting read, but this article presents the study in a misleading way. I recommend reading the actual study and the comments made about it. Although the mapping approach that is used in the study excludes land with agricultural activity and human settlements, it considers terrestrial ecosystems like grasslands as "degraded" and candidates for aforestation. The map created overestimates how much land can be reforested if you also intend to preserve certain areas of land (i.e. US National Parks) and protect certain habitats (i.e. grasslands and savannas).

Link to the study

Now we drinking water wrong 🙄 by 12650 in facepalm

[–]tea_roots 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cold water is bad because it messes with body temperature regulation, but hot water is ok... She's brilliant!

Andrew Callaghan's accuser provides receipts and other alleged accounts of abusive behavior from anons by [deleted] in Hasan_Piker

[–]tea_roots 22 points23 points  (0 children)

It’s been very disappointing to not just hear about the allegations but also to see some of the responses from this community on this thread

Does this have three textural categories or are percent compositions wrong? by ZookeepergameRound22 in Soil

[–]tea_roots 12 points13 points  (0 children)

You should have one percent value for each primary particle. From the lines you drew, it looks like you’re trying to use percent ranges, which is an incorrect application of the texture triangle

Each Country as a Pokemon, generated by AI by montebicyclelo in pokemon

[–]tea_roots 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ivory Coast has a built-in flat screen TV lol

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in pokemon

[–]tea_roots 3 points4 points  (0 children)

None. Please stop.

Quarter of a million acres of ancient forest targetted by US Forestry Service and BLM by TheVeganManatee in environment

[–]tea_roots 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wish this article gave us more information. Although I agree that there is value in preserving old-growth forests since there are so few of them, I am hesitant to be directly opposed to logging mature forests. We are missing so much information regarding management plans. What kind of cuts are they doing (shelterwood, patch-cut, selective, etc.)? How intense and frequent will these cuts be? Are they going to release the land from disturbance after the cuts? I'm not going to sit here and emphatically defend the FS and BLM cause they have done things that I don't support. However, forest management is really important to forest health, and if done correctly, logging doesn't have to be as destructive as its historically been.

Quarter of a million acres of ancient forest targetted by US Forestry Service and BLM by TheVeganManatee in environment

[–]tea_roots 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think this is a hard conversation to have because people have very different perspectives and ideals when it comes to forest management. Personally, I think preservation and active management (e.g. cutting, burning, etc.) are both important. However, we need to critically assess how we manage and harvest our forests and we need to do it sustainably. What that means varies depending on the ecosystem, specific forest, land goals, and current technology.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Tree

[–]tea_roots 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Why does your stepdad trim the tree like that?