Field Notes :: Reading the Landscape Presentation

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“A process of continuous observation in order to recognize patterns and appreciate details is the foundation of all understanding. Those observed patterns and details are the source for art, science, and design.�

David Holmgren

CONTENTS INTRODUCTION FOUNDATIONS OF LANDSCAPE READING & PERMACULTURE SITE ANALYSIS SITE CONSIDERATIONS CONCLUSION

“One of the fundamental issues of permaculture design consultancy is the need for a thorough understanding of the processes shaping the landscape and their interaction with land use, contemporary and historical. This need is critical because permaculture relies more on working with natural processes then in transforming the landscape through high energy inputs.

As a corollary to this permaculture must be site specific if it is to be attuned to the particular combinations of energies and form.

Guidelines for the development skills in reading landscape while keeping in mind long term aims of achieving sound land use systems and the land ethics needed to sustain such systems over generations. The use of these ideas and methods is implicit in permaculture but little attention has been given to their development. The lack of skills in this area is seen as a major impediment to permaculture development and more specifically permaculture consultancy.

A consultant designer must rely on a limited period of focus before giving advice to a client. If that advice is to be of great value the consultant designer must have some particular skill in quickly recognising the nature, limitations and prospects of the particular piece of land.�

David Holmgren

FOUNDATIONS OF LANDSCAPE READING & PERMACULTURE SITE ANALYSIS

SCIENCE PRIOR SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEGE OFFERS DIRECT ADVANTAGE TO THE PERMACULTURE OBSERVER. SUCH KNOWLEDGE CAN BE BASED IN DESCRIPTION, CLASSIFICATION, AND EXPLANATION. FIELD NATURALISM “THIS INVOLVES THE SKILLS OF CAREFUL OBSERVATION ADN RECORDING OF THE LANDSCAPE. THE INTENTION IS TO EXPERIENCE THE DIVERSITY OF NATURE FIRST HAND, LEARNING TO MOVE CAREFULLY, PATIENTLY WATCH (AND LISTEN, FEEL, TASTE, AND SMELL) AND OBJECTIVELY RECORD.” {Holmgren,David. 2002;} CONTEMPLATIVE AWARENESS THIS IS SIMILAR TO MEDITATION IN MINDFULNESS, “WHERE THE MIND IS OUT OF GEAR BUT THE SENSES ARE FULLY ATTUNED”. A PERIPHERA OF FOCUS IS A GOOD EXAMPLE. THIS MODE ENABLES OBSERVING UNDISTRACTED BY FORM AND BIAS. {Holmgren,David. 2002;} INDICATORS & RULES OF THUMB INTERPRETATIONS BASED ON EXISTING CONDITIONS AND REMNANT SIGNS OF PAST EVENTS

SITE CONSIDERATIONS

GEOGRAPHY ●Elevation - current height above sea level ●Angle of Latitide - relative to the equator ●Aspect - direction the land faces ●Relief - vertical change of site relative to surrounding landscape ●Slope - angle of the landscape relative to the horizontal plane (difference in elevation divided by distance = percent slope) ●Exposure

LOCATION ●Geographic Bioregion Setting ●Proximity to Adjacent Resources ●Cultural Flavor ●Political Climate

Measuring the height of trees

SOLAR GAIN ●Local Solar Path ●Declination angles for your latitude ●Obstructions to the Solar Path - trees, buildings, mountains, cloudy climate ●Hot Spots and Cold Sinks ●Free nuclear fusion energy

The heights of trees (or any other tall object) can easily be found using a device called a hypsometer. A hypsometer is basically a long stick divided into even units used to find height by triangulation*. A yardstick or metre stick will work just fine. If you are using a yardstick, stand exactly 25 feet from the tree being measured. Hold the yardstick, with the zero end downward, 25 inches from your eye. Line up the bottom of the yardstick with the base of the tree.

Without moving your head, look to the top of the tree. Where it crosses the yardstick, read off the measurement in inches. Each inch will equal one foot in the tree's height.

If the tree is taller than your hypsometer will measure, stand 50 feet away.

Again hold it 25 inches from your eye, as before, only this time multiply your result by 2 to get the correct height. If it is taller still, then step back to 75 feet, multiplying your result by 3, or 100 feet, multiplying the result by 4, etc.

If you are using a metre stick, the procedure is basically the same. Stand 5 metres from the tree. Hold the metre stick 50cm from your eye. Each 10 centimetres will equal one metre of the tree's height. If standing at 10 metres, double the result; at 15m, triple it, etc. Granted, a five-metre tree isn't very tall, but it is a convenient scale to start with for the sake of mathematical progression. *Note: there are other types of hypsometers, all of which measure height or altitude. Another type of hypsometer measures elevation by noting what temperature water begins to boil; this boiling point decreases with an increase in elevation.

CLIMATE / MICROCLIMATE ●Cold Air Drainage / Thermal Belts ●Frost Pockets / Frost Prone Areas ●Wind Tunnels / WInd Breaks ●Water Bodies on Site ●Thermal Sinks / Thermal Mass ●Aspect Relation ●Sun / Shade Bands and the Seasonal Solar Path ●Micro Rain Shadows ●SunTraps ●Convective Heat Transfer

GEOLOGY (soils) ●Soil Rolling Between Fingers to determine primary constituent (sand, silt, loam, clay) ●Look for exposed rock (sedimentary, limestone, granite, etc.) ●Rock content of stream beds ●pH test ●Salinity Test ●Jar Test ●Land History ●Indicator Plants ●Glaciation Evidence

HYDROLOGY (water) ●Site Water Sources (spring, creek, pond, river,etc.) ●Opportunities for water catchment ●Aquifer / Water Table ●Runoff from adjacent sites? ●Seasonal Flows / Climate Variation ● Abundant or Restricted

VEGETATION (or lack thereof) ●Indicator Species ●Forest Signs (burn scars, ring counts, branching growth patterns, species, dispersement, reach, primary or secondary, mature or young, density, large or tight canopy, etc.) ●What does the vegetation indicate and what assumptions can we make?

Ambulatory Species ●Indicator Species ●Wildlife & Fauna ●Large and Small? ●Birds ●Insect Populations ●Reptiles ●Wild, domesticated, or feral

Risk Assessment ●Natural Disaster ●Fire ●Flood ●Drought ●Tornado ●Earthquake ●Storm surge

References Alexander, C., 1936-. (1977). In Ishikawa S., , Silverstein M. and (Eds.), A pattern language : Towns, buildings, construction. New York: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from http://www2.lib.ncsu.edu.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/catalog/record/UNCb1468235 Aranya.Permaculture design : A step-by-step guide. Hampshire, England; White River Junction, VT: Permanent Publications; Distributed in the USA by Chelsea Green Publishing. Retrieved from http://www2.lib.ncsu.edu.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/catalog/record/NCSU2712793 Bell, G. (1992). The permaculture way : Practical steps to create a self-sustaining world. East Meon, U.K.: Permanent Publications, 2004.

Retrieved from http://www2.lib.ncsu.edu.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/catalog/record/NCSU2817349 Holmgren, D. (2002). In Holmgren Design Services. (Ed.), Permaculture : Principles and pathways beyond sustainability. Hepburn, Vic.: Holmgren Design Services. Retrieved from http://www2.lib.ncsu.edu.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/catalog/record/NCSU1647594 Mars, R. (1996). In Ducker M. (Ed.), The basics of permaculture design. Hovea, W.A.; Califon, N.J.: Candlelight Trust; Permaculture Resources. Retrieved from http://www2.lib.ncsu.edu.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/catalog/record/NCSU1556307 McHarg, I. L. (1992). Design with nature. New York: J. Wiley. Retrieved from http://www2.lib.ncsu.edu.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/catalog/record/NCSU1010422 Mollison, B. C. (1991). In Slay R. M. (Ed.), Introduction to permaculture. Sisters Creek, Tasmania, Australia: Tagari, 2009. Retrieved from http://www2.lib.ncsu.edu.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/catalog/record/NCSU2186099 Morrow, R. (2006). In Allsop R. (Ed.), Earth user's guide to permaculture. Pymble, N.S.W.: Kangaroo Press. Retrieved from http://www2.lib.ncsu.edu.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/catalog/record/NCSU2275107 Whitefield, P. (2009). The living landscape : How to read it and understand it. East Meon: Permanent Publications. Retrieved from http://www2.lib.ncsu.edu.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/catalog/record/NCSU2285918hh