This work (originally appearing under the title: ‘ALBEDO ’ May 28, 2011 on Open Salon) is about the physical environment between 10 and 40 degrees centigrade. 

Most every body (from lettuce to Thomas Kinkade) has at least that in common.   

I know we all have the victims of Joplin, Missouri on our minds (1 year and 2 mos. later, now the aurora theater shooting); in that respect, it is a piece about grief.  In grieving is hope: we are stirred to shun the frivolous for a space of time.       

I was allowed to walk around a farm on a day many were grieving.   

The farm was all hope: soil erosion (flooding) hadn’t touched it; air pollution wasn’t killing off the plants; poisons to control pests were non-existent.   

Over the hill from the organic farm, a new town is being planned; 'vertically integrated' they call it.  What they mean is people living on top of shoppes.  It will be a corporate town.  The corporate chief flies in and out every day.  His private flight path takes him over the farm.   

We need a sign in big letters on the farm that he can read: THIS IS OUR FOOD DOWN HERE, BUDDY 

 

 

 

 

 

 

autecology: the study of the organism in relation to its environment   ¹

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

site: the aerial and subterranean portions of plants

 

 

 

 

 

basic factors supplied by the site: to the aerial portions comes warmth, light, carbon dioxide, and oxygen; to the roots come the mineral nutrients and water

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

availability of site factors depends on changes in climate, day length, soil development which are in part related to the developing plant itself

 

 

 

 

  

and to the people interested in making it work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

climatic factors include solar radiation, air temperature, wind, lightning, and carbon dioxide content of the air

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

soil factors include all the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soil

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

biological factors include the effects of plants and animals on the climate and the soil

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

integration of site factors into a whole is necessary if the site is to be characterized

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

interrelated influences must be considered together as individual site factors and not isolated independent forces acting on the plant

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

from the sun comes the light (solar radiation)  that permits the life processes of the plant to continue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the nature and the amount of solar radiation received on the surface of the earth influence the life processes of plants

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the light factor includes the quantity and quality of light and the relative lengths of the day and night too

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the heat conditions around and within the plant are indirectly determined by air temperature which is ultimately governed by solar radiation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

The solar radiation that reaches the outside of the earth’s atmosphere is dissipated in that it is reflected and also in part absorbed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The wavelengths of solar radiation vary: shorter ultraviolet (UV) rays are completely absorbed by the atmosphere; one-half of the solar radiation reaching the earth’s surface is light or that of the visible rays; longest of the rays is termed infrared.  Heat is received from all wavelengths.

 

 

 

 

 

  

The total amount of solar energy that reaches the surface of the earth is substantially less than that which reaches the atmosphere.  Since the surface of the earth is not flat, this amount also varies by slope and aspect

  

 

 

 

 

 

Objects standing on the surface of the earth (forests, buildings) intercept radiation.  Radiation is either reflected or absorbed.  Albedo is the amount of reflected radiation from clouds and the earth’s surface.  It is why the earth as seen from space has any brightness at all.  The foliage of plants reflect a high proportion of the infrared spectrum. 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

Very little solar energy, light, amounting to (1%) is utilized in photosynthesis; the blue-violet and yellow-red wavelengths are absorbed, hence influencing photosyn.  Leaves are predominantly green as the green wavelength is being reflected by the surface of the leaf.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

The growth of plants is related to their rate of photosyn which is related to light intensity; the minimum light requirements vary for different plants.  In general, at least 20 percent of full sunlight is required for survival over a period of years (annual plants excluded).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For plants that are usually found growing in full sunlight, growth commonly increases up to full sunlight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Solar radiation is one source of the heat (mainly the infrared wavelengths) that controls the temperature regime near the ground of the earth.  Objects (such as roof surfaces) absorb radiated energy and re-radiate (give off heat) the energy as terrestrial radiation.  The air heated by the sun during the day is kept relatively warm during the night by reradiation from the earth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

   

The temperature reached at an object’s surface depends upon the rate of absorption of solar energy and the rate it is dissipated, which in turn is dependent upon the color of that surface.  Darker surfaces reach the higher temperatures.  Dissipation depends on air movement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soil moisture that enters plant roots passes up the stem into the foliage.  It is then transpired (i.e., evaporated) from the leaves, serving to decrease surface temperatures.

 

 

note: Commercial  roof material does not transpire

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

photographs by ume

 

 ¹  reference note: 

 image captions are credited to

SPURR, S. H., Forest Ecology. Ronald Press, New York.   1964.

 my old FOR ECOL 300 textbook

 

 

US drought could trigger repeat of global food crisis, experts warn

 

 

As the mid-west bakes and food prices soar, threats of a ripple effect in the Middle East could lead to more uprisings;

 

please see:

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jul/23/us-drought-global-food-crisis?intcmp=122 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* ‘low-lying energies’ , the phrase comes from the great and good  post: 

http://open.salon.com/blog/romanticpoetess/2011/12/18/what_is_a_poet