Potential of Permaculture. Ukrainian Soil. Landscaping for the future

Permaculture uses natural cycles and ecosystems as blueprint. Food is produced in an agricultural ecosystem that is as self-regulating, natural and diverse as possible. For example, livestock farming is integrated into the cultivation of crops or the diversity of beneficial organisms is promoted in order to avoid the use of mineral fertilizers or pesticides. In a recent study, published in the journal “Communications Earth & Environment”, researchers from RPTU and BOKU have now for the first time comprehensively investigated the effects of this planning and management concept on the environment. „Although permaculture projects have been established all over the world since the 1970s, there has been surprisingly little accompanying scientific research,“ explains environmental scientist Julius Reiff from RPTU the background to the study. „We wanted to close this gap and investigate whether permaculture actually has the repeatedly-assumed positive effects on the agricultural ecosystem in practice.“

The war in Ukraine is also a war for soil. Sebastian Dötterl, Professor for Soil Resources at ETH Zurich explains what makes Ukrainian soil so valuable and why it will become even more geopolitically significant.

Since February 2022, Russia’s war of aggression has brought suffering to the people of Ukraine. In that time, there have been a parade of insightful analyses that explain Russia’s imperialist interest in Ukraine. But I would like to address one aspect that I feel has so far received too little attention. Whatever other ideologies are at work, the war being fought in Ukraine is also about some of the 21st century’s key resources: farmland and mineral deposits.

Yards and gardens can really suffer in times of drought and heat. Washington State University Extension delivers a lot of advice to grow a beautiful and drought-tolerant landscape, including lists of plants, tips for reducing water usage, and more.