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Lawnflower BioProtections Using predators, parasites and pathogens instead of pesticides Plant pests and animal pests do not reach damaging numbers or presence in healthy ecosystems. Pests are controlled to insignificant levels by their own specific predators, parasites, and pathogens. Predator-prey relationships are such that pests are never eradicated. Residual pest populations serve as feed stock that ensures perpetuation of predator, parasite, and pathogen populations.
Botanical diversity provides habitat for pests' predators, parasites, and pathogens. In the Lawnflower Story, the lawnflower families throughout the lawnflower neighborhood maintained botanical diversity on their homesteads. The landscape feature that united all their homesteads into one vast, interconnected, botanically diverse ecosystem was their lawnflower lawns. These lawnflower lawns compensated for the occasional lack of botanical diversity in the gardens and orchards. The lawnflower lawns were “bedroom communities” from which pests’ predators, parasites, and pathogens could “commute to work” in the gardens and orchards.
When pesticides are used to control pests, then non-target predators, parasites, and pathogens are killed off along with the pests. Their populations never regenerate as rapidly as those of the pests. Predator-prey relationships become disrupted and eliminated. Land managers get locked into a cycle of having to periodically reapply pesticides. Through time, pesticides and pesticide residue cause toxic, health damaging affects on all surviving life in the ecosystem, including to humans, especially to children.
Rehabilitating a pesticide damaged ecosystem can be time consuming and costly. It takes time for pesticide residues to degrade to harmless forms or to wash away through ground water and surface streams. It takes time for populations of pests’ predators, parasites, and pathogens to be reestablished to controlling numbers. Money must be spent to restock the land with pests’ predators, parasites, and pathogens where former populations were totally poisoned out. After pesticide use is ceased, money may be lost to crop damage from pests while predator, parasite, and pathogen populations are rebuilding. Companion planting and crop rotations mitigate these losses and accelerate ecosystem rehabilitation.
Below is a list of books describing natural biological pest control in minimally damaged, relatively functional ecosystems. There are also books about rehabilitating populations of pests’ predators, parasites, and pathogens in pesticide damaged ecosystem remnants. Click on a link to view each book’s description. Related Websites ************************************************************************************************** |
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