Aaron,



Excellent point man! From what we used to be taught in colleges and universities, this is the scientific method in process – before “they” redefined it by inserting “social” science – of hypothesis, theory and law. As we were once taught in higher education, the scientific method is based upon observation, experimentation and/or a combination of the two. I’ve observed the same thing in my field herping observations!



Simply stated, agriculture that is “cultivated” (especially row crops) requires tilling the land…Which basically disrupts the top 12 inches of the soil…Which in turn creates a temporary habitat for the predators and their prey because “permanent” fixtures (cover) are removed and nest sites destroyed…Therefore creating a “transitional” (temporary) habitat which can be exploited only for food at certain times such as when prey is available at harvest time (e.g. corn, wheat, etc)…The permanent habitats are the riparian areas left in place to prevent wind and water erosion of the soil itself. However, after the land is initially cleared of trees to create range land (ranching, dairy farming, etc), the habitat is basically stable – although changed from forest to savannah – an “ecosystem” can be established for habitation of prey (grass seed, etc) and their predators…



Having said this, we have to grow food so cultivated agriculture is necessary…The trick is finding the balance…



Later,

Jim.



PS: I learned it – pounds of food per acre – as “carrying capacity” with its primary discriminators of quality of the soil and water…The more abundant and better quality results in higher capacity and the reverse results in lower capacity.


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CSRAJim

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