The New Nature

Low, Tim. 2003. The New Nature. Penguin Books Australia.

Overall the thesis of this book seems to be that nature includes humans - whether we like it or not, we're intimately involved in ecosystems  -and therefore what humans have done and will do needs to be factored into our understanding of "nature".

Recurrent ideas (bursting some sacred balloons)

• human activities and disturbance of ecosystems / creation of new ones (urbanisation, agriculture) can benefit many species including some endangered ones;
• "wilderness" as a concept does not really exist (but is more likely based on wishful thinking);
• animals can be as destructive as humans (sometimes because human activity forces them into different or more crowded spaces);
• some conservation practices have been damaging (e.g., reintroductions, focusing only on few [animal] species);  culling (of animals and plants) may be necessary;
• we favour the adaptable species over the niche dwellers...

And why is this book discussed on a Soil Science blog? Mostly because I wanted to (and enjoyed the book), but Tim Low does discuss the impact of the "new nature" on soils, if not soil functioning, as in the following quotes:

p. 53 - "Seabirds evidently bred colonially back in Jurassic times, and dinosaurs in the Triassic era, which means that soil pollution dates back 200 million years."

p. 305 - "... nature as the sum total of wild plants and animals, with rocks, soil, water, weather and tectonic forces often thrown in."

p. 228 - "Multiplying kangaroos cop the blame for many crimes. I've heard them accused of destroying endangered plants, eroding soil, eliminating the understorey, preventing regeneration, degrading habitat for birds, and encouraging invasive native plants and birds."