The concerns of sustainability, if they are to permeate higher education, must not be restricted to the curricula of the natural and social sciences. It is entirely natural for the sustainability agenda to find expression in the humanities. One way to achieve this is to focus on myth. Myths serve as the master-narratives that underlie our understanding of both humanity and nature. Myths are at the heart of the great religions and philosophies of life. Even more important, myths embody the assumptions and values that inform everyday life. Implicit in every myth is a predictable dynamic: our myths prompt us to a certain way of thinking; they powerfully condition not only our understanding of crises, but also our approaches to resolving them. A contest of myths is underway in the West: a contest between the traditional myth of the Apocalypse and the emerging myth of Gaia. Western tradition is steeped in the myth of the Apocalypse; the dynamics of that myth will be presented and assessed in regard to the concerns of sustainability. The dynamics of the Gaia myth will be likewise assessed, and the prospects of its supplanting the myth of Apocalypse will be discussed.

Applications of sewage sludge and lime have been used to restore some of the nearly 1.0 million ha of unreclaimed acid mine spoils in the United States. Earthworms might also aid in the reconstruction of mine spoils, but the earthworm response to mine spoils and sludge has not been widely studied. The objective of the present study was to examine growth of the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris in pots containing acidmine spoils, sewage sludge, and lime, and the growth of two common reclamation grasses, timothy (Phleum pratense L.) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.), to the addition of earthworms. After 10 weeks, earthworms growing in the mine spoil treated with sewage sludge showed an increase in mean specific mass of 26.9% and in projected specific area of 24.5%. In contrast, earthworms growing on mine spoils without sludge decreased in mass by an average of 39.6% and in area by 21.0%. Soil pH influenced earthworm area, but not mass: earthworms growing on mine spoils (with or without sludge) showed an increase in mean surface area of 2.9% at pH 5.3 and a decrease of 11.2% at pH 6.5. The presence of earthworms significantly increased the belowground production of plant roots, but had no effect on either soil bulk density or above-ground production of plant biomass. The addition of earthworms to acid mine spoils treated with sewage sludge and lime might aid in the redevelopment of soil quality and biological diversity.

Reclamation of acid mine spoils can be enhanced by applications of lime, sewage sludge, and fast growing grasses and legumes. In a laboratory study three grasses and two legumes were grown for 8 wk on acidic mine spoils treated with dolomitic lime and municipal sewage sludge. On average the grasses produced more than triple the aboveground biomass, more than double the root length density, and approximately double the belowground biomass of the legumes. Two of the grasses had small, but significantly greater leaf N concentrations than the legumes. In this chapter, the authors speculate that the legumes they tested had no advantages over the grasses, despite inoculation with rhizobia, because of the abundant nutrient supply in the sludge. Reclaiming mine spoils treated with sewage sludge may be accomplished more effectively using grass species than legumes.

AbstractNear‐tree patterns of forest‐soil pH under red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.) and Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.] were examined in order to evaluate the role of trees in acidification processes of surface soils. Variability in soil pH was analyzed by comparing samples obtained at different distances and directions from the base of a tree, at different times within a year, under live and dead trees, trees of different sizes, and trees of the same species growing on different soil types. Accumulation of soil organic matter, pH of freshly fallen litter, and the concentration of oxalate in water extracts of Oe horizons were measured as a function of distance from the base of selected trees. A significant decrease in soil pH from the edge of the canopy to the base of the tree was found in the upper mineral soil and organic horizons beneath live trees of both species. In general, the direction of sampling, the percent organic matter within a soil sample, and the time of year for sampling did not significantly affect soil pH. Mass of organic matter above the mineral soil did not exhibit a distinct pattern with distance from a tree. Twelve years after thinning red pine trees, a significant depression in pH existed in Oi and Oe horizons near the base of a dead tree or stump. Near‐tree depression in pH of the Oi horizon, where tree roots are not present, and of the Oi and Oe horizons around previously thinned trees where no stemflow occurs, suggests that soil fungi endemic or more active in the near‐tree environment of red pine and Norway spruce could make a significant contribution to acidification of soil surface horizons.

Abstract For more than 2,500 years, pre-Columbian Americans subsisted in part on marine fauna. The refuse, largely molluscan, was discarded in large heaps or mounds known as shell middens. Today, shell middens are found on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of most of the New World. Studies of shell middens have been undertaken to assess the degree of prehistoric dependence on molluscs as a food supply, the nutritional value of the molluscs, the size of the human population that might have been sustained by the shells in a midden, and the seasonality of human habitations (Borgogno and Linares, 1980; Coutts, 1970, 1975; Coutts and Higham, 1971; Ham and Irvine, 1975; Karp, 1970; Kenney, 1980; Lange, 1971,1978; Matykiewicz, 1978; Moreau, 1979, 1980; Robinson, 1979; Stark and Voorhies, 1978; Turpin, 1978). From recent studies of the microgrowth patterns in marine molluscs, researchers showed that some bivalves record important environmental information such as variations in marine temperature, storm events, and the length of seasons. As a result, information from shell-midden analyses regarding changes in microenvironmental conditions through time can be used to accurately determine (1) the season a certain type of mollusc was harvested, (2) the seasonality of an occupation, (3) the age of the harvested mollusc, and (4) whether a clam was harvested while alive for food, or perhaps dead for use of its shell as jewelry (Koike, 1979, 1980). As molluscs recovered from shell middens preserve a record of their ontogeny, inferences about paleoenvironmental conditions can also be made.

AbstractThe spatial variability of soil pH and organic matter concentration in 0.4‐ha plots of 45‐yr old monospecific red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.), Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.], and sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) stands located on acid Inceptisols in south central New York was examined. Soil was sampled every 5 m along east‐west and north‐south transects and also every 30 cm around selected individual trees from next to the base to a distance of 120 cm. A geostatistical approach was used to analyze the components of variability that were systematically changing in space, correlated in space or not spatially related. There was little spatial correlation between samples with respect to pH or organic matter. However, there was systematic change in space in some horizons due to the presence of the different tree species. After 45 yr the surface mineral horizon under spruce was slightly (<0.3 pH unit) more acidic than under maple. There were also differences between stands of the different species in organic matter of the Oe horizons but not of the surface mineral horizons. The greatest variability in pH occurred between samples taken at the base of individual trees compared to samples taken 30 to 120 cm away. This effect occurred in the organic horizons of all three stands and in the surface mineral horizons under spruce and pine and was greatest for the pine. The approach employed in this study was useful in determining the effect of different tree species on soil chemical properties, where there was no plot replication.

The purpose of this study was to examine spatial variability in forest soils at several levels including variability due to soil structure, to the presence of individual trees and to populations of different species of trees. Both classic statistical and geostatistical methods were used. Soil chemical properties measured include pH and A1 and C in solution which was in equilibrium with the surface mineral soil. Results indicated that soil cores 1.8 cm in diameter were as effective as larger cores in incorporating variability in surface mineral soil pH. There was no spatial correlation in soil pH in samples separated by a distance of 20 to 360 cm. The presence of individual Norway spruce and red pine trees affected soil in their vicinity. Soil pH was depressed and soluble A1 elevated in soil near the base of the tree compared to soil 120 cm from the tree, independent of direction. In addition, in soil sampled at least 100 cm from the base of trees, pH was lower in Norway spruce compared to sugar maple plantations and soluble C was greater in red pine compared to Norway spruce plantations. It is concluded that in less than 50 yr the presence of individual trees and populations of different tree species can affect chemical properties of surface mineral soils. These effects should be considered in the design and interpretation of experiments.