Temperature, Growth and Development

Photosynthesis

It would be nice to fill up the space with plants everywhere crowding one another to capture the most amount of sun rays as possible thus not loosing any of it. This could lead to lush vegetation and a great storage of energy. If a lot of such trees and vegetation are edible, then we would be supplying the world with lots of food too by making the most use of sunlight through maximum photosynthesis.

Reflecting Sun Rays

Reflecting sun rays on plants using ponds has been a technique used in permaculture to provide plants with heat in colder regions. In contrast, solar panels have been used in above vegetation in agricultural land in hot regions in order to provide shade for the plants and at the same time collect energy from the sun!

Red Leaves

Leaves of plants are not always green. Sometimes when the leaves are still young, for instance, they are reddish in color. This might be that those young leaves in this phase of their development need a specific wavelength of sunlight and thus they have their non-green color to absorb the wavelength of sunlight they are in need of.

Temperature, Growth and Development

The rate of development of an organism tends to increase faster than the rate of growth of that organism as temperature increases. This concept is interesting and can be considered when one wants to grow trees and wants them to bear fruit as soon as possible. Mango trees may take several trees to bear fruit particularly of planted using seeds. Similarly date palm trees take several years to bear fruit. It would be interesting to consider how temperature could speed up the development phase. Thus dates might be smaller in size, as a result of increased temperature, while the date palm tree starts bearing dates in a shorter period of time.

Complexion

It is interesting to reflect on the complexion of humans living in different geographic areas and to try to understand why each geographical region has its own complexion. People living in sun-stricken regions close to the equator in Africa tend to have dark complexions while those closer to the North Pole tend to have fair complexions. Why is this so? What results in this and what function does this have?

Egypt Rapid Growth

Holism

The reason why we need to study ecosystems and systems in general is that science is based mainly on analysis, on dissecting things into smaller and smaller pieces then reconstructing larger things from their 'constituent' elements. This contrasts with the gestalt or holistic approach which states that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

The word complexity often arises from the analytically, dissecting, components based system of thinking and understanding. If we rather use a holistic approach the word complexity just disappears.

Fitness

It is interesting that the ultimate way by which ecology and developmental biology measure the fitness level of an organism is by measuring its fertility; its ability to produce offspring that survive and for its offspring to produce offspring that survive. The interesting part is that that is the very way by which ingenious, local and lower class people usually measure their 'value'. A woman who produces a lot of offspring is valued more. A man who has a high rate of fertility can boast about that. It is interesting how the scientific concept of fitness in ecology is the very same principle which ingenious and less educated people use to value themselves.

Ecological Niche

Providing the conditions that satisfy the ecological niche for a specific organism are enough to maintaining such organism in good shape and making it thrive. This can be used to keep plants in great condition even at locations other than those where it originally grew and adapted provided the conditions of its ecological niche are provided.

Of course it might be costly in terms of energy and effort to provide such conditions artificially. This is exactly what happened in Biosphere 2. Such artificial provision of conditions can lead to catastrophes same as what happened to Biosphere 2.

Ecological Agriculture

One of my ultimate dreams would be to design an agricultural system fully based on ecological knowledge and ecological science. This is the same idea behind permaculture, yet I would love to take it to the next level. It would be highly interesting to study organisms, communities and ecosystems in the various climates present in Egypt and come up with ultimate ecological agriculture systems that can thrive in our Egyptian environment.

The science of ecology has also progressed considerably since the early days when Bill Mollison first co-founded permaculture. This presents a great opportunity now for taking a second look at permaculture and greatly enriching it given the new advancements in the science of ecology.

Temperature

Temperature is an important condition for organisms and their survival. Temperature is arguably the most important condition in an ecological niche of an organism. It is interesting to note that temperature is a very important condition for, not only the survival, but the optimal comfort of humans.

Wooden bench amidst vegetation.

A lot of energy is exerted to artificially regulate the temperature for humans in their manmade built environments. Tackling this single condition, which greatly affects humans, can be a central point if we want to live more sustainable. Natural housing and green architecture may provide methods for providing an optimal temperature condition for humans without so much energy expenditure. This is my ultimate dream.

Egypt Rapid Growth

It is interesting to note the rate of growth and how it increases with temperature. This provides Egypt with a great advantage given its relatively high temperature. Plants can grown much faster in Egypt and thus lead to much higher rates of productivity in agriculture. On another note, using solar energy, particularly thermal solar energy, can be a great source of renewable energy for Egypt.

Rate of Development

The concept of development responding to temperature faster than growth is very interesting. The more temperature increases the faster the development rate and growth rate of an organism, yet the rate of development responds even more rapidly to temperature than the rate of growth. This is interesting because at higher temperatures organisms might have less growth (less size) yet be more developed than other similar organisms that were provided with lower temperatures! I wonder what applications and insights this could have when thinking of humans living at varying temperatures.

Microclimates Give Hope

The concept of microclimates gives hope. Humans can create their own microclimates in which they live regardless of the destruction present around them. Yes everything is ultimately connected and pollution at one place may affect another far away from it yet at the same time we must take microclimates into account and use it to our advantage while working on the bigger problem in parallel.

Temperature Twins

It would be interesting to think of temperature twins, organisms that have the same temperature requirements and thrive in similar temperatures. Would be interesting to examine those and see what they may have in common. Of course this should be done on organisms living in different geographic locations and preferably widely separated across large distances.

Awareness

Awareness is the way forward for reducing the harmful manmade effects on the environment. Without such awareness it would be difficult to hold back the growing destruction to our ecosystems. Education and awareness programs are a central part to any ecological survival we would be seeking. Science and the findings of science should be a core component of such awareness and educational programs.

Note: It looks like in the early morning I get a lot more inspiration to write than when attempting to do so at night.

Microclimate

Indirect Effecting

The concept of an organism relying on other organisms and those other organisms being affected by factors such as the temperature thus consequently affecting the first organisms is an interesting one. This arrangement can help us look at communities of people in society where the presence of some types of people depends on the presence of other types of people. We can affect the presence of the first type of people by changing factors that affect the second type of people and thus indirectly affecting the first type.

Environment May Reverse Competition

The outcome of competition between tow organisms can be in favor of one of them within specific conditions and in favor of the other within different conditions (such as different temperatures). Similarly, we can find that the competition between humans in society (businesses or individuals) can be in favor of one side rather than the other according to the conditions of the environment.

Ecology and Growing Plants

The science of ecology can help a lot in determining how communities of plants can live together and interact with each other and with the environment around them and its factors. It is interesting to know all about factors affecting plants such as humidity, temperature, pH value, salinity and the presence (or absence) of specific minerals.

Humidity Loving Insects

I was surprised to find the humidity loving insects in the soil with my balcony plants while not having watered the plants for quite a while. I later came to the conclusion that probably the shade created by the small growing tree and the mulch and good compost based soil have all collaborated to keep the soil under the mulch highly humid. It's the concept of microclimates again.

Microclimate

The idea of microclimates provides a lot of hope for city dwellers. Urban settings have long suffered from high rates of air pollution and increased temperatures due to the heat island effect. This has been 'remedied' using technology in the form of electric air conditioners which actually worsen the local environmental temperature by creating more heat, not to mention consuming a lot of energy. People thus go into a vicious circle.

Microclimates, however, provide us with hope. One can still create a microclimate around his own home or neighborhood by growing more trees and using a number of natural shading and cooling techniques.

Composting Worms

Ecology can help a lot in keeping composting worms and earth worms. The science of ecology can provide us with the knowledge to create successful worm farms.

Temperature Twins

Could there be such thing as temperature twins? If two organisms thrive in a particular temperature ranges, even though they live in different geographical areas, could there be some relationship between them? That could be an interesting question to research.

Microclimates

Variation on Earth

The inclination of Earth on its axis while rotating around itself and the sun creates such variation in seasons. The spherical shape of the earth itself lends to interesting variation on earth. The presence of mountains and different altitudes also helps create even more variation on earth.

Variation can be with time or according to geographic location.

Microclimates

Isolation?

The concept of microclimate gives hope. It allows one to think that despite the destruction, pollution and deteriorating environment taking place globally, yet one can still live in a relative paradise and create his own microclimate and niche environment.

That does not mean that we should disconnect from what's going on around us and leave the earth to sink, as we are all connected and will get affected at the end no matter how 'isolated' we might be. It just means that in parallel with trying to "save the earth" we can still live in relative bliss by enjoying our own blessed microclimates in which we can thrive. Just planning some trees around your home can help you go that direction.

That's why an urban setting where trees are grown can be up to 10 degrees Celsius less in temperature than an adjacent one that has no trees.

Inspiration

The concept of microclimates also provides variation. It provides inspiration that in analogy to microclimates we can find people in urban communities who are living different states of life. The variation in such human communities can be great in a similar way that microclimates create variation. For instance, in a poor neighborhood there could exist some rich people. In an area where disease is rampant there could exist some health people. At a place where ethics have subsides there could exist ethical people. If such variation is lost, ecosystems become fragile and can fail, be destroyed and become replaced with other new ecosystems that allow for more variation and are more resilient.

This variation can perhaps explain the presence of fruits growing out of seasons for Mariam.

Permaculture

The concept of microclimates and variation in small areas can also be used in permaculture to provide for a variety of food in a small area of land.

So, we can find interesting variation, for instance, within Siwa itself at some scattered pieces of land that have springs.

Sea Moderates Temperature

Water from the sea absorbs a lot of heat in contrast to land which absorbs less heat. The land heats and cools very fast compared to the sea. Hence in Alexandria (Egypt) and other coastal cities weather is moderated by the waters in the sea. It can be warm at night and cool during the day.

Manmade Variation

Besides variation created by natural factors, human activity can also lead to a great deal of variation. For instance, during the Eid vacation where a large number of people who are working and living in Cairo (Egypt) go back to their governorates and industry ceases, a great positive variation in the local climates of Cairo shows up. Air pollution rates drop down sharply and the atmosphere becomes much more healthy. I have noticed during the last Eid vacation that birds increased and I believe I've even witnessed a species of bird that I had not been seeing around, it had a pleasant sound that I had not been familiar with earlier. As soon as the Eid vacation came to an end, such pleasant increased variation in species sadly subsided once again.

Chill to Bloom

Chill to Bloom

Some trees need a period of chilling, such as apples and pears, in order to bear fruit. If the climate in which they are grown does not provide enough chilling (in terms of low temperature and period of time that such low temperature sustains) the tree will not bear fruit. That is why some trees would not be successful in warmer areas that do not provide such low temperatures. That's why also some trees would fail in bearing fruit if the winter of some year does not prove cold enough. This takes place more in temperate climates where winter is not always as cold as desired by such trees. Every type of those trees has its own chilling requirements.

Seed Germination

We sometimes put the seeds of some trees in the fridge in order to enable them break out of their state of seed dormancy. This occurs naturally in nature when seeds are exposed to cold climate followed by a period of warmth.

Sunstroke

Egypt

I am eager to know more about life at high temperatures as this is suitable for Egypt. I'd like to know how plants deal with that and how humans and other organisms deal with it too.

Four O'Clock Flowers

I have noticed that my four o'clock flower plants have acclimatized with high temperature when the tree that used to shade them was pruned and they suddenly received a higher doze of sunlight than they were used to. During the following season they managed to tolerate the heat much better. I believe the mulching I have added to them helped make them tolerate the extra heat yet I believe their ability to acclimatize did have a profound effect as well.

Sunstroke

Humans also can get a sunstroke if they are exposed to excessive heat, through strong direct sunlight, for an extended period of time (a number of hours). This shows how the body fails to deal with the excessive heat and how its cooling system has a limit after which it can break down. Of course keeping hydrated by drinking lots of water helps in avoiding such sunstrokes and can also help in relieving the effects of a sunstroke after it hits.

That's why when running they advise us to drink lots of water before, during and after the run itself. That's why I get really tired and loose energy after such a running day in the sun particularly if I do not consume enough water.

Human Cells

I remember at school that in biology I heard that cells of human tissue would solidify at temperatures above 50 degrees Celsius. This fact was pretty interesting for me, as for me intuitively things liquify at higher temperatures rather than solidify. The teacher explained it by making an analogy with the white of an egg, it solidifies when heated. This notion was scary to me, as it signaled the death of human tissue at such high temperature. I wounder if this piece of info was really true. I would like to check it out and know more about how this process works and consequences and all.

Sinai

I wonder what interesting wild plants would be found in Sinai that withstand such high desert heat and low availability of water.

Fire-free Egypt

In Egypt we do not usually have high risks of fire despite the high temperatures and also low humidity. The reason behind this is mainly that we do not have forests in Egypt. Houses also are almost never built using wood (perhaps also due to the lack of presence of forests in Egypt).

Fire-surviving Plants

It is interesting to realized that some plants would not regenerate or propagate (seeds would not sprout) except after experiencing very high temperatures of a fire.

Sterilization

That's why we use very high temperatures to sterilize something. Such high temperatures can kill harmful microorganisms.

Solarization

This also explains the concept of soil solarization that is sometimes used in agriculture to sterilize soil from 'harmful' microorganisms.

Also water solarization is a method by which water can be purified by exposing it to direct sunlight for a specific period of time.

I have also heard before that direct sunlight as it falls for a period of time on streams of water can break down pathogens and help purify the water.

Compost

That's why compost heaps that are high enough can reach high temperatures that would kill pathogens. Compost heaps higher than a certain level though might even cause a fire! It is therefore advisable to keep compost heaps at a height of 1 meters only and not more.

Biomimicry in Houses

It would be interesting to look at the many strategies that organisms employ to avoid, reduce or withstand heat in order to get inspiration for methods by which we could build houses for humans that would employ similar natural strategies.

Hell Fire

Hell and fire are considered to be punishment for (bad) humans in Islam, Christianity and other religions. Hell fire represents extremes of heat conditions that the human body is naturally unable to tolerate causing extreme degrees of stress, discomfort and pain.

Edges

When two different environments meet, their interaction creates a continuum of transitioning environments between them which in turn results in a high diversity of organisms living in such high variety of micro-environments. This is basically the concept of edges pointed to in permaculture.

Metabolism, growth, development and size

Ideas

Thoughts

1. Science can help predict plant growth and production (equations, variables: temperature).
2. Is that why Africans are tall (the high temperature, leading to a high rate of metabolism)?
3. That's why in hot climates plants grow fast and forests of lush vegetation exist. (Water? Deserts?)
4. That's why my plants grew noticeably during hot days.
5. Prediction is amazing for size and development for plants, in agriculture!

Do

1. Do experiments in balcony on plants.

Digest

• How individuals respond to temperature:
• impaired function and ultimately death at the upper and lower extremes
• a functional range between the extremes
• an optimum within the functional range
• "For each 10°C rise in temperature the rate of biological enzymatic processes doubles, and thus appears as an exponential curve on a plot of rate against temperature."
• Temperature affects:
• rates of growth: increases in mass (linear)
• rates of development: progression through lifecycle stages (linear)
• final body size
• Day-degree: number of days to develop X degrees above development threshold
• Physiological time: a combination of time and temperature required for an organism to develop
• "Together, the rates of growth and development determine the final size of an organism."
• "For a given rate of growth, a faster rate of development will lead to smaller final size."
• Temperature-size rule:
• Development increases more rapidly with temperature than does growth
• Thus final size decreases with rising temperature
• Effects of temperature on growth, development and size has practical importance for prediction.

Question

The effect of temperature on metabolism is quite interesting.

Conditions: Introduction

Ideas

Thoughts

1. The importance of temperature in determining the comfort level of human life.
2. Altering conditions purposefully (manmade)
3. Conditions for plants: agriculture (permaculture)
4. It is no wonder that laymen and traditional wisdom in Egypt gives a very high value to a person based on his or her fertility.
5. In plants: conditions: survival, growth, reproduction

Do

Houseplants Course

1. Optimum conditions for each plant.
2. Plant course: myths: (list needs)
1. Sun (too much is bad)
2. Water (don't over-water, don't soak it in water nor drown it in water)
3. Look for coursera course about plants.

Digest

• Understanding the distribution and abundance of a species requires knowledge about:
• its history
• resources it requires
• rates of birth, death and migration
• interactions with their own and other species
• effects of environmental conditions
• Environmental condition: "an abiotic environmental factor that influences the functioning of living organisms."
• temperature
• relative humidity
• pH
• salinity
• pollutant concentration
• "Unlike resources, conditions are not consumed by organisms."
• For practical reasons, we measure the performance of organisms based on:
• activity of an enzyme
• respiration rate of a tissue
• growth rate of individuals
• rate of reproduction
• Conditions gradually affect an organism's ability to:
• reproduce
• grow
• survive
• Effects of environmental conditions:
• Extreme conditions are lethal
• temperature
• pH
• The condition is lethal only at high intensities
• toxins
• radioactive emissions
• chemical pollutants
• The condition is required at low concentrations
• sodium chloride
• micronutrients: copper; zinc; manganese
• "Temperature is the single most important condition that affects the lives of organisms."

Question

Why is temperature the most important conditions in the environment of an organism?