Page 150 - Russian History Viewed through Distorted Mirrors, Vol. 1

Nicolai Levashov. Russian History Viewed through Distorted Mirrors. Vol. 1

it is able to give without the violation of its harmonious reproduction.

The matter is that man always was and will be a part of the ecological system in
which everything is closely connected. All components of the ecological system de-
pend on each other. Vegetable biomass is able to provide sustenance for only a cer-
tain number of herbivorous animals. Their optimal quantity per unit of the surface is
determined by the speed of the vegetable biomass’s reproduction. In other words,
how quickly new grass, leaves, fruits, roots, etc. can replace that eaten by the herbi-
vores. If the speed, with which vegetable biomass is consumed, is greater than the
speed, at which is renewed, herbivorous animals persecuted by hunger begin to eat,
let us say, an untouchable reserve of vegetable biomass. What should we under-
stand the concept of the untouchable vegetable biomass to mean? Any plant can lose
a certain part of its biomass without serious consequences for it. In this case it means
a plant is able to get through the complete growth cycle and produce fully developed
fruits, which, on getting into the soil, are able to give life to new plants of this spe-
cies. For this purpose it is not necessary that every plant has mature fruits. It is only
enough that a sufficient number of plants supply the necessary quantity of mature
fruits in order to ensure that there is at least the same amount, no less, of new plants
to replace what the herbivores have eaten.

In other words, plants must provide extensive reproduction of the vegetable
biomass. Without it the ecological system cannot exist, because plants are its founda-
tion. Thus, the extensive reproduction of the vegetable biomass must include a con-
siderable reserve; because its reproduction does not depend only on how much of it
herbivorous animals ate, but also on how much and how often rain fell and the dura-
tion and quality of the sunshine. Certainly, there are other factors, such, as diseases,
presence or absence of pollinating insects, etc. Therefore, the reproduction of vegeta-
tive biomass takes place with a considerable reserve which guarantees stability for
the whole ecological system.

Partly, it is plants which control reproduction. They produce so-called vegetable
poisons which are accumulated in leaves, fruits, roots, etc. Each plant has a different
concentration of vegetable poisons in different parts. Some have maximal concentra-
tion in fruits, some — in roots or in leaves, or in branches, etc. The essence is that
vegetable poisons, sooner or later, destroy the organism of a particular herbivorous
animal, thus, shortening its life-span and reducing the volume of vegetable biomass
which this animal is able to eat during its lifetime. Also there is a system of self-
regulation of the population of every animal species, both herbivorous and carnivo-
125
rous.
One way or another, all species which occupy the niches of a certain ecological
system create a self-regulating system. This system functions almost perfectly until
modern man appears in the arena. Isn’t it interesting? Man who by definition came of
nature does not blend with its scheme of existence. The ecological system of the
planet had been in a state of equilibrium for several billions of years and only when

125 See Nicolai Levashov The Final Appeal to Mankind, Chapter 3 and 4.

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