Page 155 - Russian History Viewed through Distorted Mirrors, Vol. 1

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

Let us determine now, what is the active type of adaptation to the ecological
system. To do this we will analyze certain environmental conditions, precisely, those
of the Temperate Zone. In areas with a temperate climate we can clearly observe
four seasons — winter, spring, summer and autumn. Each season lasts three
months, although the duration may vary within the North to South boundaries and
depend on the weather conditions of a particular year. Certainly, the calendar season
does not always coincide with the natural one, but this does not have much im-
portance here. The most significant fact which is worthy of our attention concerning
the phenomenon we are interested in, is that these four seasons are strongly expressed
in the Temperate Zone and have almost equal duration. Does that really matter? It
does; much more than one would think on the face of it. If we pay more attention to
it, we will discover a quite sizable layer of information which allows us to estimate
the importance of the seasons for man’s development. Here is why.

When developing the Temperate Zone, man confronts a number of peculiarities
which are not observed in other climatic zones. What are they?

First, the presence of a pretty cold winter which can last three or four months
(sometimes more) dramatically cuts down the variety of vegetable species which are
able to adapt to these kinds of conditions. Also, those which have adapted, have an
interesting life cycle. For the period of winter almost all plants enter into a state of
“hibernation”, when all vital processes almost completely stop. In spring, as soon as
the daytime temperature increases, the vital processes gradually begin to revive and
plants re-enter into their normal cycle. In spring and summer plants fulfill the com-
plete cycle and in autumn gradually go back into “hibernation”. Thus, the increase of
the vegetable biomass does not happen constantly, but only for several months a year,
approximately from May to September. As a result of this the vegetable biomass of
the Temperate Zone does not “block” all the other forms of life, as happens in the
equatorial forests.

The point being that the ecological system has a finite number of niches, and if
the vegetable forms of life develop too frantically, many niches appear to be occupied
and all the other types of living organisms have to develop only those niches which
the plants did not occupy for one or another reason. In fact, in the equatorial jungles
animal species had to adapt to the conditions which the plants created. Plants prevail
in the equatorial forests, imposing the terms of existence on all animal species and so
they were forced to adapt to the vegetable world which is the foundation of the pyra-
mid of life. This made animal species meet certain requirements and imposed some
limitations on species which developed any ecological niches in the Equatorial Zone.

There was no choice for the animal species — they had either to adapt to the
terms of existence or die out! Sometimes there was the third possibility — they could
migrate: here the point is that many animal species require a lot of space, which equa-
torial jungles do not have. Therefore, most animal species of the equatorial and sube-
quatorial jungles did not require much living space. They were content with that
which the vegetable world, which they were simply unable to fight for vital space,
left them. The speed of growth of the vegetable biomass does not allow any possibil-
ity of herbivorous species winning back free space for themselves and other animal

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