Introduction

This Standard is divided into 2 main sections:

• Regulated Practices
• Regulated Products and Materials

Regulated Practices

This Standard regulates practices according to their ability to achieve the principal aims of Organic Land Care. This Standard refrains from prescribing specific activities or methods for these practices.

Each landscape is unique, and specific activities or methods may produce different results in different circumstances.
Example: This Standard does not discuss the merits of specific methods and objectives for pruning plants. Instead it only directs that any landscape maintenance practice "avoid or minimize permanent injury to plants", and "prevent the introduction or spread of undesired organisms".

Conversely, seemingly identical situations may require different intervention.
Example: The required landscape design practice "protecting and enhancing biodiversity" can be achieved through many different methods, including: diverse multi-storey plantings, creating wildlife habitat, increasing soil organic matter, protecting the landscape from traffic, introducing pest predators, etc.

The Certified Organic Land Care Professional must have the knowledge and experience to choose the most appropriate methods and activities to achieve the landscape design and management objectives under the regulations of this Standard.

The practices regulated under this Standard are presented in 4 sections:

• General Requirements
• Resource Management
• Landscape Management
• Plant Production

General Requirements

These are basic requirements that must be met in all Organic Land Care activities.

Resource Management

Resource management concerns itself with the management of water, air and soil.

Water Management

One of the principal aims of Organic Land Care is to practice the responsible use of water, and to protect water resources.

Water circulates through the environment, resulting in the adaptation of whole ecosystems relative to the presence and quality of water. Any practices that affect the quantity, quality or direction of flow of water directly affect not only the immediate environment, but ecosystems far removed from the origin of the disturbance. For instance, a single source of contamination can affect surface or ground water over a large area; the redirection of natural water courses, or the interruption of the circulation of water, affects whole ecosystems.

Landscape management activities with a direct impact on water include:

• using and disposing substances that dissolve in, or are carried with water.
• changing grades
• changing drainage patterns
• collecting and storing water
• modifying the soil environment
• changing the vegetation
• installing structures and impermeable surfaces
• irrigating landscapes

None of these are intrinsically right or wrong, but must be evaluated in light of achieving the overall landscape design and management objectives with minimal impact on the quality and natural circulation of water.

Air Management

It is a principal aim of Organic Land Care to optimize air quality and circulation in the soil, water and atmosphere in support of all life forms.

Life on earth, as we know it, has evolved because of the relative presence and combination of specific gases contained in the air, which is in turn affected by the metabolism of living organisms. Air circulates throughout the environment and acts as a carrier for small particles and organisms.

All processes and activities affect the composition and movement of air, and the presence and quantities of particles and organisms carried in the air. This affects the abundance, distribution and health of living organisms.

Landscape management activities with a direct impact on air include:

• selecting and placing plants and structures
• disposing of waste, including burning, dumping and composting
• compacting the soil
• changing water conditions in the soil and air
• using equipment and machinery
• emitting substances into the air

All landscape management practices must be evaluated for their ability to achieve the desired landscape design and management objectives in a way that protects and enhances the quality and circulation of air.

Soil Management

The soil is a complex ecosystem in its own right: a diverse and interdependent biological, chemical and structural system composed of minerals, organic substances, air, water, microorganisms, plants and animals. Yet its processes are intricately linked with the larger ecosystem, of which soil is but one of many interrelated parts.

The structural and mineral components of the soil directly affect the diversity and health of the organisms dwelling there, including plants, while their biological processes in turn alter the structure and mineral composition of the soil. Each organism makes a unique contribution to this process: it is a delicate yet dynamic balance, fuelled by the constant recycling of organic matter.

The reduction of organic matter within the system results in a direct reduction of the biological activity of the soil. This in turn results in reduced plant growth and health, and the reduced vitality of the ecosystem as a whole.

It is a principal aim of Organic Land Care to work as much as possible within closed systems with regard to organic matter and nutrient cycling, as organic matter introduced into one system must inevitably be removed from another. Such practice is unsustainable from an overall ecological perspective.

Landscape management activities with a direct impact on soil include:

• changing the organic matter content of the soil
• changing the soil structure, texture and fertility
• changing the water conditions within the environment
• changing biodiversity above ground

All landscape management practices must be evaluated for their ability to achieve the desired landscape design and management objectives in a way that protects and enhances the long term biological activity of the soil.

Landscape Management

Landscape management involves the design, construction and maintenance of landscapes in many different environments, and under many different circumstances. It is a deliberate intervention in natural processes to obtain a specific utilitarian or aesthetic result.

Over the long term landscapes can only be maintained in good health if the practices, tools and products chosen to create and maintain them support the diverse and interdependent relationships between all components of the environment.

Under this Standard, all landscape management practices are also governed by the regulations for Resource Management and Plant Propagation.

Landscape Design

Landscape design is the conceptual creation of a landscape. This is the ideal time to consider the social and ecological impacts of the planned landscape, and the impacts of the practices and products used to create and maintain them.

Much of the success of the planned landscape depends on how well the vegetation has been matched to the unique conditions and the desired functions of the site. Landscape design requires the integration of knowledge from many different disciplines, and a thorough understanding of local conditions. Design considerations include

• microclimates
• light conditions
• soil properties
• wind patterns and air circulation
• temperature range
• moisture characteristics
• condition of existing vegetation and wildlife
• physical limitations of the site
• relationship of the site to its environment
• intended use for the site
• cultural and space requirements of desired plants
• products and practices to install and maintain the landscape.

Part of the landscape design process is the development of a landscape management plan, which outlines the design objectives and the practices and products that will be employed to achieve these objectives.

Landscape Construction

Landscape construction is the deliberate structural alteration of the environment to meet specific landscape design or management objectives.

The intervention required to achieve the desired objectives may be minimal or, at the other extreme, may involve the creation of a complete and fully functioning ecosystem in a highly disturbed site.

Landscape construction activities include removing and installing:

• soil
• plants
• water features and irrigation
• structures such as stairs, fences, retaining walls, arbours and trellises,
• buildings, decks, paths, driveways, etc.

The success of the landscape depends on how well the practices and products employed in the construction of the landscape support the design objectives, and on their wider social and ecological impact on the environment.

Landscape Maintenance

Landscape maintenance practices modify the environment to improve its health, function or appearance.

Landscape maintenance activities include:

• maintaining plants
• installing and removing plants
• managing the soil and water conditions of the landscape
• managing landscape pests and diseases

Organic Land Care seeks to prevent landscape problems by creating healthy ecosystems that provide for the needs of all the organisms contained therein. Organic Land Care is an integrated approach, in which all practices are evaluated and used for their ability to enhance and support the natural processes within the ecosystem, and to minimize damage to any part thereof.

The success of the landscape depends on how well the maintenance practices support the design objectives, and on their wider social and ecological impact on the environment.

Plant Propagation

Plant propagation is the reproduction of plants by sexual or a-sexual means, including seed, cuttings, grafting, divisions and tissue culture. This Standard applies ONLY to the PROPAGATION of plants, but does NOT certify the product.

Under this Standard, all plant propagation practices are also governed by the regulations for Resource Management and Landscape Management.

Regulated Products and Materials

Organic Land Care emphasizes management practices rather than products. Material inputs should be viewed as supplementary tools, and must not be used to indefinitely support a poorly designed or badly managed landscape. Organic Land Care practitioners should minimize off-site inputs by employing landscape management practices that work in harmony with natural biological systems.

Organic Land Care practitioners should always use the most environmentally benign products available, and use, as much as possible, renewable, biodegradable and recycled resources from local sources.

The Products and Materials Lists in this Standard are not comprehensive or complete: they do not include all products and materials that are prohibited and they do not include all potentially allowable products and materials. The lists will evolve as more information and different products become available.

Some brand names may be included in the lists as examples, and no endorsement of the product by SOUL is implied.

Organic Land Care practitioners should always carefully read the label or other documentation for any material being used to guard against the possibility of contamination and negative ecological impacts. All materials must be used with awareness and care for the environment, and for the health and safety of the workers involved and the community at large.

The success of the landscape depends on how well the products employed in the construction and maintenance of the landscape support the design objectives, and on their wider social and ecological impact on the environment.

Next: Organic Land Care Standard - Regulated Practices