completely, exposing the soil to the direct heat and light of the Sun.
This raises the ground temperatures, the delicate soil-capillaries are
destroyed which deliver nutrients and moisture to the soil — and
the groundwater table sinks. Hardwoods will not be used in the
replanting, as they require too long to mature for commercial
exploitation. Reforestation is generally of softwoods such as pine,
for contemporary forestry is not interested in quality or in long-
term investment.Energy in the forest
The Sun's energy reaches the Earth's surface as a full spectrum of
light waves. In a natural, mixed forest, this energy is transformed
into creative growth, the various plants absorbing different parts
of the spectrum. The outcome of this is the production of good
water, a humus layer teeming with bacterial life (which is an effi-
cient counter to pollution), and an overall coolness and feeling of
harmony. In Nature, a function that maintains any system (e.g. a
forest) in a state of stable health and balance is the outer expres-
sion of an inner creative force. It is significant that medicinal
plants will grow only in a healthy forest where the biodiversity is
greatest.
A monocultured woodland, on the other hand, absorbs only a
part of the light spectrum, the balance being given off as ambient
heat. The Sun's energy is provided to create balanced life forms. If
it cannot fulfil its creative functions, it becomes destructive, in
this case overheating the monocultured trees. The energies are not
balanced, and this discord affects all the creatures. The pulsation
and harmonious interaction of the energies are disrupted, encour-
aging disease and disharmony. Schauberger showed that highly
ordered and diverse systems lose their stability when their envi-
ronment suffers deterioration, indicating that we could expect
moral and spiritual deterioration in the human community.
In the human body a blood temperature of 37°C (98.4°F) is
regarded as being healthy. Should it rise to 38.5°C (103.1°F), symp-
toms of distress are felt and we become susceptible to infection by
life-forms that are normally dormant in the body, but which
become activated between, say 38.2°C (100.6°F) and 38.6°C
(101°F). The body will usually respond with a fever, which drives
the temperature higher, destroying the bacteria or virus that
HIDDEN NATURE