332 THE STUDY OF PLANT COMMUNITIES ■ Chapter XII 



approach a condition of balance as a result of rests with rotation 

 pasture, the use of legumes, and the addition of fertilizer. Yields 

 may be high and sustained, soil may not erode, and all appear to 

 be at its best. 



In terms of natural vegetation, however, our modern methods 

 of land management may be questioned. Cultivation produces 



FlG. 178. A simple illustration of improper management. The amount of 

 runoff on this slope means leaching and erosion. Certainly the rows should 

 not have been put in up and down the hill, and perhaps, without terraces, 

 clean cultivation should be ruled out on this field. — t/. S. Soil Conservation 

 Service. 



conditions similar to those in early stages of succession, conditions 

 that in nature would be temporary and soon change in the direc- 

 tion of climax. We must have crops, but, if climax vegetation 

 utilizes natural conditions most effectively— and that seems reason- 

 able—are our methods of cultivation the best we can use for ob- 

 taining our crops? Is our method of deep plowing, with destruc- 

 tion of soil structure, best under all conditions? Should all crops 



