Living LandscapesDESIGN
Module 05 / 25
To understand a site’s growing conditions, you need to look both at its regional climate and at differences from one part of the site to another. This module moves between those scales, connecting climate zones, water cycles, and the distribution of living things with the microclimates you observe on the ground.
Begin with regional climate and biodiversity, then examine how water moves through the larger system. The microclimate readings and windbreak example apply these questions to your site, using the differences in exposure, shelter, and moisture recorded in Module 3.
What you’ll learn
Use your own copy, buy the book, or borrow it through a library when possible. If you are local to me, contact me about borrowing a copy. You can also contact me for information about digital or other access to assigned readings.
If your edition uses different page numbers, contact me and we can match the correct section.
For articles, excerpts, videos, and other resources, use the links in the lesson. If a video player does not load, try its source link. If you cannot access a reading or media resource, or it has no link, contact me with the module number and resource title.
Ask about books, readings or media access ↗Watch
YouTube
Compare the climate settings discussed here before turning to the microclimates of your site. The accompanying Oregon State lesson develops the link with site analysis.
If the player does not load, use the source link.
Read
Oregon State University
Read this lesson alongside the Climate Zones, Climate Change and Permaculture video. Temperate and dry are not opposites: temperature patterns and moisture supply are different design questions.
Open resourceRead
khanacademy.org
Compare the geographical patterns in this resource with the Climate Zones video and Oregon State's site-analysis lesson. Consider how climate helps shape the conditions in which different biological communities occur.
Open resourceRead
thephysicalenvironment.com
Identify the main places water is stored on Earth, then follow the connections between those stores in “The water cycle.” These resources provide the larger context for the moisture conditions you examine at your site.
Open resourceRead
en.khanacademy.org
Follow the movement of water as you read, then connect it with the moisture conditions considered in the climate resources.
Open resourceWatch
YouTube
Consider how the design responses discussed in the video relate to your site’s climate conditions.
If the player does not load, use the source link.
Watch
YouTube
Connect the examples of ecosystems and biomes with the biodiversity reading, considering the conditions associated with different living communities.
If the player does not load, use the source link.
Watch
YouTube
Compare the climates, water systems, plantings, and management shown in these episodes. Assess which ideas could fit your own climate and which depend on different conditions.
Watch playlist on YouTubeRead · Course file
Course reading
Open resourceModule 3's site observations included differences in exposure and shelter. Use those observations with the microclimate readings to compare conditions in different parts of your site. The windbreak example focuses on a planting response to wind.
For your windbreak discussion, also consider seasonal drought, excessive wetness, frost, and overheating. Use current weather-service observations and projections for your site, not the historical maps in the books as present-day forecasts. Keep tropical and arid examples as comparisons; develop your own design for its actual climate.
Book reading
Dave Jacke and Eric Toensmeier
Pages 206 to 213: starting at “Existing-Species Niche Analysis.”
Pages 210 to 213: Microclimate and site assessment — focus within the assigned reading
Book access & editionsBook reading
Ben Falk
Page 96: Microclimate and adaptation
Pages 112 to 120: Microclimate and adaptation
Book access & editionsWatch
YouTube
Watch with your windbreak discussion in mind, looking at how planting and placement respond to wind on a site.
If the player does not load, use the source link.
Open full-size image
Mounds and hollows differ in their exposure to sunlight and in how they shed or receive water. The north- and south-facing surfaces in this forest example help explain why nearby planting spots can have different growing conditions.
Consider how you could incorporate windbreaks into your design and discuss with me.
Save written notes as a document or PDF. For paper maps or handwritten notes, use a clear photo or scan. You can combine related work in one file.
Attach your windbreak and microclimate notes.
Email the address listed under “Get In Touch” on my contact page. Do not use the contact form. Include the Permaculture Design Course, Module 5, and “Windbreaks and microclimate” in your subject or message.
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