Unsuitable Soil
- Easily erodes
- Exhausted nutrients
- Starved plants
The issues with vertically challenged soil
When soil is stacked vertically in a living wall there are three fundamental issues:
- Displacement from erosion
Soil loss can be exacerbated by windy conditions, resulting in a winnowing effect.
- Exhaustion of the nutrient reserve
There is no access to rainwater and fresh compost. Nutrients are instead provided by the irrigation system. This leads to:
- The build-up of excess mineral salts
This build-up, from un-buffered ionic bonding, starves the plant of nutrients.
These problems are not easy to overcome and they become more pronounced with time.
Natural landscapes vs unnatural landscapes
In a horizontal naturally sustainable landscape, soil particles attract water to transfer nutrients to the plants. The soil’s humus content—decayed plant and animal matter, i.e. compost—releases humic acids and humins to buffer the pH levels, as different plants require different levels of acidity. Meanwhile, layers of microorganisms and mycorrhizae perform various specific functions.
The result is an incredibly complex web of self-regulatory systems, which together create a stable environment for life. Gravity plays a huge part in the stability of these systems. Not only does gravity hold them all together, it also ensures the necessary supply of rainwater and fresh compost.
It is simply not possible to replicate this naturally occurring environment in a vertical landscape.
