Editing Permaculture (section)

=== Hügelkultur ===

[[File:Sketch of Hugelkulture bed in cross section.jpg|thumb|Sketch of a Hügelkultur bed]]

[[Hügelkultur]] is the practice of burying wood to increase soil water retention. The porous structure of wood acts like a sponge when decomposing underground. During the rainy season, sufficient buried wood can absorb enough water to sustain crops through the dry season.<ref>Wheaton, Paul. [http://www.richsoil.com/hugelkultur/ "Raised garden beds: hugelkultur instead of irrigation"] Richsoil. Retrieved 15 July 2012.</ref>{{Sfn|Hemenway|2009|pp=84–85}}<ref>Feineigle, Mark. [http://permaculture.org.au/2012/01/04/hugelkultur-composting-whole-trees-with-ease/#more-6825 "Hugelkultur: Composting Whole Trees With Ease"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928110713/http://permaculture.org.au/2012/01/04/hugelkultur-composting-whole-trees-with-ease/#more-6825 |date=28 September 2015 }}. Permaculture Research Institute of Australia. Retrieved 15 July 2012.</ref> This technique is a traditional practice that has been developed over centuries in Europe and has been recently adopted by permaculturalists.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gordon Glore |first=Angela |date=2014 |title=A worldwide tour of (almost) permaculture |url=https://scholar.googleusercontent.com/scholar?q=cache:G3R1P9vwzr4J:scholar.google.com/+H%C3%BCgelkultur+permaculture&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5 |journal=Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development |volume=5 |pages=151}}</ref> The Hügelkultur technique can be implemented through building mounds on the ground as well as in [[Raised-bed gardening|raised garden beds]]. In raised beds, the practice "imitates natural [[nutrient cycling]] found in wood decomposition and the high water-holding capacities of organic detritus, while also improving bed structure and drainage properties." This is done by placing wood material (e.g. logs and sticks) in the bottom of the bed before piling organic soil and compost on top. A study comparing the water retention capacities of Hügel raised beds to non-Hügel beds determined that Hügel beds are both lower maintenance and more efficient in the long term by requiring less irrigation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Laffoon |first1=Megan |last2=Meier |first2=Albert |last3=Groves |first3=Chris |date=2015 |title=Potential Application of Hugelkultur to Increase Water Holding Capacity of Karst Rocky Desertified Lands |url=https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1057&context=nckms |journal=National Cave and Karst Management Symposium |volume=21 |pages=9–11}}</ref>