2023-04-29 06:46:38
Stacking rocks has become all the rage just because it looks good for an Instagram photo, like this one.
Experts warn that you have to leave the stones where they are and forget the fashion of making these piles and posting images on the networks.
Stone mounds are spiritual constructions in Asia. In the Himalayas, in Nepal, the Buddhists create these constructions, more or less embellished with smooth stones or with colorful painted inscriptions.
They make them in places that they consider sacred, and once they are built they pray around them, always in a clockwise direction.
In Europe, for centuries, humans have been building such markers in order to follow the paths in the mountains and, lately, also on the beaches.
The official term for deliberately stacked rocks is cairn. The word comes from Middle Gaelic and means “mound of stones built as a monument or landmark”.
While many will be quick to say that stacked rocks used as landmarks, or cairns, are a tradition that goes back millennia, they lose their effectiveness when people start stacking rocks just because it looks good for an Instagram photo ( just search for #cairn).
Then they stop having their original utility and harm the environment.
Don’t be fooled: Stone snails are neither good for you nor for biodiversity. Don’t screw up pic.twitter.com/5buspcYXWu
— Ministry of Environment and Territory (@cmat_ib) July 10, 2022
These are some of the main reasons why from environmental movements to environmental experts, such as CREA, a public scientific research center specializing in terrestrial ecology and territory analysis, warn once morest stacking rocks:
– The stones on the ground have different functions that are essential for the functioning of many ecosystems. Especially, in those places that suffer from extreme conditions (drought, salinity, wind, scarcity of soil, erosion), where vegetation is usually sparse and scattered.
– Moving rocks increases erosion by exposing the soil below, allowing the ground cover for native plants to be washed away and thinned out. Every time a rock is disturbed, an animal loses a potential home, as many insects and mammals burrow under rocks for protection and reproduction.
– Long before balancing stones became fashionable, park rangers and rangers built stone cairns as markers to keep people from getting lost. When people pile stones all over the place, suddenly the one that marks a major curve on the track loses its meaning, which might lead to someone getting lost!
– Millions of people around the world venture outdoors to escape civilization and experience untouched environments. In the eyes of many people, seeing man-made stone burial mounds everywhere they go is no different than finding people who have spray-painted a cliff face or left litter lying around.
So the next time you feel like stacking some rocks when you go to the mountains or the beach, remember this post.
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#piling #stones #mountain #harms #ecosystem
