Extraterrestrial nature reserves (ETNRs)

Abstract

If human population growth is not controlled, natural areas must be sacrificed. An alternative is to create more habitat, terraforming Mars. However, this requires establishment of essential, ecosystem services on a planet currently unamenable to Terran species. Shorter term, assembling Terran-type ecosystems within contained environments is conceivable if mutually supportive species complements are determined. Accepting this, an assemblage of organisms that might form an early, forest environment is proposed, with rationale for its selection. A case is made for developing a contained facsimile, old growth forest on Mars, providing an oasis, proffering vital ecosystem functions (a forest bubble). It would serve as an extraterrestrial nature reserve (ETNR), psychological refuge and utilitarian botanic garden, supporting species of value to colonists for secondary metabolites (vitamins, flavours, perfumes, medicines, colours and mood enhancers). The design presented includes organisms that might tolerate local environmental variance and be assembled into a novel, bioregenerative forest ecosystem. This would differ from Earthly forests due to potential impact of local abiotic parameters on ecosystem functions, but it is argued that biotic support for space travel and colonization requires such developments. Consideration of the necessary species complement of an ETNR supports a view that it is not humanity alone that is reaching out to space, it is life, with all its diverse capabilities for colonization and establishment. Humans cannot, and will not, explore space alone because they did not evolve in isolation, being shaped over aeons by other species. Space will be travelled by a mutually supportive system of Terran organisms amongst which humans fit, exchanging metabolites and products of photosynthesis as they have always done.

Astroecology: bridging the gap between ecology and astrobiology

“…Also crucial for community ecology are the myriad interactions among individuals and species, such as competition, mutualism, etc. Community ecology is often used in applied ecology, for example, dealing with ecological restoration, which may be relevant for the debate on terraforming other planets (Smith, 2022). Ecological succession theories have been widely used in restoration research (Wainwright et al ., 2017), but they can also be examined in the context of astrobiology (Graham, 2004).…”

Inoculation with extreme endophytes improves performance and nutritional quality in crop species grown under exoplanetary conditions

“…This could result in a scenario where the ever-higher demand for food will not be met using current production methods and cultivated land areas. Thus, the search for new biotechnological tools, such as the use of beneficial microorganisms, to increase tolerance to abiotic stress ( Molina-Montenegro et al., 2016 ; Molina-Montenegro et al., 2020 ; Acuña-Rodríguez et al., 2022 ; Baron and Rigobelo, 2022 ) and the exploration of new areas for agriculture, such as deserts and even space, arise as a response to the global food crisis ( Mortimer and Gilliham, 2022 ; Smith, 2023 ; Ye et al., 2022 ).…”