The Heavenly Pit
Secrets of The Underground Forest
The lush, magical green world above is taken from inside the Xiaoxhai Tiankeng Karst sinkhole in China — the world’s largest such formation — looking up into the sky through the opening. These sky holes, as they are also called, and of which there are many in China, are called tiankeng, or Heavenly Pits in Mandarin.
Karst is a topography found in regions of readily-dissolved rock such as limestone, and features various wonders of geologic formation & dissolution. Some karst landscapes appear as forests of needle-like spires above ground — the most famous example being the South China Karst. In other instances, where the substrate gets worn away by the action of water underground, the limestone slowly dissolves to form underground rivers, wells, sinkholes and caverns. Such is the case with the Heavenly Pit in the picture above.
Inside these pits, there are trees towering 325 feet high, and many other surprising forms of life, thriving in an ecosystem as yet barely disturbed by humans. Li Pasha, an ecologist, science writer, and former environmental reporter at Sixth Tone, created this link which offers an outstanding source of information, including excellent photos, diagrams, and explanations of Karst sinkholes, the mysteries of how they are formed, and the plants & denizens of their depths. This excerpt is from his essay:
Scientists are only just starting to properly survey the biodiversity of China’s tiankeng. Though most research so far has focused on plants, the sinkholes are already known to be home to a large variety of animals.
There are flying squirrels, civets, as well as many species of snakes, frogs, and lizards. The caves inside host dozens of different species of bats, which play vital roles in ecosystems — controlling the insect populations and acting as pollinators.
Then, there are some truly weird fish. Ghost-white, blind cave fish, some with strange protrusions on their heads, lurk in the underground rivers that flow between the tiankeng…
Insects are another group of otherworldly-looking inhabitants of tiankeng ecosystems. Giraffaphaenops clarkei — a fierce-looking beetle discovered in Leye County in 2002 — is a good example. Armed with massive serrated jaws, it takes its Latin name from its long giraffe-like “neck,” which allows it to forage under rocks. New species of spiders and insects continue to be discovered in the tiankeng, and dedicated surveys of China’s sinkhole fauna are sure to add to the list.
But it’s the diversity of plants inside the tiankeng that most excites Chinese scientists. Sheer rock walls, hundreds of meters high, have prevented humans from reaching the bottom of the pits, protecting the forests growing there.
Sheltered inside these virgin forests are a number of plant species that have gone extinct outside the tiankeng. In 2016, biologists exploring a tiankeng cluster in Guangxi discovered a dozen species that had never before been recorded in the region, including a shrub, orchid, lily, rock jasmine, and seven new bryophytes (a group of primitive plants that include mosses).
Note that even heavenly pits are not without the potential to threaten or be threatened — think buildings being swallowed … cars being swallowed … tourism and development threatening these rare and delicate ecosystems.
Meanwhile, back to today ... I’ve been picking away at this post-in-progress for more than a week, my brain & body feeling rather waterlogged — “I can’t get over the doorsill” — as the fifth little pig squeals in the toe-counting nursery rhyme. That sense of being paralyzed & unable to take in, absorb, respond to, or act upon, the overwhelming slew of incoming missives is a feeling we all can recognize. We’re being worn down, just like the limestone substrate that favors the formation of sinkholes & internal collapse. In such a moment, the photo above invites us to escape into that heavenly pit, a deep, emerald-green world where we can find rest & refuge, nourished by wonder, away from the hurly-burly. “But wait,” a persistent inner voice is saying, “Don’t retreat. Find the living roots beneath the dead growth, under the shriveled stems & leaves — prune them away & nurture what is hanging on & even thriving below ground.”
“Find the living roots.” That’s exactly what Tony Rinaudo, an Australian agriculturist & missionary, did in 1983. The year before climate activist Greta Thunberg was awarded the prestigious Right Livelihood Award (popularly referred to as the ‘Alternative Nobel’), Rinaudo won the prize for literally getting to the roots of land degradation and deforestation. He coined the term ‘underground forest’ to explain his discovery of elaborate underground root systems found beneath the stumps of seemingly dead trees in Niger. Exploration revealed that these trees were not dead but dormant, containing significant root systems and biomass that had continued to thrive underground. After his initial and unsuccessful work trying to reclaim desolate farm fields and forests by planting new trees, his discovery of life below ground led to the founding of the Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) movement.
“FMNR teaches communities that caring for existing trees—even the tiniest sprouts—through simple methods such as pruning can maximize growth while returning nutrients to the soil, promoting optimal conditions for growing annual crops. Arguably the least expensive and most successful method for restoring the power of forests, FMNR has now spread worldwide. In Africa’s Sahel region, FMNR has helped improve food security, resilience, and climate change adaptation in impoverished farming communities.” [from https://www.oneearth.org/tapping-into-underground-forests/ or click on this link]
In 1992, Clarissa Pinkola Estes used the term the Underground Forest in her book Women Who Run With The Wolves to talk about the inner psyche of women and the ‘Wild Woman’ archetype. She explores the concept of a hidden and often buried wellspring of self-knowledge that has been suppressed, which is crucial not only to self-preservation and survival, but to authentic fulfillment of one’s inner being.
Through that lens, venturing into the deep Self is a journey into the underground forest — a rich world thriving beneath the surface, a world that contains beauty yet is not without treachery. At this moment in history, treachery seems rampant. The inner Self may feel overwhelmed by the daily turmoil and manic activity of these times. But still the deep recesses thrive, waiting to be explored.
Our time on earth is an ongoing process of learning what it means to be human. On the journey, we might be completely unaware of the world lying beneath our feet, the underpinnings of daily consciousness. Buried deep inside the hidden sanctuary of this underground forest is the opportunity to access revelations that can strengthen us, even while they pose deep challenges to belief systems and a sense of mastery. It can present unknown & potentially unsettling mysteries but also space necessary for reflection & renewal. Both aspects deepen knowledge. The business of living requires integrating what we learn in this deep hidden space with what we experience on the ground, in the day-to-day task of navigating whatever might present itself to us.
Thank you for reading my post. If you find it meaningful, I hope you will consider leaving a comment and/or sharing it with friends.
This is a beautiful post Clyde. I learn about new places from each essay. They inspire many emotions. I find underground plant communications and unexplored regions to be particularly fascinating - as some plants even warn others of impending pest or predator assaults. We had an interesting experience when searching for a Christmas tree in our woods this December. There was one balsam tree hidden amidst a group of white pines usually the first tree in a clearing that seeds in during succession. There are no balsam trees in our surrounding forests. We've had these as Christmas trees in the past from Nichols Cut Your Own on Lyme Road. I've never found a cone on the trees or planted one. I wonder how it grew amidst the pines? Blown in on the wind, or with a marauding squirrel that found it's way across the River? So interesting. Thanks for your posts.
I am so grateful for your insightful research and the way you pull ideas together to create a feeling of wonder and hope. This is pure genius! I am looking out my window, observing the snow, wind, birds and trees with new appreciation and love. Thank you!