PDC Principles & Ethics of Permaculture 3

Question 1

A farmer plants nitrogen-fixing trees between crop rows, provides windbreak, and harvests timber from them. This is a direct application of which principle?

Accepted Answer

Each element performs multiple functions

Answer

Stacking functions means each element in the design serves at least three purposes, reducing the need for external inputs and increasing system resilience.

Question 2

Which permaculture ethic takes precedence when People Care and Earth Care appear to conflict?

Accepted Answer

Earth Care takes precedence because all human welfare depends on a healthy planet

Answer

Earth Care is foundational because human communities cannot thrive long-term on a degraded planet; it provides the ecological basis for People Care.

Question 3

The permaculture principle 'Use small and slow solutions' cautions against which common design mistake?

Accepted Answer

Scaling up too quickly before a system is proven to work

Answer

Small and slow solutions allow designers to observe, learn, and adjust before committing large amounts of energy, money, or land to unproven approaches.

Question 4

Which of the following best exemplifies the principle 'Use edges and value the marginal'?

Accepted Answer

Designing a forest garden where the woodland edge hosts the highest biodiversity

Answer

Ecotones—edges between two ecosystems—are among the most productive and biodiverse areas in nature, and permaculture design deliberately creates and utilizes them.

Question 5

Bill Mollison defined permaculture ethics as being derived primarily from which source?

Accepted Answer

Indigenous and traditional cultures worldwide

Answer

Mollison observed that cultures who lived sustainably for thousands of years shared consistent ethical principles around care of land, people, and equitable distribution.

(PDC) Permaculture Design Certification Practice Test

(PDC) Permaculture Design Certification Practice Test

PDC Principles & Ethics of Permaculture 3