Sami Grover
DCL
In many ways, the term "permaculture" is ridiculous, given the fact it derives from "permanent agriculture", or "permanent culture" - depending on who you talk to. It is, after all, a system of design that models itself on nature - from valuing biological resources to encouraging symbiotic relationships. And nature is anything but permanent.
Even ecosystems that have been around for millenia - like old growth forests - are not permanent in any static sense of the word, but rather in a constant state of flux. Permaculture principles seek to take this into account - valuing plant succession as a vital part of how ecosystems change over time. From weeds and fungi colonizing waste ground, to pioneer species like birch laying the groundwork for a forest - nature progresses over time, and a permaculture design aims to do the same.
Examples of how this works in practice might include planting potatoes to clear ground and break up soil, or interplanting slow growing crops with faster species like lettuce or radish. (Mixing radish seeds with carrots can be a great way of keeping track of where you put those slow germinating rows of carrots!) It might also include the addition of massive amounts of semi-rotted biomass to raised beds - also known as Hugelkultur beds - a practice which encourages colonization by michorizal fungi that then provide beneficial nutrients to plants that follow.
On a larger scale, I've seen orchards that plan for a succession of crops - planting fruit and nut trees that will take years to mature - but using the same space for growing annual crops in the meantime. The ultimate goal of a design should be to maximize the yield of the complete system with minimal inputs - and that means taking account of time and succession - not just pushing for the biggest yields of your main crop.
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