Burrowing birds create pockets of rich plant life in a desert landscape

Tiny patches in the coastal deserts of Peru are surprisingly teeming with plant life. Scientists say that this could be due a species known as the burrowing owl. When the burrowing owl shovels sand for its nest, its gives a home for seedlings and a variety of exclusive plants under the sand and the seedlings don't have to deal with the harsh conditions above land while germinating. Also, this digging that the birds have been doing has been making the soil more fertile. 

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/burrowing-birds-owls-plant-life-desert-landscape

Its really interesting to see how an area that is known to have very little amounts of pant life have some spots which are rich in plant life because of a singular symbiotic relationship. Hopefully in time, these positive effects will spread throughout the deserts. 

Comments

  1. AnonymousDecember 16, 2019 at 7:47 PM

    This is a great example of the beautiful way nature sustains itself. To see that one organism does something in its own interest, and as a result the whole area is left with more fertile soil is incredible. Symbiotic relationships like this don't only heighten my appreciation of the harmony within nature (the owl burrows underground in order to protect its offspring, making the soil more fertile, which is then able to accommodate more primary producers, which then provides the owls with more food), but also of the power of individual species in an ecosystem (I think it would be reasonable to classify the burrowing owl as a keystone species).

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJanuary 23, 2020 at 9:42 AM

    I was unaware of any places with pant life. Could you direct me in the direction of where to find an article of this pant life?

    ReplyDelete

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