Tiny digger turns deserts into gardens


	Tiny digger turns deserts into gardens

tabsey

6-8-2009 10:43 AM

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maybe

tabsey says:

These little wonders were virtually gone until breeding and releasing worked. Cats have been the main enemy. Human encroachment is not a problem where they live.

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6-8-2009 11:04 AM

Kelika

I've never knew these little creatures even existed! Thanks!

6-9-2009 6:07 AM

tabsey

We Aussies have bilbies, instead of the easter rabbit. After all, rabbit is on the menu in many places.

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<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/8d50477b-17a1-451f-9466-634655264bf2/24892AF0-A2CA-4785-95B9-06B68AB5B050/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://www.theage.com.au/national/tiny-digger-turns-deserts-into-gardens-20090608-c0ur.html?page=fullpage" href="http://www.theage.com.au/national/tiny-digger-turns-deserts-into-gardens-20090608-c0ur.html?page=fullpage" style="font-size: 11px;">www.theage.com.au</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.theage.com.au/national/tiny-digger-turns-deserts-into-gardens-20090608-c0ur.html?page=fullpage"><P>DESPITE its diminutive size, the humble bilby can dig a desert back to life, according to research that reveals the marsupial's vital role in arid environments.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.theage.com.au/national/tiny-digger-turns-deserts-into-gardens-20090608-c0ur.html?page=fullpage"><P>Alex James, a PhD student from the University of NSW, said the bilby's night-time foraging expeditions left the desert surface full of potholes, which made for ideal conditions for nutrient-rich "hot spots" to develop.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.theage.com.au/national/tiny-digger-turns-deserts-into-gardens-20090608-c0ur.html?page=fullpage"><div align="center"><img src="http://content8.clipmarks.com/blog_cache/www.theage.com.au/img/5F718813-1498-41AD-A134-BE705F5DEC72" alt="The endangered  bilby helps make the desert bloom." /></div></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.theage.com.au/national/tiny-digger-turns-deserts-into-gardens-20090608-c0ur.html?page=fullpage"><P>The endangered  bilby helps make the desert bloom. <EM>Photo: Andy Zakeli</EM></P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.theage.com.au/national/tiny-digger-turns-deserts-into-gardens-20090608-c0ur.html?page=fullpage"><P>The potholes, the result of the bilby digging for food, are no deeper than 20 centimetres and about the size of a saucer. But Ms James found they played an important role in revegetation, with the depressions trapping seeds, plant matter and water.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.theage.com.au/national/tiny-digger-turns-deserts-into-gardens-20090608-c0ur.html?page=fullpage"><P>"Soils in arid areas are very nutrient-poor, so any (plant) litter that gets trapped and decomposes increases the nutrients in the soil which benefits plant growth," she said, noting that bilby diggings contained up to twice the levels of nitrogen and carbon nutrients as undisturbed soil.</P></blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/24892AF0-A2CA-4785-95B9-06B68AB5B050/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content9.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>

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