Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Animals
Humans, dogs and birds are all animals, and worms and insects are classified as animals
too. So are the microscopic nematodes that eat the grubs in your lawn. Some nematodes
cause problems for gardeners, but most are beneficial. Many animals live in the soil as part
of the soil food web, and most animals influence it with their manure. Some animals eat
only plants. Some eat only other animals, but often those animals ate plants, so ultimately
all animals rely on plants for food. All animals also rely on microbes.
Animals have a big part to play in the garden. Their manure is organic matter and fertil-
izer for the soil, and it often contains seeds transported from somewhere else that will ger-
minate and grow into plants. Plants have been very clever to buddy up with animals for this
purpose. Sure, they have to manufacture some fruit for this process to take place, but their
species will live on, so it's worth it.
Plants are pollinated by animals, especially birds, bees and butterflies. The colony col-
lapse disorder that is plaguing the bee world is a problem not only because we won't have
honey, but because we're losing one of our main pollinators — and therefore our food.
Insects (such as mites) and microscopic animals (such as nematodes) are largely respons-
ible for making minerals available to plants as a result of eating microbes, just like the prot-
ists mentioned above. They also transport microbes around the soil just by moving around.
Otherwise, many of the microbes wouldn't get very far.
Just these animals being there, eating plants, walking around, howling at the moon — as
we'll discover, it's all important for a healthy garden.
