I got stuck staring at a red ant pile.
When
you’re Mitch Hegman, these things happen.
But
I wasn’t thinking about the ants. I got to thinking about dirt. Topsoil,
according to the touchy folks at the local plant nursery.
We
tend to think of topsoil as something that has always been there, just hanging
out and waiting for something exciting to happen. But topsoil is not quite as
passive as it looks. It is continually being built, moved, mixed, and modified
by some remarkably small construction crews. Ants are among the most
industrious of these soil engineers. They excavate their nests, haul soil
ingredients from below to the surface, mix mineral particles, create
passageways for air and water, and carry bits of organic material into their
underground colonies.
The
red ants I observed have created a huge mound of mostly organic material, two
feet tall and nearly twice that in width.
In
either scenario, ants redistribute nutrients and alter the structure of the
soil around them. Scientists call this activity bioturbation, which is a rather
impressive word for what amounts to ants digging holes and moving dirt around.
My
kind of work.
—Mitchell
Hegman
No comments:
Post a Comment