The Australian Grasslands
The Australian Grasslands have some of the lowest levels of nitrogen on the planet, which makes the local wildlife perfect for demonstrating why it’s so important.
Nitrogen – A Precious Element
Nitrogen is the magic ingredient. When you add it to carbohydrate, you get protein. And protein is what you need to make living tissue. Protein is the building block for life, all life. A baby eastern grey kangaroo. When he was born, he weighed less than a one-pence piece. His dad, on the other hand, is one of the heaviest marsupials in the world. Which means that joey has a lot of growing up to do. In fact, from birth to adulthood, he’ll increase his body size by 100,000 times. And all of that will be built with protein. And you can’t make protein without nitrogen.
Right now, he gets most of his protein from his mother, and she gets all of her protein from a diet of grass. At the moment, these kangaroos are just hanging out, and they look like a typical population of kangaroos, but I can assure you they are not.
Because this is not your typical Australian grassland. It’s Anglesea Golf Club near Melbourne. Kangaroos were here when the golf course was built 60 years ago, but since then, their population has boomed. At a recent count, there were 359 of them.
That’s nearly 20 for each hole. And the secret of their success is down to these immaculate fairways. This grass is so green and so lush because it’s had something added to it. Nitrogen fertiliser. And I know it’s a product of the industrial revolution that’s therefore led to all of this lushness, but it certainly proves a point – the power of nitrogen in a grassland.
It’s added once a month. It seeps into the soil, is quickly taken up by the roots and then converted to proteins for stronger healthier grass. Great for golf but perfect for the joey. The extra protein means that he can grow faster, become healthier and live longer and that’s the power of nitrogen.
External Links
Australian Grasslands – a Tropical Savannah – Nature Conservancy
