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Environment & Energy

Scootaloo

(25,699 posts)

21. Pretty much, yeah

Reply to LiberalEsto (Reply #12)

Fri Mar 14, 2014, 01:39 PM

Mar 2014

The lack of earthworms also meant that nuts - chestnuts, acorns, beech, and the like - stayed on the ground under leaf litter... Which was the primary food source of the passenger pigeon.

Interestingly the gigantic flocks of which may have been due to the rapid expansion of these forests, due to the near-annihilation of natives, with hteir burning (this may have also created the massive herds of bison, as eastern bison populations are pushed west by forest, and so many fewer natives mean less hard predation of bison overall)

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Interesting! Survey Work Near Chernobyl Shows Dead Trees, Leaf Litter Not Decomposing [View all] hatrack Mar 2014 OP

I say we get out there and build a shit pot more of these nuclear power plants madokie Mar 2014 #1

Seems to me that a lack of earthworms would be a factor as well Scootaloo Mar 2014 #2

Wow, I'd never heard that. I just assumed earthworms existed worldwide for eons. Arugula Latte Mar 2014 #9

Since the first settlers brought European plants, I assume NickB79 Mar 2014 #20

That might be why some Native Americans staged controlled burns LiberalEsto Mar 2014 #12

Pretty much, yeah Scootaloo Mar 2014 #21

Very interesting. longship Mar 2014 #3

Well, deliberate irradadiation has been used to keep food from spoiling GliderGuider Mar 2014 #4

This is a false comparison. eggplant Mar 2014 #5

In what way is it a "false" comparison? MNBrewer Mar 2014 #10

Because particle radiation and wave radiation are different beasts. eggplant Mar 2014 #14

What about beta particles? GliderGuider Mar 2014 #16

Ok. So how are the effects on microbes different? MNBrewer Mar 2014 #17

The effect is the same. The cause and duration of the effect is quite different. eggplant Mar 2014 #18

So the effect is the same, therefore is not a false comparison. MNBrewer Mar 2014 #24

Sigh. eggplant Mar 2014 #29

You said it was a false comparison, and you are wrong MNBrewer Mar 2014 #30

To the ignore pile with you. eggplant Mar 2014 #33

The end of the article mentions their next destination: riqster Mar 2014 #6

That makes perfect sense. nt GliderGuider Mar 2014 #7

The more I read, the more I think all the boron they dumped on the burning reactor plays a big part. hunter Mar 2014 #25

Interesting point. I didn't know about boron and decomposition. GliderGuider Mar 2014 #26

Good grief. bananas Mar 2014 #27

How does this relate to what I wrote? hunter Mar 2014 #31

It is a very informative read NickB79 Mar 2014 #34

That is eerie and terrifying. Arugula Latte Mar 2014 #8

Shouldn't This Also Be The Case DallasNE Mar 2014 #11

I think they carted all the soil away. Demeter Mar 2014 #13

some interesting stuff about test sites. littlewolf Mar 2014 #15

Nevada Test site is a fascinating explore on Google Maps satellite view. hunter Mar 2014 #19

On the other hand, Bikini Atoll was bombed 23 times NickB79 Mar 2014 #22

Could as well be all the crap they dumped on the reactor trying to put the fire out... hunter Mar 2014 #23

Your first guess is wrong. bananas Mar 2014 #28

See my post above. hunter Mar 2014 #32