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Fertilizer Overload

From: Pat Maxwell
Series: August 2012 - Isla Earth Radio Series
Length: 01:30

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Too much of a good thing. We all know the hazards of that: too much fat, too much beer, too much chocolate… (Maybe not too much chocolate…) Read the full description.

Isla_earth_inlay Too much of a good thing. We all know the hazards of that: too much fat, too much beer, too much chocolate… (Maybe not too much chocolate…). But, for plant diversity, there is such a thing as too much water, or too many nutrients. David Tilman at the University of Minnesota found that an overabundance of water and nutrients actually decreases plant diversity...

Also in the August 2012 - Isla Earth Radio Series series

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When our noses are plugged, we sound stuffy and have trouble breathing. When fish noses are plugged, they get lost, and lose the ability to have sex. Bummer.
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Mapping Elephant DNA (01:30)
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A Future for Taz (01:30)
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Logging Underwater (01:30)
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More Trees Please (01:30)
From: Pat Maxwell

There’s no doubt about it: our environmental problems can seem too overwhelming for one person to do anything about. But even our simplest actions can make a difference.
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Don’t Flush -- Ballast, That Is (01:30)
From: Pat Maxwell

Don't flush! At least not your ship's ballast tanks.
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Eavesdropping on Elephants (01:30)
From: Pat Maxwell

Even if you don’t want to talk about the proverbial “elephant in the room,” you could at least count the number roaming around wild. Or so you’d think.

Piece Description

Too much of a good thing. We all know the hazards of that: too much fat, too much beer, too much chocolate… (Maybe not too much chocolate…). But, for plant diversity, there is such a thing as too much water, or too many nutrients. David Tilman at the University of Minnesota found that an overabundance of water and nutrients actually decreases plant diversity...

Additional Credits

Isla Earth is produced by the Catalina Island Conservancy with support from its Fund for a Sustainable Planet.