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I didn’t set out today to write a blog article on fertilizers. I set out to identify a toad we’d seen last night on a walk. I did accomplish my intended goal (it’s a Western Toad, by the way), but in the process I learned an interesting fact: forests are treated with fertilizers.

Maybe you know this already, but it was news to me. Of course I knew that farms and yards are fertilized, but the woods?? I suppose it makes sense seeing as trees are a crop just like corn is. It never crossed my mind that someone would be buzzing over pristine wilderness areas with fertilizers and insecticides, though. The reason I came across this information is because fertilizers are harmful to animals and are thought to be a major factor in the Western Toad’s threatened status. This new found information got me thinking about why fertilizer is bad and how its presence in a woodland environment is harmful to animals.

Here goes my lay[wo]man interpretation of  fertilizer’s harmful effects: Phosphorus and nitrogen are nutrients in fertilizer that help our lawns, crops (and forests, apparently) grow fast and strong.  Adding high amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus to an environment (terrestrial or aquatic) is nutrient pollution or eutrophication. In water, all this extra plant food will cause algae blooms and aquatic plant over-growth. Over-growth in water blocks out the sun and the excessive plant decay causes a loss of oxygen in the water. On land, a similar thing happens. The soil is now favorable to plant life that thrives on high amounts of nitrogen. The native slow-growing vegetation that is adapted to low nutrient levels is then overcome by fast growing plants. Fertilizer run-off through a forest can completely change the undergrowth equaling habitat change effecting a host of creatures. The whole ecosystem gets thrown off: a few things thrive and a bunch of stuff dies.

We could go on and on here. This will lead to that and that will lead to the next…mostly bad stuff. Call it cheesy, but that “cycle of life” “we are all connected” stuff is no joke. The point is, we need to limit our use of fertilizers. No. The point is we need to think about how our actions are going to effect others and our environment. If we’re not careful, our world will consist only of dandelions, house sparrows, and Walmarts (with a McDonalds inside). And yes, I omitted “people”  intentionally.