Dog Poo Is Much Worse than a Stain on the Green Space. It’s Hazardous for the Environment and Deadly for Plants

Many people still fail to clean up after their dogs. The thing is that it has negative impact on our natural environment.

Strolling in the park we often walk onto the landmines left by the pets as some dog owners still haven't mastered the skill of picking up their animals' poo. Scientists from Belgium analyzed the problem and proved that dog excrements pose a threat to green areas.

The scientists from the Ghent university selected 4 wildlife reserves in Belgium and closely analyzed dog excrements right there. They research lasted for 18 months. It turned out that they enrich a hectare (2.5 acres) of land with 11 kilos of nitrogen and 5 kilos of phosphorus per year. It is a lot bearing in mind that normally, that is without human (or dog) intervention only 0.5 kilo of nitrogen reaches a hectare of land.

Dog poop works like fertilizers. The thing is that excessive fertilization can be detrimental. It is only a few species of plants that grow well in a nitrogen-rich environment. That is why you will often see ivy or nettle growing in spots where dogs answer their call of nature. Other species, requiring less nitrogen, are slowly pushed away from a given ecosystem. As a result, the biodiversity of the place suffers.

To maintain the diversity by letting a variety of plants grow, all we have to do is to clean after our pets. Both the ecosystem and people relaxing in the park will benefit from this simple act of tidiness.