Large animals fertilize the land.

It was the extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna that caused the scarcity of fertile farmland in the world today.

According to research by a group of experts from the Environmental Change Institute of Oxford University (UK), the Pleistocene period - from 11,700 to 2.6 million years ago - was a period when large herbivore populations dominated the planet, replacing the extinct dinosaurs.

Illustrative photo. (Source: THX/TTXVN)

These large herbivores live near rivers and lakes. Weighing over 44 kg, they play an important role in fertilizing lands far from their home, through the process of eliminating and decomposing their bodies after death.

The results of the study were published in the journal Nature Geoscience on August 11.

Large animals are like the nutritional blood vessels of the Earth, so if they become extinct, these blood vessels are cut off, according to Chris Doughty, co-author of the study.

Because most large animals became extinct, the Earth had more dry land.

Using mathematical modeling, Oxford researchers predicted that the extinction of large herbivore populations would have reduced the release of phosphorus vital for crop production by up to 98% in the Amazon basin, as well as in most other continents except Africa – the only continent where modern humans evolved alongside large herbivore populations.

According to the research team, the model used in the study will allow scientists to predict the impact of the extinction of other animal species in the world today.

This is a likely scenario for some large animals today, mainly in Africa and Asia.

Scientists also warn that if large animals like elephants disappear, it will have a negative impact on agricultural lands./.

According to (TTXVN) - VT